On duty in Laventie/Fauquissart sector

"Very quiet sector, no trenches, all breastworks. German front line under water and not held. All our sector under observation from Aubers Ridge."

146th Brigade Diary, March 2nd. The Division was to experience a relatively ‘quiet period’ in this sector, which it had held before in 1915.

The enemy's activity with trench-mortars and rifle grenades, and several attempts by his patrols to raid the British trenches, seem to have kept the 1/5th West Yorkshires busy whilst in the front-line during March. Lieut.-Colonel Bousfield still commanded the battalion. Casualties were negligible, and on most days the Diary records "casualties nil." In April much patrol work was carried out, the enemy's front line being kept continually under observation, and although on several nights two, and even three, patrols crossed No Man's Land, losses were small. On 1st May the strength of the 1/5th Battalion was forty-one officers and 815 other ranks. On 16th Second-Lieut. D. W. Wallace and sixteen other ranks, all of "A" Company, carried out a "silent raid" on an enemy post. This raid was a complete success, one German N.C.O. and five men being captured and three more killed, the West Yorkshiremen suffering no casualties. The G.O.C., XIth Corps, wired his con-gratulations to the battalion and the G.O.C., 49th Division, addressed the raiding party when it came out of the trenches. During the month Major W. Oddie and another officer were wounded. During July only one other rank was killed, though again much patrol work was carried out by the battalion.

On 10th July the 1/5th West Yorkshires were relieved by a battalion of Portuguese and marched off to Estaires, where all ranks went into billets.

From the Regimental History, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’ Own)