THE 42nd (EAST LANCASHIRE) DIVISIONCHAPTER ILANCASHIRE AND EGYPT(August 1914—May 1915)
For a week or two there had been talk of war and of the likelihood of England being involved. The prospects and possibilities formed an interesting topic of conversation and speculation. We leant over the sheer side of the precipice and caught glimpses of the black chasm below, but few really doubted the soundness of the fence over which we peered.
Warnings of disaster had been frequent—but disaster had always been averted, and fair words had prevailed. For years we had been living on the verge of national ruin through strikes of railway-men, transport-workers, miners, or the spinners and weavers of Lancashire, but at the last moment conciliation always won; there was always room for compromise. Though civil war in Ireland seemed imminent, it was comforting to reflect how much common sense there was in the world. Besides, had it not been proved to every one’s satisfaction that under modern conditions war between great nations could not possibly last for more than a month or two, as in that short period victor and vanquished would alike be reduced to bankruptcy and impotence? Knowing this no Great Power would be likely to commit suicide. We were living in the twentieth century, and a great European war was an abstract conception, not something that could actually occur.
In the closing days of July 1914 this complacency was giving way to a very real dread. War might mean suicide even for the victor, might be “unthinkable,” but it was in sight—plain, stark, menacing. War such as other nations had known; not a war in which those who had a taste for soldiering might take part while the rest of us could read about it in the papers, feel proud of a success and depressed by a disaster, and wonder whether sixpence would be added to the income tax. The fantastic image that had thrilled us not altogether unpleasantly—as children experience ecstaticshudders when listening to tales of ogres and hobgoblins—was taking on an appearance of grim reality. Could it after all be a grisly spectre and not a mere bogey of turnip and white sheet? England began to regret that the warnings of her greatest soldier had passed unheeded.
A day or two later Germany flung down her challenge to Christianity and Civilization, stripped herself of the cloak of decency and stood revealed in stark brutishness; and on Tuesday, August 4, 1914, England took up the challenge and declared war. The decision was apparently not expected by the German Staff. To them it was rather a matter for exasperation than for apprehension. England had her hands full at home, and her vast possessions would prove a source of weakness. She had a small regular army, a force with high traditions, well trained and well equipped for service on the frontiers of India and other outposts of the Empire, containing a larger proportion of officers and men with experience of actual fighting than any other army of the Great Powers, yet so small in numbers and so scattered over the face of the globe, that one can almost sympathize with the German belief that the few thousand men who could be spared from the duty of policing India, Egypt, South Africa, and other possessions, might safely be regarded as negligible. She had, too, a small, indifferently trained and equipped, unprofessional, home-defence force, but even the British themselves did not take the Territorials seriously.
As to the rest of the potential fighting material of the British Isles, had it not been proved to the satisfaction of the Germans (who had made a special study of such matters with the typical Teutonic thoroughness which works so efficiently when applied to material facts, and fails so lamentably when the human factor enters) that the young manhood of the nation was mainly decadent, of poor physique, weak-chested, half-educated, lacking in patriotic purpose, with no thought of the morrow and no ideals? With the exception of the few hundred thousands who had received some training in physical drill and discipline in the Boys’ Brigade and its daughter-organizations which teach discipline, self-respect, andesprit de corps, or in the School Cadet Corps, all were utterly untrained, and they hated discipline. England had clearly shown that she was too selfish to submit to any form of compulsory service; too wrapped up in the love of comfort, ease and luxury to do more than bribe fools to die for her. It was a nation that had lost its soul. The military aid she could give to France could be contemptuously brushed aside. When France had been paralysed and the Channel ports secured, the British mercantile marine could be sunk or scared off the seas, and the British Empire brought to its knees.
