Primary tabs
Transcription
The Regiment's horses were all branded 'X' on the neck; this made it easy to pick out the few original horses left when the time came four years later to hand them back to the Remount Department. There had been one death among the men from pneumonia, viz, No.219, Lance-Corporal Perkins W.D., on April 10; generally speaking the health of the men was excellent.
Two batches of reinforcements arrived from Australia without horse on April 10 and were taken on strength:
2nd Reinf. - Lieut J.Stewart and 52 other ranks;
3rd Reinf. - " D.C.Campbell ".
During this month a sham fight was carried out against the 2nd Light Horse Brigade encamped at Maadi, and a troop of scouts was forme formed under Lieut G.H.L.Harris.
CHAPTER 3
Gallipoli, May-December 1915.
On May 6 definite orders were received by the Regiment to leave for the Gallipoli Peninsula, without horses, Major H.V.Vernon to command, Lieut-Col J.B.Meredith to remain as Camp Commandant with all the horses and such personnel of the brigade as were left behind. Lieut Weir was appointed Camp Adjutant; Egyptian syces were employ-ed at the rate of one man to three horses to assist in stables and to allow the reinforcement to carry on their training.
We embarked at Alexandria on May 9, 25 officers and 447 other ranks on the 'Devenha' ('A3') and 1 officer and 30 other ranks on the 'Kingstonian' ('B15'). All ranks were equipped as infantry, officers leaving swords and all surplus kit behind and wearing 'issue' tunios (i.e., troopers' tunics) so as not to be too notice-able to the enemy. Infantry packs, U.S. pattern, were not obtain-able in Egypt in sufficient numbers, and a kahki rucksack with shoulder straps was issued.
On May 12 we landed on Gallipoli at 6 a.m., some 2000 yards south of Fisherman's Hut, one other rank being wounded,; we biv- ouacked ouacked south of Pope's Hill and two sick were returned to the