A detachment of British soldiers, busy setting up barbed wire defences freeze momentarily as the area is lit up by an enemy star-shell. Ahead is a covering party, whose duty is to keep watch for any German patrols. By remaining stock still under the temporary light (one man even has a mallet held in mid-air), the men had a better chance of not being seen and once more under cover of darkness, could continue with their work. The picture was drawn for The Sphere by Donald Macpherson from material personally supplied by a soldier who was there in August 1916.