The Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Colonel W. Smith, was accustomed to what he called "stumble round the trenches" every day, and many visits were paid by Lord Cavan and his staff, who became quite proficient in evading the various missiles which the enemy daily aimed at the trenches. On one of these occasions the Prince of Wales, who was a constant visitor, tried his hand at sniping, and as there was an immediate retaliation, his bullets very probably found their mark. The men were delighted to see His Royal Highness shooting away at the enemy, and when, as sometimes happened, the evening shelling of the Germans--"the evening hate," as it was termed by the men--began while the Prince was in the trenches, the men were always anxious to hear that His Royal Highness had finished his tour in safety.
On April 21 Captain G. L. Derriman and Second Lieutenant C. O. Creed joined the Battalion, with a draft of thirty men. On the 12th Major Lord Henry Seymour returned to the Battalion. On the 13th Second Lieutenant P. K. Stephenson left to join the 1st Battalion, and on the 26th Captain R. H. V. Cavendish was appointed Town Commandant at Bethune.
The weather gradually changed, and instead of the general gloom, the appalling mud, snow, and rain, the days began to be bright and hot, although the nights were still cold.
On the 23rd the Battalion relieved the Post Office Rifles (Territorials), and continued to remain in the trenches, with two companies in the firing line and two in reserve, relieving each other every two hours.
LIST OF OFFICERS OF THE BATTALION ON MAY 1, 1915
Lieut.-Colonel W. R. A. Smith, Headquarters. Major G. D. Jeffreys, Headquarters. Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant Hon. W. R. Bailey, Headquarters. 2nd Lieut. D. Abel-Smith (Machine-gun), Headquarters. Lieut. and Quartermaster W. E. Acraman, Headquarters. Major Lord Henry Seymour, No. 1 Company. Lieut. A. K. S. Cunninghame (Brigade Transport), No. 1 Company. 2nd Lieut. J. N. Buchanan, No. 1 Company. 2nd Lieut. A. H. Penn, No. 1 Company. Capt. P. A. Clive, No. 2 Company. Capt. G. L. Derriman, No. 2 Company. 2nd Lieut. J. C. Craigie, No. 2 Company. 2nd Lieut. Viscount Cranborne, No. 2 Company. 2nd Lieut. Hon. P. P. Cary, No. 2 Company. Major B. Barrington-Kennett, No. 3 Company. Lieut. A. F. R. Wiggins, No. 3 Company. Lieut. A. V. L. Corry, No. 3 Company. 2nd Lieut. R. D. Lawford, No. 3 Company. Major C. R. C. de Crespigny, No. 4 Company. Capt. I. St. C. Rose, No. 4 Company. 2nd Lieut. E. G. Williams, No. 4 Company. 2nd Lieut. O. Lyttelton, No. 4 Company. 2nd Lieut. Hon. G. S. Bailey, No. 4 Company. 2nd Lieut. C. O. Creed, No. 4 Company.