one o’clock
Poor old Cotter limped pitifully on parade , but he did not say a word about rheumatism . The spirit of the men was splendid , and not one of us showed a sign of shirking , though Haines kept us at it with ferocity . Haines varied the digging by making us practise a horrible manoeuvre called `` relieving trenches . '' This was always done in the middle of the night , between twelve and one o'clock . Part of the corps went out early -- about 10.30 p.m. -- and manned the trenches . The rest of us marched forth at midnight and relieved them . The worst evening we had all winter was December 8th .