Part 16 (2/2)

By the addition of reinforcements, which had dribbled in, together with officers and other ranks returning from hospital, the strength of the Battalion had been brought up to near the authorised establishment. The last draft marched in on the day before departure for Alexandria.

Transport vehicles and bicycles were not to be taken overseas and were transferred to the charge of the New Zealanders.

These preparations took up several days, during which very little training could be carried on. On the evening of the 13th March the Brigade a.s.sembled and was addressed by General Birdwood. His princ.i.p.al theme was Australia's good name and Lord Kitchener's message to the British Expeditionary Force on embarkation in August, 1914. Later General G.o.dley rode into camp to say good-bye and wish good luck to those who had served under him on Gallipoli.

The Transport Officer, together with 25 other ranks and the 56 horses of the Battalion, boarded a train near midnight on the 13th, journeyed to Alexandria, and next day embarked on H.M.T. ”Minneapolis,” which left the harbour early in the morning of the 15th. This last date witnessed the main body of the 28th, climbing on to open trucks at Moascar siding.

From 10 p.m. until next morning the train rumbled and jolted through the night. The air was cold but the single blanket, now the sole covering for the soldier, was reinforced by the heat generated by the crowded condition of the trucks. At Tel-el-Kebir there was a brief halt. Here three reinforcement officers, Lieut. R. S. Browne, and 2nd Lieuts. J.

Roydhouse and R. H. Gill, reported and were carried on.

Arriving at a wharf at 6.30 a.m., some little delay ensued before the men could file on to the Transport. Besides the 28th Battalion there were to be accommodated 1-1/2 Companies of the 27th Battalion (Major F. R.

Jeffrey), and the 2nd Divisional Signal Company (Major R. H. Goold, M.C.). Later in the day Major-General Legge and the Divisional Headquarters were added to the number, making a total complement of 53 officers and 1,533 other ranks. Travelling as a pa.s.senger was Major-General W. G. B. Western, who had recently commanded the troops on Lemnos Island.

The Battalion now found itself on the most comfortable s.h.i.+p that, so far, it had been its lot to travel by. Bearing the number ”A32,” the Transport was the Aberdeen liner ”Themistocles,” of some 11,000 tons.

The voyage commenced that evening. The usual precautions against fire and submarines were observed. Life belts were always in evidence, and boat stations practised daily. All lights were covered at night. The weather proved to be ideal and the look of content on every soldier's face gave indication of how the change of life, scene, and air was appreciated.

A modified form of training was carried on--prominence being given to anti-gas measures and trench routine and discipline.

During the morning of Sunday, the 19th March, the rather violent ”zig-zagging” of the s.h.i.+p gave an indication of the presence of hostile submarines. There were, however, no visible signs of their presence, and it was not until later in the day that the information as to another s.h.i.+p having been torpedoed, not many miles away, was pa.s.sed down by the s.h.i.+p's staff.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE 2ND DIVISION CROSSING THE Ca.n.a.l _EN ROUTE_ TO EUROPE, MARCH, 1916.

_Photo. lent by Mr. Yeldon._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ”THEMISTOCLES” AT ALEXANDRIA.

The 28th waiting to embark, 16th March, 1916.

_Photo. lent by Mr. Yeldon._]

Having pa.s.sed around the north side of Crete the s.h.i.+p, during the afternoon of this same day, arrived off Malta. Her engines were stopped for a while and those on the decks had a brief glimpse of the narrow entrance to the Grand Harbour, the heavy fortifications whose walls seemed to run down into the sea, and, beyond, the steep slopes, upon which the picturesque city of Valetta is built. A few naval vessels were within sight of the Transport. A wicked looking submarine and a French torpedo boat pa.s.sed close by.

Receiving fresh instructions as to the route to be followed, the ”Themistocles” resumed her course and, pa.s.sing through the Malta Channel, entered the Sicilian Sea. The Italian possession of Pantellaria Island was sighted and also the elevated headland of Cape Bon on the Tunisian coast. Skirting the western sh.o.r.es of Sardinia and Corsica, the French coast east of Toulon came into view on the morning of the 21st March. Little could be seen of the great naval base, but as the Transport headed north-west, a short lapse of time revealed Ma.r.s.eilles, France's most ancient city, lying within its circle of verdured hills.

Proceeding under slow steam towards a precipitous islet, which with its castle was recognised by some as the Isle d'If, made famous by Dumas'

”Count of Monte Cristo,” a hail was received from a picket boat, which came racing out from the direction of the sh.o.r.e. In response, the Transport changed her course abruptly, as it seemed she had been on the verge of entering a mine field.

As the harbour was entered all eyes were agaze at this first contact with the civilisation of the Old World. Comments were made on the obvious fertility of the soil, on the apparent prosperity of the community, and on the magnitude of the engineering undertakings, as disclosed by the many docks and their machinery.

A closer approach to the sh.o.r.e revealed sentries posted here and there.

These were old gentlemen in battered kepis, long coats and baggy trousers, armed with rifles, which were capped by bayonets of an inordinate length. The 28th Band, which had been revived at Ferry Post, came into action and did its best with the ”Ma.r.s.eillaise.” This was responded to from the wharves, where a number of women and a few men had a.s.sembled to see the new arrivals. ”Vivas” for France and Australia were exchanged and some of the members of the Battalion let go what they recollected of their schooldays' French.

_At 3.30 p.m. the voyage came to an end._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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