We again have orders to embark at 7.30.

_September 10th._--The hour for embarking was afterwards changed to
8.30. Owing to the shelling we had just been subjected to this pleased
us, as we could march down in the dark at this later hour. We got on
board without any adventures and were taken out by two tow boats to
our old friend, the "Abbassieh". The sea was choppy and our boat
bumped unmercifully against the ship's side and ladder. We had supper
on board, tea, bread and butter with cheese making a right royal
feast, these articles never tasting half so good in all our lives
before. Never till then did I fully appreciate how much we had roughed
it since we came to Suvla Bay. Our bread has usually been vile, and
often was not to be had at all, and everything has been unusually
filthy and smelly. This was often due to our being unable to spare a
drop of water to wash out our cooking utensils.

No doubt what has really taken it out of us most is the constant
danger we are in from bullets and shells, and especially the former at
our Advanced Dressing Station in The Gully (Azmac Dere). After supper
and a glass of beer we went to bed, and found genuine spring
mattresses, a tremendous luxury. The very ground at Suvla seems to be
harder than at Helles, and I often get up in the morning feeling stiff
and sore. However, I much prefer living on chunks of anything out at
the dressing station, and sleeping on a few rushes spread on the
bottom of a shallow hole, to the comforts and safety of our base in
the sandbank of Suvla Bay.

When the anchor was raised, with the usual amount of rattle, it roused
one of our men who was asleep on deck; he sprang to his feet and
dashed over the ship's rail, and really never woke up till he found
himself in the water. Cries of "man overboard" were raised, and with
much scurrying the ladder was let down, and being a strong swimmer he
was got on board none the worse for his early bath. He was sent down
to the engine room to dry.

We landed at Imbros about 9 a.m.

Imbros is a busy place, and has a big natural harbour facing the
north, dotted over with warships and transports, and a considerable
number of monitors each armed with one or two huge guns, all 14-inch I
believe.

Our camp is in a dusty spot, and the wind makes it disagreeable and
ruffles our tempers. There are about a dozen canteens, run by Greeks
whose prices I am glad to see are fixed for all articles. I bought two
kilos (4-1/