Teutonic reasoning was wrong. The British character is too simple or too complex for the Hun. It may be that no other nation brings so much froth to the top as ours; that none extends such tolerance to cranks, nor gives so much rope to little cliques of shrieking egoists, nor shows such stolid indifference when the few,claiming to speak on behalf of the nation, so egregiously misrepresent her. On August 5, 1914, it was seen that practically every man, woman and child approved what the Government had done, and felt instinctively that their country would have been shamed had there been a day’s hesitation. England had found her soul, not lost it. A nation supposed to consist largely of pleasure seekers, of lovers of compromise, conciliation and tolerance, of comfort and luxury, had decided that all it held most dear would be as dust and ashes if it stood aside, a passive spectator of the agony of France and Belgium. Practically without a dissentient voice the nation prepared to sacrifice its all. Unhappily, the politicians, unaccustomed to realities, were not ready to make the most of this spirit of sacrifice. Unable to leave their grooves of finesse, intrigue, and opportunism, they knew not how to appeal simply to the noblest instincts; so they talked of “business as usual,” and attempted to cajole the nation into giving a part when the whole was ready to be offered.
Composition of the Division
This is the story of the part played in the most appalling of human tragedies by the East Lancashire Territorial Division, which, on leaving England, was composed of the following units—
The twelve battalions of infantry were brigaded as follows—
The Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade—the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Battalions, Lancashire Fusiliers.
The East Lancashire Brigade—the 4th and 5th Battalions, East Lancs Regiment, and the 9th and 10th Battalions, Manchester Regiment.
The Manchester Brigade—the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Battalions, Manchester Regiment.
The 5th L.F. was mainly composed of men from the Bury district, the 6th from Rochdale, the 7th and 8th from Salford, the 4th E. Lancsfrom Blackburn, the 5th from Burnley, the 5th Manchesters from Wigan, the 6th and 7th from Manchester and its suburbs (including a good proportion from the Cheshire suburbs), the 8th from Ardwick and East Manchester, the 9th from Ashton-under-Lyne, the 10th from Oldham.
The 1st R.F.A. Brigade (Blackburn) was composed of the following batteries: the 4th (Blackburn), the 5th (Church), the 6th (Burnley). The 3rd R.F.A. Brigade (Bolton) of the following: the 18th, 19th and 20th, all from Bolton and district.
Many of these units date back to 1859, when the Volunteer movement came into being. For forty-one years the Volunteers were an untried force, but in the year 1900 their offers of service in the South African War were accepted, the infantry battalions providing detachments which served with credit in that campaign. It was not until 1907 that serious thought was given to the equipment and organization of this fine body of patriotic men. Lord Haldane’s Territorial Scheme, based on the model of the Regular Army, did more than change the name from Volunteers to Territorials. Major-General Douglas Haig, Director of Military Training at the War Office, had charge of the scheme, and in bringing about this great change, he gave evidence of the foresight and grasp of essentials which in 1918 enabled him to lead the armed strength of the Empire to victory. The various batteries, battalions and corps, no longer scattered and independent units, were organized and trained as divisions, and the force was actually treated as a valuable and even essential element in the system of national defence, with the result that the Territorial Force soon reached a higher state of efficiency than the Volunteers had ever been permitted to approach. The East Lancashire Division had the reputation of being one of the smartest and most efficient of the whole force.
