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The Kensingtons spent the extremely cold winter of 1914 in the front-line trenches forward of the village of Laventie in the Pas-de-Calais. Their trenches were poorly built and frequently under artillery fire. The painting depicts a moment when the platoon, having spent four days and nights in a forward fire trench, have made their way through a flooded communications trench to the ruined village of Laventie. The men are waiting for the order to 'fall in' for the 5 mile march to an overnight billet outside shelling range.The painting is a group portrait of nine soldiers from Kennington's own infantry platoon, Platoon No 7, C Company. Kennington went to great lengths to contact his former comrades and sketch them while preparing the painting. It depicts eight figures standing on the snow-covered ground amid the detritus of war, beside a whitewashed wall, seven in a loose group to the left and one alone on the right overlooked by a calvary cross in the top right corner, while a ninth lies on the ground, exhausted.  
Kennington supplied extensive notes that identified each individual in the painting and explained the situation depicted. The men depicted, from left to right, are:Private H Bristol, wearing the red scarf;
Private A McCafferty, with a bandaged head. One of the two rifles on his back belonged to a Private Perry who had been killed by a sniper whilst beside McCafferty in a trench at La Rue Tilleloy and a German Pickelhaube helmet is attached to his belt;
Kennington is third from the left, wearing a balaclava;
Private W Harvey;
Private P A Guy, nicknamed 'Good Little Guy';
Lance-Corporal H 'Tug' Wilson, wearing a balaclava and with his fork and spoon tucked into his puttee;
Private M Slade, standing with both hands on his rifle;
Corporal J Kealey;
The figure on the ground in the forefront of the painting is Private 'Sweeney' Todd, an under-age soldier who Kennington wrote was "exhausted by continual service, hard work, lack of sleep, long hours of 'standing to' and observing".
Kensingtons Laventie calvary cross Pas-de-Calais Pickelhaube