Later on, his Majesty made a tour of the whole British front, and inspected all the troops who were not actually in the trenches. It is said that he also visited the bivouacs by night, and in every way made himself acquainted with the conditions under which the men were living and fighting. He also presented the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Conduct Medals to a number of soldiers who had been mentioned in dispatches, and conferred the Victoria Cross on some of those who had won the award early in the war. An officer of the Royal Engineers thus describes the inspection of his division:--
"Punctually at 1.30 the sound of distant cheering announced the arrival of the King. The troops all along the road gave three cheers, by regiments. . . . The King then walked right round the line of troops, through mud and slush. I found myself bringing up the rear with the Prince of Wales just beside me. Not a word was spoken all the way round; it was really a most impressive sight--one of those showery days with spells of fine weather and blue sky; all round the field warriors with fixed bayonets and drawn swords; in the centre the King and his suite; and up above, against the blue, two British aeroplanes, purring away, keeping off the hostile Taubes. . . . After this inspection, the King presented the medals. The men came up in turn, and the King pinned the medal on each and said a few words to each with a smile; they _did_ look proud as they went away. As soon as the presentation was over the troops gave the 'Royal Salute, Present Arms,' which the King graciously acknowledged from the middle of the field. . . . At 2 p.m. all the guns in the line let off a round in his honour."
Another account tells us that the King was specially interested in the Leicesters, who had only come out of the trenches the previous midnight.
"They were in a lovely state of mud and unshavedness. The King simply revelled in them. He stopped and chatted to quite every one man in three, wanted to know all about trench fighting, and didn't seem to mind a bit their being covered in mud and unshaved for days. The Prince was just as interested. He wandered about at will, chatting with all and sundry. One man was wearing a pair of German boots, which interested the King very much. He spent quite twenty minutes with the Leicesters, and they deserved it. They have done splendidly all through."