Mobilization
On August 3 units in camp for their annual peace training were recalled, and the order to mobilize the Division was received at 5.30 p.m. on the following day. Probably few members of the Territorial Force had realized that their “calling-up” notices had been ready from the day they joined; that month by month the addresses on the envelopes were checked and altered when necessary; that enough ball ammunition was stored at the various headquarters to enable every man to march out with the full complement of a fighting soldier, and that field dressings were available for issue. It must be remembered that never before had the Force been embodied, and that officers and men were civilians, few of whom had ever regarded mobilization as other than a remote possibility quite outside the range of practical politics. Yet the absence of confusion was remarkable, as all ranks threw themselves into their new parts with zest, making the best of unusual conditions and treating discomfort as a jest. The men were quartered in drill-halls or schools within easy reach of their Headquarters. Major-General Douglas, commanding the Division, with his General Staff Officer, Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Tufnell, was daily at the Divisional Headquarters inManchester, or at the Headquarters of units, supervising the mobilization and arrangements. These have been described as “hectic days.” Improved though the organization was as compared with that of the Volunteers, it was anything but complete. Animals and vehicles for transport, harness, and an infinite variety of requisites had to be procured by free purchase or by commandeering in great haste. This was the weakest part of the scheme, and though much ingenuity was displayed by officers unaccustomed to this sort of thing, the waste was great. To such shifts were they reduced that street watering-carts were bought from Urban District Councils, and actually taken to Egypt. Among the weird varieties of carts thus acquired one of the best remembered is the “Black and Green” van which did duty as a Medical Officer’s vehicle, and was last seen bleached by the sun, but with the original lettering still traceable under the service grey, at Gabari Docks, Alexandria in February 1917. Nothing could better illustrate the inability of a large and patriotic section of the public to grasp the significance of events than the expectation freely expressed by vendors that their horses or carts would be returned to them in the course of a few weeks. In some cases the drivers of requisitioned animals joined the Territorial unit in order to remain with their horses.
On August 10 Lord Kitchener invited the Territorial Force to volunteer for foreign service. By August 12 the three Infantry Brigades had accepted the invitation, and within a few days ninety per cent. of the East Lancashires eagerly seized the opportunity. England saw with pride the keenness of the Territorials to meet the enemy, and knew that her sons were true to the breed. For more than fifty years she had treated her citizen-army as something that must not be taken too seriously, but that is England’s way. The response was magnificent, but it was expected, for the nation never doubted that they would answer the call. It was no small gift they offered. The most powerful army the world had ever seen was moving forward victoriously towards Paris, remorseless and apparently irresistible; and the Territorials offered their bodies for death and mutilation, and gave up parents, wives, children, homes, prospects, and all they held most dear. At a later period such sacrifice was demanded as the nation’s right, but in August 1914 a lead had to be given, an example set. Old volunteers were not content to look on while the younger generation fought and suffered. Daily a stream of old members, N.C.O.s and men, many in the autumn of their lives, besieged the Headquarters of their old corps and clamoured to be allowed to join up, lying cheerfully and brazenly in respect of their age. Many gained their object; more were almost broken-hearted by their rejection. The example set in those dark days was a stimulus and incentive to recruiting all over the country, and especially so in the great towns of Lancashire, where the “Pals” battalions were soon to be raised. It was the vindication of the Volunteer. “Defence, not Defiance,” had been their motto, but who among the prescient founders and bulwarks of the movementcould ever have conceived the idea of the glorious rôle to be filled by the corps they had helped to raise—of the old Volunteer units from every county and city, at full strength, fighting and laying down their lives in Belgium, France, Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine and Greece, and taking an inspiring part in the greatest of all crusades against the Turk?
Until August 20 officers and men remained within easy reach of their Headquarters. The Division was then moved into camps in the neighbourhoods of Bolton, Bury and Rochdale, and anxiously it awaited the summons. Another fortnight passed, and the rumour that Egypt was to be the destination began to gain ground. Rumour was, however, at this time a discredited jade, fit subject for scorn, for was she not responsible for the passage through England and Scotland of myriads of Russian soldiers, the ice and snow of Archangel still clinging to their boots and beards, who had been seen by thousands of British optimists at every railway junction in the land? But in the training camps of East Lancashire she was restored to public favour when a telegram, dated September 5, was received by the Divisional Commander from Lord Kitchener—
“Inform the Division from me that I hope that they will push on hard with their training in Egypt, as, before they are ready, there will be plenty of troops from India to garrison Egypt, and I hope they will be one of the first of the Territorial Forces to join our Army on the Continent. All will depend on their fitness for service against the enemy in the Field.—Kitchener.”
