On Boxing Day the men from the 22nd Battalion continued with fatigues and the main work at the time, namely the construction of the second or Corps Defence Line, with 90 men loading and unloading stores at Romarin siding. This building of defences was in response to Field Marshall Haig’s orders that predicted that the Germans would go on the offensive in early 1918, deploying the thousands of 
men and equipment now released from the Eastern Front following the Armistice with Russia, and before the Americans arrived in strength and tip the balance in favour of the Allied forces. For the men of the 22nd Battalion and 6th Brigade this meant utilising the strong natural features afforded at Hill 63 and the natural obstacle of Ploegsteert Wood, a task conducted under the supervision of Major JS Dooley, MC. [AWM photo E04488 showing men from the 22nd Battalion working on the construction behind Ploegsteert Wood]
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Following the Twenty-Second 