“ From trench and shell hole where death found them, their voices call—young, musical voices, the voices of boys still in their teens, the voices of martyrs on life's threshold. Scarce a wind can blow that will not waft to you these voices. ”

“ When our barrage lifted, and the first wave of our men attempted to go forward, their dark forms showed up against the snow. They were met by machine gun fire, by rapid fire from the enemy trenches, and by snipers in skilfully chosen holes. Our bombardment had failed. It was impossible to get to close quarters with the enemy—hopeless to advance—dangerous to retire. Many of our men were killed in the attack, others in the attempt to carry in the wounded. Many remained all day in exposed positions, beside their wounded comrades, in hope of rescuing them when darkness fell. ”

“ We are met to recall a very great page in the history of our city and district. In the year 1916, the hundreds of young men of whom we are thinking dared to die in a great cause. Young, strong, and free, full of high hopes and great purpose, in love with life, and in a hundred ways fitted for mastery in it, they yet consented to deal with death. A hundred other ambitions had flushed their hearts, but because humanity called they laid them all aside and went to the great war. ”

“ That is to say, the more sympathy, good comradeship and understanding that exists between Infantry and Artillery and Cavalry and Tanks and Air Force people and so on, the more efficient each of these various arms becomes to carry out its respective duties. Knowledge of the general tactical principles under which each arm operates, and personal acquaintanceship with the various officers and men of such other units, all tend to cement combined operations into one smooth working whole for the pleasant efficiency of the combinations concerned and for the better (or worse!) ”

“ There its pages will rank with the greatest achievements of industrial and commercial affairs as evidence of the judgment, humour, poetry, and doggedness of a Battalion so intimately bound up in the traditions of a great house, and indeed, also reflective of the traditions of Scottish industrialism, whose eminence is the manifestation of those very elements of balanced judgment and perseverance, coupled with that saving humour and imagination which has marked alike its progress in the markets of the world no less than in the fields of war. ”

“ The nature of the Leipzig defences, a maze of trenches and underground saps, made advancing into the salient extremely hard. One was continually attacked in the rear. What seemed dug-outs were bombed, and when passed numbers of the enemy rush from them, they being really underground communications with their rear defences. The whole fighting was of a cold, deliberate, merciless nature. No quarter was given or taken. One of the battalions opposing us was similar to our own, a students' battalion from Bavaria. ”

“ The exploits of the Battalion in Football, Cross-country Running, and Boxing—revealing as they did the elements of challenge, perseverance, cheerfulness in defeat, and also the power to win honours to their name—have their grand reflex in the more grim and arduous experiences through which the Battalion was called to pass. ”

“ Grasping the seriousness of the situation, Colonel Anderson made his way across the open in full view of the enemy now holding the wood on the right, and after much effort succeeded in gathering the remainder of the two right companies. He personally led the counter attack, and drove the enemy from the wood, capturing 12 machine guns and 70 prisoners, and restoring the original line. His conduct in leading the charge was quite fearless, and his most splendid example was the means of rallying and inspiring the men during a most critical hour. ”

“ Each man went about his duties with an eye to an immediate and definite future. If anything he gave greater care to his rifle. In his feeling the edge and point of his bayonet, there was something of a caress. Now was the look in each eye born of the lust of killing. It was the knowledge that on a bright morning—now only a few hours distant—man would be matched against man. "Justice of our cause may have been somewhere in our sub-consciousness. Certainly it was not uppermost. To each man the coming conflict savoured of individual mortal combat. ”

“ As it turned out, three months were spent at Codford—months of rigorous training, of long interesting divisional manœuvres, and general hardening. The men learned to dig trenches quickly and well, for they had to spend nights in them; to march many miles without complaint, and fight at the end of the hardest day's march; to use Lewis guns, not as amateurs with a strange toy, but as men whose lives depended on their speed and ability. ”

“ Each brings forth a spirit, and by that spirit the members are henceforth profoundly influenced. It is not the spirit of the Colonel, or of any particular member. It is the spirit of the Battalion, something compounded by the subtle alchemies of the spiritual world out of the individual souls of officers and privates alike.
Of the spirit of the 17th H.L.I. it may at once be said that the outstanding characteristic was high-hearted youth. Most of the members of the Battalion were young, but the Battalion itself had the qualities of youth more truly than any of them. ”

“ The tremendous accumulation of men and material had been going on unceasingly for weeks, and during the long June days clouds of dust hung in the hot, still air above the roads. For the roads all led towards the line, and the tramp of men, and the rumble of wheels were unending. ”

“ The position of the Battalion was that of a wedge driven against the iron of impregnability, and the driving force suddenly withdrawn. At the thin end of the wedge Sergeant Turnbull, with a handful of men, performed prodigies of valour. From three sides enemy machine guns swept the position, snipers took deadly toll, and bombing attacks were constantly launched. Exposure meant almost certain death. ”

“ Training was over. Few will forget the brave skirl of the pipes as the Battalion swung home in the morning from Yarnbury Castle, file after file silhouetted against the orange and gold of the rising sun. Always, when the wind blows fresh and sweet in the morning, those who are left of those happy times will think of Codford, the "jumping off place" of the Seventeenth for France.
The following message of God-speed and goodwill was received by the Battalion as part of the 32nd Division before setting out:—
"17th Service Battalion Highland Light Infantry. ”

“ It will be of value and interest to give here a brief survey of the history of The Highland Light Infantry, which enshrines a record of service and gallantry second to none in the annals of our Empire, and to which the Chamber of Commerce Battalion was fated to add a page as heroic and imperishable as any in its great traditions.
The Highland Light Infantry was originally raised as two separate Regiments of Foot, the 71st and the 74th. What was to become famous as the 71st was raised in 1777 by Lord John MacLeod and was known as "MacLeod's Highlanders." ”