“Inform the Division from me that I hope that they will push on hard with their training in Egypt, as, before they are ready, there will be plenty of troops from India to garrison Egypt, and I hope they will be one of the first of the Territorial Forces to join our Army on the Continent. All will depend on their fitness for service against the enemy in the Field.—Kitchener.”
General Douglas spoke for every man in the Division when he replied: “All ranks much gratified to receive your message. They are animated with keen desire to fit themselves to join our forces on the Continent.”
On the 9th September the Division entrained for Southampton, about forty trains being required to convey men, horses, guns, and all the material of war; and on the 10th 15,500 Lancashire men, with about a thousand officers and men of the Hertfordshire and City of Westminster Yeomanry, embarked upon the great adventure, the first Territorial Division to volunteer for foreign service, and the first to leave England’s shores. It was a record of which the Lancashire men were justly proud, and which secured to them from the start the prestige andesprit de corpsthat are usually the outcome of long and honourable tradition. The details that were not going out with the Division became the nucleus of the Second Line, which sent drafts to the First Line until about the end of August 1915, when the Second Line East Lancashire (66th) Division was formed. After that date the drafts came from the Third Line units. The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry had been accepted for voluntary service overseas, and it had been hoped that the whole regiment would accompany the Division, but finally only “A” Squadron, was ordered to embark.
Departure for Egypt
It was midnight when the troopships steamed out of the harbour, a dark night, all lights doused, no coastwise lights to guide, the blackness stabbed by scores of searchlights. The troops on board one of the ships began to sing and the whole convoy took up the strains. In the morning the first arrivals lay-to off the Eddystone, until, by late afternoon, a great fleet had assembled. At sundown the convoy sailed in three lines ahead, escorted by the battleshipOceanand the cruiserMinerva. It is said that this was the first actual convoy that had left England since the Napoleonic wars.
The rough weather of the first three days and much unavoidable discomfort aboard ship were borne with cheerfulness. The men had the impression that they were sadly overcrowded, but subsequent experience of life in “cubby-holes” and “dug-outs” modified their ideas of what lack of space really means. It was noticed that even the worst sufferers from seasickness never lost hope, as, although whole messes did not eat a meal during those three days, the daily indent for one bottle of beer per man was always drawn, to be saved for happier days. Rumours of the presence of enemy craft off Portugal gave rise to a pleasing sense of excitement and risk, but nothing happened. Early on September 17 the mighty rock of Gibraltar loomed suddenly out of the mist, and soon the mystical, sun-scorched, tawny hills of Northern Africa were sighted.
From Gibraltar the convoy was escorted by theMinervaonly. As the weather improved it was found that, in spite of the crowded life aboard the troopships, quite a lot of theoretical training, and even a certain amount of physical, could be given, and there was little time for leisure in the Mediterranean. One brilliant day, after Malta had been passed, the sight of a great fleet sailing towards the West caused much excitement. Soon the news spread that this was the Lahore Division bound for Marseilles—war-hardened Sikhs, Gurkhas, Dogras, Punjabis, Pathans, and Rajputs, all eagerly looking forward to the day when they should cross steel with the famous soldiers of Germany, and confident of the result of such meeting. After exchange of greetings and of escorts, theWeymouthtaking theMinerva’splace, flags were dipped and adieux waved. It was a wondrous sight, this great gathering of mighty ships, carrying tens of thousands of men and all their material of war from East to West and from West to East—an object lesson of the strength and resources of the Empire.
