get his men to safety through the mountains of Montenegro and Albania. They had little food, no transport, it was winter and progress was slowed by the retreating Serbian army and refugees. This part of their journey began on the 3 December and the detachment arrived in Scutari, Albania on the 16 December. A further two days march was required to get to the port of San Giovanni di Medua (Shëngjin), and from there by ship the troops were sent to Brindsi, Italy and Malta. Kerr remained behind with Troubridge, who had been assisting the Serbian High Command with co-ordinating relief supplies. The small harbour was under threat from air and sea attack and the invading armies had advanced to within a few miles when the British contingent left for Brindisi on 19 January 1916. Kerr, Troubridge and their party made their escape on an Italian destroyer and transferred to the Royal Navy HMS Queen based in Taranto on the 21 January. From there they travelled to Rome for a debrief with the diplomatic corps. Kerr, who was from a Catholic family, made tentative enquiries at the Vatican about being granted an audience with Pope Benedict XV. To his surprise this was granted, and after a brief discussion with the Pope he was given the Apostolic Benediction. Nieuport siege guns Kerr returned to England and after recuperation was given a role as an executive officer in a naval training school at Chingford. He pestered naval command for a more active appointment and in May 1916 joined the Royal Naval Siege Gun Unit at Lewin Camp, Nieuport, Belgium. Although manned by British Royal Navy and Marine gun crews, the unit was in the French sector and under their control. Kerr was given command of a pair of early static 9.2 inch naval guns that had yet to be found a suitable emplacement. Fortunately a French heavy gun was to be moved and Kerr was allocated the vacant bunker. Another such bunker had to be constructed to house the second gun and a platoon of Canadian Royal Engineers took on the task. The work took place at night to avoid detection by enemy spotter planes, and the site was camouflaged during the day. These bunkers were of heavily reinforced concrete construction, covered with a huge number of sand-bags to a depth of at least 6 ft and more. The two guns, named