Chapter XII: Preparing for France

Three new divisions--Another 60,000 Australians--Transfers to new units--Changes in establishments--Promotions--Talk of the Western Front--Undesirables--Unfits--The khamsin--Assembling at Moascar-- Final preparations--Train to Alexandria--The "Themistocles"--The menace of submarines--Through the Mediterranean--Malta--Approaching Marseilles--Entering the harbour--The end of the first phase. =Page 162.=

APPENDICES.

Page.
A. List of Units raised and recruited by Western Australia 171

B. Roll of Honour 172

C. Casualties whilst with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force 174

D. Roll of Original Officers of the Battalion 175

E. Roll of Officers promoted from the Ranks between the 9th
June, 1915, and 21st March, 1916 177

F. Roll of Reinforcement Officers who joined the Battalion
between 9th June, 1915, and 21st March, 1916 178

G. Civil Occupations of Original Members of the Battalion who
embarked as Officers or were subsequently promoted to
Commissioned Rank 178

H. Nominal Roll of Original Members of the Battalion who
embarked at Fremantle on H.M.A.T. "A11" ("Ascanius"), 9th
June, 1915, and on "Boonah," 12th July, 1915 180

I. Nominal Roll of Members of Reinforcements who joined the
Battalion in the Field prior to the 21st March, 1916 201

J. Honours conferred on Original Members of the Battalion 218

LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS.

Cairo and Environs Facing page 52

The Great Pyramid Page 48

Portion of Gallipoli Peninsula, showing Allied Lines " 59

The Trenches at "The Apex" " 69

The Front Line on Cheshire Ridge " 103

Lemnos, Imbros, Tenedos, and Samothrace " 117

The Trenches on Russell's Top " 127

The Country adjacent to Tel-el-Kebir Facing page 148

The Australian Position in Defence of the Suez Canal, 1916 Page 155

The Australian Lines on Gallipoli Facing page 170

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

On the Square within the Walls of Saladin's Citadel _frontispiece._

Blackboy Hill Camp Page 3

Some of the Original Officers " 5

The Regimental Signallers " 9

The Machine Gun Section " 9

The March through Perth " 11

The March through Perth: the Crowd in St. George's Terrace " 12

The Farewell at Fremantle " 17

H.M's. Australian Transport "A11" " 21

Two very young Soldiers " 25

Abbasia Camp " 31

The Adjutant and "Tim" " 31

Brigadier-General J. Burston, V.D. " 35

Lieut.-Colonel C. R. Davies, O.B.E. " 35

Major J. Kenny, A.A.M.C. " 39

Captain J. J. S. Scouler " 39

The Wall of the Citadel " 47

View of Cairo from the Citadel Walls " 51

The Moqattam Hills " 51

The Citadel " 55

Chunuk Bair " 63

Williams' Pier, where the 28th landed " 66

The Apex " 71

At the Apex: using the periscope rifle " 74

"The Farm" " 74

In the Front Line at the Apex " 78

Excavating a "Bivvy" in the support trenches " 79

View from Baby 700 " 83

Major J. A. Campbell Wilson " 91

Captain J. Gettingby: The Quartermaster " 92

Sergeant C. R. Field " 96

Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant R. G. Sexty " 97

The Chailak Dere " 106

View of the Aghyl Dere " 107

"A" Company getting ready to move from the Reserve Position at
Cheshire Ridge " 111

The Q.M.'s Store of "A" Company at Cheshire Ridge " 112

The Sari Bair Ridge " 121

Headquarters of "C" Company, Happy Valley " 125

The Great Traffic Trench " 125

A Conference on Walker's Ridge, December, 1915 " 129

The view from Russell's Top looking into Malone Gully " 131

Captain G. D. Shaw, M.C. " 135

Captain T. O. Nicholls, M.C. " 135

The Camp at Sarpi, Lemnos Island " 141

The Shipping in Mudros Bay, 1915 " 141

On the Battlefield of Tel-el-Kebir, January, 1916 " 151

Ferry Post, showing the Suez Canal " 158

Ferry Post: the landing place on the East bank " 158

The Camp of the 28th at Ferry Post " 160

The Suez Canal: a liner in the fairway " 160

Private H. A. Franco, M.M. " 164

The Pioneer-Sergeant at work " 165

The 2nd Division crossing the Canal _en route_ to Europe " 169

The "Themistocles" at Alexandria " 169