On the 25th September, a misty, languorous morning, the low, sandy coast of Egypt, fringed with surf, with here and there a clump of palm trees, was sighted. It was the Egypt of anticipation, curiously familiar even to men whose travels had rarely taken them beyond the confines of Lancashire. As the troopships slowly entered Alexandria Harbour they passed a battle-cruiser of the U.S. Navy. Though a strict neutrality had to be maintained in respect of action, there was no attempt to observe it in sentiment. To the delight of the Lancashire men the Americans manned ship; their band played “God save the King,” and generally “they did us proud.” TheDivision was keen to show its appreciation. The band of the 8th Manchesters, uncertain whether “Yankee Doodle,” “The Star-spangled Banner,” or “My Country, ’tis of Thee,” is considered the national anthem of the United States, and doubting their ability to render either of the first two airs pleasingly—the third tune being that of our own national anthem, and therefore open to misconstruction—struck up “Marching through Georgia.” All too late came the reflection that possibly the cruiser’s complement had been drawn from States which might not appreciate this air. However, every one seemed delighted by the display of cousinly emotion, and felt the better for the incident.
Arrival in Egypt
The disembarkation, which began the same day, was watched critically by regular officers who were waiting to embark for France, and who expressed their delight at the fine appearance and soldierly bearing of the Territorials. The first troops to land went on by train to Cairo, where the Yeomanry, the Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade, the Signal Company, and the Transport and Supply Column took over Abbasia Barracks. The East Lancashire Brigade were partly in the Citadel and Kasr-el-Nil Barracks in Cairo and partly in camp on the Heliopolis Racecourse. The Artillery also encamped on the racecourse, and the Engineers occupied the Kasr-el-Nil Barracks. The 5th, 6th and 8th Battalions of the Manchester Brigade and one company of the 7th Manchesters remained in Alexandria as garrison, the greater part being quartered in the Mustapha Barracks and Camp, while detachments were accommodated in the forts of Ras-el-Tin and Kom-el-Dik. Later, half of this company of the 7th was sent to Cyprus. The other three companies of the battalion had been sent to Khartoum via Port Sudan. Detachments of the R.A.M.C. accompanied the 7th Manchesters to Cyprus and Khartoum, but the Field Ambulances as units remained with their affiliated Brigades, the 1st at Alexandria, the 2nd at Heliopolis, and the 3rd at Abbasia. Detachments of the T. and S. Column took over A.S.C. duties from the Regulars at Alexandria, Khartoum and Cyprus. Abbasia was chosen for Divisional Headquarters.
“Khaki” helmets were quickly issued, but as the Embarkation Staff had put the tropical clothing in bulk in one ship, some time elapsed before the heavy serge could be discarded in favour of light drill, and it was astonishing how well the younger lads endured the excessive heat. They showed their grit from the start. The usual conditions of issue were experienced. When only the smaller sizes in headgear, boots, and clothing are available, how is it that so large a proportion of big-footed, big-headed, big-framed men turns up? The sun-helmets were approved. “Bill, will they let us tak’ these whoam wi’ us?” one man was heard to ask. Bill was not one of the many optimists who took for granted that they would be home for Christmas. “Tha’ll be lucky if tha tak’s thi yed whoam, never mind thi ⸺ ’emlet!” he replied.
Many of the horses had died on the voyage, for not only were the ships ill-fitted for horse transport, but orders had been receivedfrom the War Office, in spite of the Divisional Commander’s expostulations, not to exceed one man to every six horses. It was not possible for so small a proportion of men, most of whom were inexperienced, to cope with so many animals. On one boat alone, theNorseman(an Australian emigrant boat), there were more than 700 horses in charge of ninety-five men, and forty-six animals died during the voyage. The horses at first suffered greatly from climatic conditions, and especially from sand-colic. One apparently decided to lay a protest before the highest quarter, so, evading the picket, it made its way through a narrow gate into the garden of the C.R.A. and lay down to die almost on the General’s doorstep. The veterinary officers had a busy time, and a story concerning one of these was told with much enjoyment by General Maxwell himself. The “vet” was working at the highest pressure, when a gentleman in civil garb came along and, proceeding to ask him sundry questions, was curtly requested to seek the nether regions and mind his own business there. His horror on discovering later that his abuse had been levelled at the head of the Commander-in-Chief may be imagined.
