had still lingering hopes
of seeing horses at Alexandria were speedily disillusioned, as we were
ordered promptly to unload all our saddlery and transport vehicles.
This was done with just as much organisation and care as the loading.
The following morning we all went a route march for a couple of hours
through the town. Perhaps the intention was to squash any desire we
might have had to linger on in Alexandria. All the same some bits
undoubtedly stank less than others.

Meanwhile stacks of infantry web equipment had come aboard, and
fortunately for us about forty infantry officers who were able to show
us how to put it together. That kept us busy for the next few days.

A cruiser met us in the Grecian Archipelago and conducted us safely
into Mudros Harbour on 23rd September. It had got very much colder as
we got farther north, and the day before we made Mudros it was
absolutely arctic, which was lucky indeed as it made us all take on to
the Peninsula much warmer clothes than we would otherwise have done.
Mudros Harbour was a great sight--British and French battleships,
hospital ships, transports, colliers, and all sorts of cargo ships
down to the little native sailing boats, and the steam cutters which
tore up and down all day looking very busy. The island itself looked
very uninviting, stony, barren, and inhospitable, and a route march
only confirmed our opinions--the race ashore in the ship's boats,
however, compensated us--and nearly drowned us.

Our ration strength at Mudros was 32 officers and 617 other ranks, but
of these 9 officers and 63 other ranks remained behind as first
reinforcements when the Regiment went on the Peninsula. Each squadron
went forward 4 officers and 136 other ranks. When we returned to
Mudros three months later our effective strength was 8 officers and
125 other ranks.

On 26th September the Regiment filed down the gangways of the
_Andania_ on to the _Abassiyeh_ and landed that night on Gallipoli.
From the _Abassiyeh_ we were transhipped into a "beetle" packed like
sardines and loaded like a Christmas-tree. These lighters being
flat-bottomed could run ashore on the sand and land troops dry-shod.
The gangway was very steep and slippery and the men were so
overloaded, each carrying a bundle of firewood as well as full
equipment, and a pick and a shovel, that nearly everyone, like William
the Conqueror, bit the dust on landing. Otherwise, we had an
unmolested landing and started off for