“ The officers and men of the Battalion gallantly pressed on against these odds, however, and succeeded in reaching their objective; but the enemy machine gun and rifle fire became so intense that their advanced positions were rendered humanly untenable. Our men, though forced to retire in places, established themselves in shell-hole posts, where an attempt was made to consolidate.
The artillery and machine gun barrage, though intense, had failed, owing to the enemy's fore-knowledge of the attack, to effect its purpose. ”

“ Petite Synthe was left on the 19th for Dunkirk where they entrained and proceeded east along the sand dunes to Coxyde and, on the following day, into the coastal camp of Kuhn. Coxyde and Kuhn were French built camps and very good, with vegetable gardens attached to them.
Until 10th July the Battalion stayed in this vicinity, and despite spells of shelling, trench mortar and aerial bombardments, considerable patrolling and wiring work, the stay on the sand dunes about Nieuport was heaven after the endless mud and horror of the winter on the Somme. ”

“ The Battalion remained at rest in the village of Canizy until May 15th—that is, they trained hard and played hard, went marches and were inspected, performed innumerable fatigues and parades and carried out generally that never ending programme of activities which always makes a soldier smile at the mention of the word "rest!" The men played some of their keenest and most memorable games of soccer here, and one of the principle pastimes engaged in by the officers was hunting, until this was forbidden by G.H.Q. The country, being entirely uncultivated made ideal going. ”

“ Of the villages in the regained area little or no description in the normal sense is possible beyond the fact that while some semblance of streets could be traced in some of them, the majority of them were simply masses of masonry debris literally peppered with shell craters. But it was noticeable in such villages as Nesle that the civilians showed a very marked physical improvement as the result of better feeding and life under British occupation. While at Hangard, Battalion [59] Headquarters occupied Hangard Chateau—one of the finest chateaux in France. ”

“ The Germans observed this and watched for any movement in the heap beside the standing rifle. Men coolly fired at each other at point blank range, and sniping became the chief cause of casualties. It resembled a duel between two men who had had a deadly quarrel—so intensely deliberate. On the morning of the 2nd of July we handed over the front line of attack to Divisional Reserves and went into support. At sunset we were relieved by the Cheshires, and moved back to the dug-outs at Crucifix Corner. We had a number of casualties coming out of action. ”

“ From this it will be seen that the Battalion was not engaged in killing Germans all the time, or [38] being killed by them. At times they had a change. There were periods of rest. The word "rest" is very often the subject of sarcastic humour amongst troops. "Resting" may mean anything. It may be quite a good time or it may be worse than the firing line. Too often it is simply an occasion of smartening up—guards, ceremonial parades, saluting, and "spit and polish" generally—in fact the things that can be indulged in to excess. And very often a rest simply means preparation for a big stunt. ”

“ They were recruited simply by conscience and the claims of humanity. They made one of the finest Battalions that ever left these shores, for some of the very best of the rising generation were in their ranks. And though they were not soldiers by profession they proved themselves worthy of a regiment that has traditions of honour as old as the British Army.
"Wherefore, here in God's House, we may well first of all rejoice concerning them, and give thanks to God who has put so great a spirit into man. ”

“ This was the first War Station of the Brigade, where the 15th, 16th and 17th H.L.I. joined the 11th (S.) Battalion Border Regiment (The Lonsdales) . There the men found hut life very comfortable. The cleaning and tidying of their new abodes kept them busy, and was carried out with the cheery zest and whole-hearted enthusiasm so characteristic of the Seventeenth. Full advantage was taken of the adjacent Y.M.C.A. establishment, which proved an admirable Institution. ”

“ What wire remained uncut was blown to fragments by a torpedo, and when the barrage lifted and came down behind, the raiders jumped into the enemy's trench and set to work. For twenty minutes they bombed and destroyed, cleared dug-outs, pulled down machine guns, barricaded communication trenches, and handed prisoners back to escorts. Then on a signal they as quickly [36] withdrew, and still under cover of artillery fire made their own trench again. Thirteen affrighted Germans, of two different units, accompanied the party; and, finest of all, every man of the party returned. ”

“ Altogether the Seventeenth has much to be proud of in its athletic record, and in future days when those of the Battalion sit round and tell of the things which are theirs, which they won also at great cost, their prowess in the field will not be among the least ”

“ Heavy and continuous work was put in mending and bettering the trenches, training the drafts which were arriving, performing tactical exercises and battalion routine affairs. By this time several ceremonies had taken place at which decorations were bestowed upon N.C.O.s and men for bravery in the Field and gallantry in action. Esprit de corps was stronger than ever, and the tediousness of trench labours was relieved by the establishment of special strong posts, by minor raids on the Bosche, and when out of the line by football and such recreations as the circumstances permitted. ”

“ One great object of the Club is to establish the Benevolent Fund of the Battalion on a sound financial basis, so as to be in a position to deal with necessitous cases connected with the 17th Battalion, and it is thought that this is the only way. It is intended that the Club should be self-supporting, and assistance is hoped for, morally and financially, of all those who are interested in the affairs appertaining to the old Battalion. ”

“ It is possible that a Voluntary Subscription List may be opened, and it is hoped that the opportunity may be given to help the worthy project of thus forming a Memorial to those who have fallen in the great cause.
No better monument of love and good-fellowship could be thought of than to give a helping hand in the hour of need, and, to provide towards a comfortable home for those who are left to enjoy it. ”