Lord Kitchener had asked the Territorials to push on with their training, and General Douglas had assured him that all ranks were animated by a keen desire to fit themselves for whatever service might be required of them. Training had now begun in earnest, and before long a new stimulus, a fresh incentive, to efficiency appeared, and the prospect of the Division’s participation in actual warfare became less remote. During October the suspicion that Turkey might take the plunge and declare herself on the side of the enemy had become a probability. An attempt to incite Egypt to revolt, and, indeed, to persuade Mohammedans throughout the world that the day had dawned when a swift blow should destroy British supremacy for ever, might confidently be looked for; and an attack upon the Suez Canal would surely follow. To Mohammedans—with the exception of the comparatively feeble Shiah sect—the Sultan of Turkey was the Defender of the Faith, the representative of the Prophet. Who could say what religious fanaticism might not accomplish if he should proclaimJehadagainst the infidels? The situation was grave; it might become critical, for the Khedive’s good faith was distrusted, and with reason.
The Regular Army of Occupation had left Egypt for France and Flanders, and Lancashire civilians—clerks, warehousemen, artisans, mill-hands, merchants, professional men—were responsible for law and order in the ancient land of the Pharaohs, for its defence and for the safe-guarding of the Suez Canal and the communications between West and East. They kept their charge inviolate, and during eight months, amid strange surroundings and under trying conditions of climate, the East Lancashire Division gained the confidence of the Administration and the respect and esteem of British colony and native population alike, by their efficiency, their grit, and their exemplary conduct. As soldiers under fire they had yet to be tested; as men they were proved and approved. Lancashire, and,indeed, the whole Territorial Force, have reason to be proud of the first civilian army that was placed in a position of grave responsibility.
On the 22nd of October intelligence was received of considerable Turkish activity in the Sinai Peninsula. We were still at peace with Turkey, but it was highly probable that a surprise attack upon the Suez Canal might precede a formal declaration of war. The Canal had been patrolled by a battalion of Highland Light Infantry until early in October, when its duties had been taken over by Indian troops. To strengthen the Canal defences the 1st and 2nd Field Companies, R.E., were sent to Ismailia on October 26 and 27, and a few days later a detachment of the Signal Company and the machine-gun sections of the 5th Battalion, East Lancashires, and 10th Battalion, Manchesters, also left Cairo for the Canal zone. The Sappers bridged the Canal in three places, manned the searchlights, supplied crews for steam-tugs—it was in consequence of an explosion on one of these boats that the first casualties of the Division occurred, Lieutenant Woods and six non-commissioned officers and men being killed—supervised the water supply, destroyed the native village of Kantara, and built fortifications. The Signal Company laid a cable between Kantara, Ismailia, and Suez, and the motor-cycle despatch riders of this company were the first ever employed on active service outside Europe. The work of the Engineers received much-valued commendation from the Commander-in-Chief.
A section each of the 2nd and 3rd Field Ambulances had been sent to Ismailia and Kantara respectively to be attached to the Canal defences, and these gave what assistance was needed to Indian troops as well as to the men of their own Division.[1]Another section of the 2nd Field Ambulance took charge of the Australian hospital at Mena, at which place, and also at Meadi and Zeitoun, the East Lancashire Transport and Supply Column had formed depots and undertaken transport duties for the Anzacs until their own A.S.C. units arrived.
