Ray and Doe are posted to Gallipoli, and despite Ray's pain at leaving his mother, and his clear worry that he will never see her again, they are still optimistic and eager to join the fight. The news that Pennybet has been killed at Neuve Chapelle on the Western Front, and that three of their schoolmates (their house captain, their school's most promising cricketer, and Rupert's relay-team captain) have all died in April in Gallipoli dampens their spirits. There is a bitter irony in this passage, for all three possessed promising lives that were snuffed out the moment they landed on the beaches.