The officers of the 4th Battalion on July 1, 1917, were:
Lieut.-Colonel the Viscount Gort, D.S.O., M.V.O., M.C. Commanding Officer. Major W. S. Pilcher, D.S.O. Second in Command. Capt. C. R. Gerard Adjutant. Lieut. I. H. Ingleby Act.-Quartermaster. Lieut. Lord E. D. J. Hay Intelligence Officer. 2nd Lieut. N. A. Pearce Transport Officer. Capt. C. G. Keith, M.C. No. 1 Company. Lieut. J. N. F. Pixley ” ” 2nd Lieut. E. H. Tuckwell ” ” 2nd Lieut. G. R. Green ” ” 2nd Lieut. G. C. Burt ” ” 2nd Lieut. J. M. Chitty ” ” Capt. the Hon. F. E. Needham No. 2 Company. Capt. E. O. Stewart ” ” Lieut. R. G. West ” ” 2nd Lieut. T. T. Pryce, M.C. ” ” 2nd Lieut. R. C. Denman ” ” 2nd Lieut. W. H. Windeler ” ” Capt. C. H. Greville, D.S.O. No. 3 Company. Lieut. R. Farquhar, M.C. ” ” Lieut. J. B. M. Burke ” ” Lieut. G. C. Sloane-Stanley ” ” Lieut. C. S. Nash ” ” 2nd Lieut. D. J. Knight ” ” Capt. G. H. T. Paton No. 4 Company. Lieut. R. H. G. Leveson-Gower ” ” Lieut. C. E. Irby ” ” Lieut. B. J. Hubbard ” ” 2nd Lieut. J. J. M. Veitch ” ” 2nd Lieut. F. R. Oliver ” ” 2nd Lieut. C. E. Benson ” ” Capt. N. Grellier, M.C., R.A.M.C. Medical Officer.
The 4th Battalion now made its way to the area opposite the portion of the German line which had been selected for an attack on July 31. The camp consisted of a few bivouac sheets in a wood, and was well within the range of the German shells; almost as soon as the Battalion arrived some shells fell in the Transport lines, but fortunately did no damage. Lieut.-Colonel Lord Gort went up to the line to make himself acquainted with the trenches from which the Battalion would attack, and took with him Captain Paton, Lieutenant Pixley, and Lieutenant Burke. During the first week in July the Battalion had to find between 500 and 600 men for fatigues in the forward area. On the 5th the camp was again shelled, but luckily there were no casualties. Lord Gort made a second visit to the front line, and took with him this time Captain the Hon. F. E. Needham, Captain Greville, Captain Keith, and Lieutenant Lord E. Hay. During these days there were constant gas alarms, and on one occasion the men were ordered to sleep with their helmets in the ”alert” position.
July 14 was a red-letter day for the 4th Battalion, as it was the second anniversary of its formation, but owing to the large number of men required for fatigue work Lord Gort decided to keep this anniversary on the 15th. The celebrations consisted of a football match, a tug-of-war, and a sergeants’ dinner, followed by a Battalion concert, and last, but not least, a free issue of beer to all the men. The Corps Commander, Lord Cavan, attended the sergeants’ dinner, and made a speech which aroused the greatest enthusiasm. Major-General G. Feilding also attended.