On October 31 a force of nearly 9000 Yeomanry and Territorials marched through the streets of Cairo. Such a display of troops had never before been seen by the natives, and they were much impressed at a critical time. The Commander-in-Chief, Sir John Maxwell, expressed his appreciation of the splendid appearance of the men and of the salutary effect of the parade on the Egyptians. Native agitators and German and Turkish agents had for some time been active in Egypt and the Sudan, seeking to discredit the allies, and one of these did his best to convince spectators that what they took to be a powerful force was in reality but a stage army—the same unit marching in a circle. On November 1 Martial Law was proclaimed throughout Egypt and the Sudan. On the 5th of November war was declared against Turkey. The island of Cyprus was formally annexed on the 7th. Two companies of the 8th Manchesters had relieved the half-company of the 7th Manchesters as garrison onOctober 20, and detachments were sent to the various towns of the island to prevent disturbances between Greeks and Turks when the proclamation was made. On December 20 Prince Hussein was declared Sultan of Egypt under British Protectorate, and the 5th Lancashire Fusiliers provided a guard of honour on the occasion of the formal entry of the new Sultan into his capital. In Alexandria and Khartoum the Manchesters had ceremonial marches through the towns.
Work and Play
For some months the Division was occupied in strenuous training. The men suffered from the heat, the glare of the sun, the dust, sandstorms, flies, and other plagues of Egypt, the remarkable drop in temperature at night, the long, shadeless, desert marches; but they took it all cheerfully as part of the day’s work, and by the end of the year 1914 they were fairly well acclimatized and thoroughly fit. There was play as well as work; cricket, rugger, soccer, lacrosse, and hockey teams were soon hard at it; concert parties and pierrot troupes discovered unsuspected talent. There were also boxing contests, and the race meetings on Gezireh Island provided many dinners at the Continental and Shepheard’s for the winners. Full advantage was taken of the opportunities given at week-ends to visit the marvels of Egypt. The hospitality of the British colonies at Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere was warmly appreciated, and many friendships were formed between the residents and the men from Lancashire.
The good feeling and comradeship that prevailed throughout the Division may be illustrated by an incident, slight but typical. On the occasion of some special parade the 5th Manchesters had to cross the very sandy parade ground before reaching the asphalt road that led out of barracks. Noticing the dusty state of their boots the men of D Company of the 6th Manchesters darted into their quarters, which were close at hand, and, producing brushes and rags, they quickly polished the boots of the Wigan men. It was a trifling incident, but still a perfect expression of the spirit of good comradeship, and it had a wonderful and lasting effect. The two battalions were knit more closely together, and later, in Gallipoli, there was a sense of absolute security in either battalion in the knowledge that the other was in support.
The first Christmas on active service was celebrated in traditional style, plum-puddings and other Christmas fare being sent out by friends at home. The old hymns and carols at the Morning Service stirred the emotions deeply, and thoughts of home and memories of bygone Christmas gatherings became poignant. Dining huts and messes, rooms and verandahs, were garlanded with palm branches, flowers, lanterns, and chains of coloured paper. Nothing was omitted to make the day a memorable and happy one, and one to look back upon. Still, there were some decidedly novel features, chief of which, perhaps, was the after-dinner swim in the sea, indulged in by a number of Manchester men in Alexandria. On Boxing Day a great sports meeting was held at the Gezireh Sporting Club, Cairo,and many Lancashire men were successful competitors. They were, however, outshone by the men of the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps, whose prowess was hailed with enthusiasm by their Territorial and Yeomanry rivals.
Casual mention only has been made of the 7th Manchesters. As the greater part of this battalion occupied a position of splendid isolation its very interesting experiences must be referred to separately and all too briefly. B Company had been dropped at Alexandria to take over the duties of a company of the Suffolk Regiment in that town and in Cyprus, and the other three companies remained on board the troopship. Port Sudan was reached on September 30 after a five days’ voyage, and the warm reception given them by the Suffolks and the British officials was very welcome after four weeks at sea. Half of C Company was left to garrison Port Sudan and, later, among other duties, to patrol the Red Sea in H.M.S.Enterprise, and to run an armoured train. The rest of the battalion entrained for Khartoum, a journey of 600 kilometres, where, on October 2, they were welcomed by the Sirdar, Sir F. R. Wingate, and his Staff.
