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[page 35]
Squadron moved to Geraret, "A" Squadron joining later. The Brigade moved on to el Arish at 1830, "C" Squadron being the advanced guard. We marched all night up and down dunes in a sweeping movement only to find at dawn that el Arish had been evacuated; the town was picketted and an outpost line taken up.
Unfortunately Squadron Sergeant-Major G.E. Shepherd and Lance-Corporal J. Struthers, both of "A" Squadron, were killed instantly by a floating mine which had been washed up on the beach. It was hard to tell whether the mine had been deliberately left by the enemy or whether it had been washed up on the previous night; anyway, it had the effect of making all hands more careful of what they touched.
On the evening of December 22 we moved out for Magdhaba, a fortified military post 23 miles east of el Arish. Capt. Weir was now Adjutant again. "A" Squadron escorted the Ayrshire Battery, "B" was in reserve and "C" in the main body, being used in the later part of the fight to reinforce the right flank. The position was attacked at 0630 after a long night march, rations for horse and man being drawn on the march about four miles from the el Arish wady. The enemy held out nearly all day being sited in a number of redoubts, but by a few minutes after 4 o'clock the last redoubt had fallen to Chauvel's force, which in this fight consisted of 1 and 3 A.L.H., I.C.C., and N.Z.M.R. Brigades, Hong Kong and Singapore Battery, Inverness and Somerset Batteries. The enemy surrendered four mountain guns, hundreds of rifles and much ammunition and other material.
Headquarters and "C" Squadron remained all night to clear the battlefield, bury the dead and destroy all material not transportable. Two of the Turkish doctors helped with the wounded, and before we left the fire stick was put into all the buildings, and a large stack of our firewood was also burnt, much to the disgust of the men who so often had no wood, and were not allowed to use enemy telegraph poles, but it was impossible at the time to cart it back to el Arish.
Christmas Day was spent in resting after the scrap and the next day General Sir Philip Chetwode, commanding the Desert Column, paraded Anzac Division and thanked all ranks for their work. It was bitterly cold at this time and rain fell nearly every day. The men had not yet been issueed with bivvy sheets, so the Turks' bivvy sheets came