Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 231
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[Page 231]
the Melbourne and Sydney followed and took station on either flank seven miles apart. The transports followed in three great lines and took station in between. It was truly a noble sight, these forty khaki-crowded ships starting on their journey, and it is probable that such an Armada had never put to sea before. We in the Sydney felt proud to be of the party, and it was a fitting prelude to Gallipoli. Leaving Albany the warships went into war routine: the ships were darkened at night, the guns manned, and double watches kept. The efforts of the transports to darken ship were not always successful, and some evenings the fleet presented the spectacle of a large well-lit town. One could not but think that the torpedoes of an enterprising enemy could not have failed to make havoc amongst us at night. To the uninitiated at any rate it looked impossible to miss. However the secret of the expedition was so well kept that we afterwards heard that the Germans had no notion of its whereabouts. In fact, one was told that even up to the last minute the Senior Naval Officer himself did not know whether he was to steer for Capetown or Colombo. Had we gone to Capetown this story would probably never have been written.
Off the Leeuwin the seas were rough, and I fear that many sailors as well as soldiers were indisposed. One felt sorry for the soldiers, most of whom were probably sick, in their crowded quarters. Near Fremantle three more transports and two men-o'-war joined us. The latter were the Ibouki, a