In June, he was temporarily assigned to the 229 Field Company, Royal Engineers. In September 1916, he spent ten days in London on leave. After returning to his old unit, he fell sick in October and spent two months in the 51st General Hospital. After release, he was transferred to the 1st Battalion of the King's Own Royal Regiment (KORL). He applied for a transfer to one of the all-Jewish battalions formed in Mesopotamia, but historians have been unable to trace his application.