Late evening on 17 August the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers were sent to ‘A’ Beach for rest. This was a welcome move for Drury who was beginning to suffer from dysentery, and it also provided an opportunity for reinforcements to settle in the battalion, whose strength was now 487 men and just four officers. On 21 August the 10th (Irish) Division was once again sent to the front, at Lala Baba, but only in reserve as the 29th Division and 11th (Northern) Division attacked Scimitar Hill and W Hill. They came under fire but saw no major action. The next six weeks saw them rotating in and out of trenches and attempts to advance in the area ground to a halt. Trench warfare ensued. During this time, Drury was again ill and left the battalion for treatment on 27 August, returning three days later.

As September began, nights were colder, but during the day flies were still a persistent problem. Daytime work was primarily focused on improving the line, but there was also burying of the dead with efforts made to retrieve bodies from No Man's Land. Drury was promoted to Captain and given command of ‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies in mid-September. He noted, ‘These are very quiet days, and except for the morning and evening “hate” there is hardly any shooting.’ Shell fire and unexpected encounters with individual Turks provided shocks. Religious services became important as a coping mechanism, along with material comforts from home. Drury noted that sermons were ‘but just the simple truths one hears from the cradle, which now seem invested with a new meaning’. Drury noticed how the Anglican and Roman Catholic chaplains got on well and that many Catholic soldiers went to hear the former, just as he had himself visited the latter. He reflected, ‘If the two creeds could come together at home as they do here, what a different story there would be.’

The most dangerous situation faced by the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers was the result of a misunderstanding. On 27 September, great cheering was heard from British lines and that led to heavy machine gun and rifle fire in response from the Turks.