the 8th (Southland) Company of the 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Division. When the division transferred to the European theatre, he sailed with it to France, arriving there in April, to serve in the trenches along the Western Front. After the 2nd Battalion entered the line near Armentières, Travis began conducting scouting missions at night into "no man's land" to gather intelligence on German positions and help in mapping the front. By the end of July 1916, he had been twice commended in brigade orders for his work in carrying out night patrols and recovering wounded soldiers. He had also been wounded, which saw him spend most of August in hospital receiving treatment. In September 1916 he singlehandedly dealt with two German snipers that were firing upon a work party during the fighting on the Somme. He later received the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), the British Empire's second highest gallantry award, for this action, the published citation for his award also referring to him having "...on many occasions done very fine work." After this the 2nd Battalion moved to Flanders to hold the line during winter. Throughout the remainder of 1916 he progressed through the ranks, soon reaching the rank of sergeant, whereupon he was given responsibility for a sniper and reconnaissance section consisting of hand picked men, tasked with conducting reconnaissance of German lines and capturing prisoners to gain intelligence. His section quickly grew a reputation for being able to provide important intelligence on the strength and positions of the enemy. As a leader he was said to have a casual approach towards things such as dress and military protocol, however, he was resourceful, had a well-developed understanding of enemy courses of action and had a penchant for detailed planning. In early December 1917 Travis was sent to England; this was intended to be for a period of three months period but Travis agitated for an earlier return and rejoined his battalion, serving on the front lines near Polygon Wood in Flanders, in mid January 1918. Soon afterwards, Travis was awarded the Croix de Guerre from the Belgian government. During the German spring offensive of April 1918, Travis was wounded which required hospitalisation for over two weeks. At the end of the following month, he was awarded the Military Medal (MM) "for acts of gallantry in the field". In July 1918, as part of the operations undertaken