e to the surface. I was with the forward guns and, as we had
several days of pretty rough weather, it was a wet job. Our wireless
was continually cracking and sputtering so I suppose the skipper was
getting his sailing orders from the Admiralty as we changed direction
several times a day. We had no convoying war-ships and sighted but few
boats, mostly Norwegian sailing vessels, until, one night about nine
o'clock, several dark slim shadows came slipping up out of the
blackness and established themselves in front, on both flanks and
behind us. We gunners had been warned by the captain to look out for
something of the kind, but I can assure any one who has not been
through the experience that the sigh of relief which went up from
those gun crews was sincere and deep. We were running without lights,
of course, and none but the crew was allowed on deck. The destroyers
(for such they were), were also perfectly dark and we could barely
discern their outlines as they glided silently along, accommodating
their pace to ours.

Just before sunrise we dropped anchor inside Plymouth breakwater. This
was a surprise, as we had expected to land at Liverpool or Bristol.
But you may depend on it, no one made any complaint; any port in
England looked good to us. A few hours later we moved into the harbor
and tied up at Devonport Dock where we lay all day, unloading cargo.
Right next to us was a big transport just about to sail for the
Dardanelles. The Dublin Fusiliers were aboard her and they gave us a
cheer as we came in. Poor devils, they had a rough time of it down
there; but I guess by this time they think the same about us; so we'll
call it square.

It rained all day, but we finally got everything off the ship and on
the trains and pulled out about dark. No one knew where we were going.
The only training camp we had heard of in England was Salisbury Plain
and what we had heard of that place did not make any of us anxious to
see it. The First Canadian Division had been there and the reports
they sent home were anything but encouraging. Our men were nearly all
native-born Canadians and "Yankees," and they cracked many a joke
about the little English "carriages," but they soon learned to respect
the pulling power of the engines. We made ourselves as comfortable as
possible with eight in a compartment, each man with his full kit, and
soon after daylight the train stopped and we were told to get out. The
name of the station was Westerha