The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment 12th January1916

12^th January 1916 –

1st Battalion – 10 Cadets joined for 48 hours attachment in trenches.

Lieut A. Burton Killed.
2nd Battalion – Company outpost schemes.
Officers 32.    Other Ranks 867.
2/4^th Battalion –
1/5^th Battalion - Camp was struck at 3am & everything tied up ready for loading at 9am. All transport to be allotted to the Battn. had been out to BUTANIYEH previously & nothing arrived till 1.30pm. The transport allotted were 60 hired camels for cooking; pots & tents. 105 Camel Corps & Mules. The first to arrive were the camel corps & these were immediately loaded up & sent with advance party, under Capt ATKINSON, Consisting of 2 platoons C coy The cooks, pioneers, sanitary, Police M.O. & Q.M This party left at 2.45pm Almost immediately afterward the 60 hired camels were loaded. These were quite untrained & could not be marshalled & put in 2nd line but started straight off on their own, The mules arrived at 3pm &; were loaded & the Battn left camp at 3.45pm At 6.30pm some of the 2nd line mules stampeded. 1 soldier had been ordered to lead each 1st line mule each 2nd line mule carrying ammunition, when the stampede occurred the soldiers leading 2nd line mules which did not know them could not hold them and ½ hour had to be spent rounding them up again.
8.10pm The Battn. reached camp at BUTANIYEH. The ground allotted was on E & S front of camp. A fatigue party of the 114th Mahrattas had put up most of the tents. But as the tents & kits from the camels all more or less untrained had been scattered anywhere within 300 yards of camp everything took a lot of finding in the dark. As it was there was no sign at all of the 60 hired camels carrying Q.M. Stores
1/6^th Battalion – Coys did 4 hours training under Company arrangement.
7^th Battalion – In billets nothing to record.
8^th Battalion – 9pm 450 Officers & O.R. of this Battn took over the front line trenches in the right section of the RIGHT HOOGE SECTOR, in the evening, relieving 8^th R.W. Kent Regt. The relief was complete at 9pm. The Bn, marched, from H 23 b(BELGIAN DUGOUTS) to the ASYLUM YPRES where ammunition boots were changed for Gum Thigh Boots. The march  - by Platoons – was continued via the MENIN GATE to road junction I 10 d 13, thence along road to I 22 b 8 4, thence to trenches. The Bn was disposed as followers –
Trenches C1 and B8 – C Coy – 110 men – under Capt Rowland R.H.
Trenches C 1 R and B 8 S – B Coy – 115 men – under Lt barry C.A
R S 2 – Snipers Reserve – Grenadiers Reserve.
50 men under Lt Penrose.
Redoubt R 7 Post – D Coy – 40 O.R. – under Lt Lofting.
Dugouts R S 8 D Coy 90 O.R. – under Capt Clayton.
Bn, H.Q. was at I 18 c.6.2 (ZOUAVE WOOD).
On our right was a Battalion of the Durham L.Inf of the 150^th Bde.

On our left was the 9^th E.Surrey Regt.