Khartoum and the Sudan furnished a succession of novel experiences to the men from Burlington Street, but no surprise quite equalled that conveyed to them by the intimation that they were at once, without preliminary coaching, to supply a half-company to form the British Camel Corps. The two platoons of C Company were detailed for this duty. The departing O.C. Camel Corps had little time in which to impart information to his successor, and there were many documents to sign, some of these being in Arabic. He seemed grieved that Manchester men should be ignorant of Arabic and of the customs, habits, and requirements of camels, but volunteered as much information as could be crammed into five minutes. Captain C. Norbury and his subalterns gazed upon their new pets, seventy in number, without affection, and sat down the better to enjoy the humour of their predicament before sampling its difficulties. In despair and not in hope, expecting rather to provoke merriment than to elicit information, the new O.C. Camels asked his half-company if any man among them had had experience of camels. Forth stepped the former camel-keeper of Bostock’s menagerie. The Hour had brought forth the Man. The 7th Manchesters now felt that they were equal to any emergency, and soon they provided piano-tuners for the Sirdar’s palace, trained gardeners for the barracks gardens, and skilled artisans for every variety of job for which an expert was demanded.
The Camel Corps was soon proficient enough to be sent by the Sirdar on a two-weeks’ trek through villages where white men had rarely been seen, and their presence gave the lie to reports circulated by Turco-German emissaries that all white troops had been recalled from Egypt and the Sudan to defend their home country from the enemy at its gates. Incidentally they had the opportunity of seeing the wonderful results of Manchester enterprise in the great cotton-growingareas through which they passed. Not only had Khartoum been transformed from a collection of mud huts into a town of imposing buildings, shops, and public works, but the savage Sudan of a few years ago was in process of transformation into a land of peace and prosperity.
Training proceeded under the same trying conditions of climate experienced by their comrades in Egypt; the same games and sports were enjoyed with similar zest; and fitness and efficiency prevailed. The conduct of the men received and merited high praise from the Sirdar—who paid the battalion the distinction of becoming its honorary Colonel—and from all with whom they came in contact. Relations with the natives were excellent, and a firm friendship was formed with the Egyptian regiment in Khartoum. The first of all active service periodicals,The Manchester Sentry, was published in Khartoum, the Sirdar and Lady Wingate contributing. The three companies rejoined their comrades of the Manchester Brigade in Cairo on April 23, 1915.
Defence of the Suez Canal
On January 19, 1915, the Manchester Brigade was transferred from Alexandria and Cyprus to Cairo, and the 5th and 8th Lancashire Fusiliers were sent to Alexandria. Reports of renewed activity on the part of the Turks pointed to an attempt to seize the Suez Canal and invade Egypt. On January 20 the 1st and 3rd Brigades, R.F.A., were despatched to the Canal zone, to be followed a few days later by the 1st Field Company, R.E., which had recently been brought back to Cairo in order to take part in divisional training. The artillery was posted on the west bank of the Canal at El Kubri, Serapeum West, Ferry Post (Ismailia), El Ferdan, and Kantara, most of the guns being concealed among the pines that grow within a hundred yards of the bank. The Field Companies assisted the garrisons of Indian troops in the strong points of the east bank to improve their defences.
The expectations of hostile attack were realized in the early hours of February 3, when a force of 12,000 Turks and Germans attacked, and made an attempt to cross the Canal midway between the east bank strong points of Serapeum and Toussoum. Heavy rifle and machine-gun fire developed between those places about 3 a.m. The guns of the Egyptian Mountain Battery had, by happy chance or remarkable intuition, been mounted on the west bank within 400 yards of the main crossing-place selected by the Turks. The chanty of the enemy, as, unaware of the battery’s proximity, he attempted to launch the heavy steel pontoons, was much appreciated by the gunners, who opened fire in the dark at point-blank range. When daylight came the Battery Commander was able to congratulate himself on some accurate “spotting,” several holed pontoons and many dead Turks being found at the water’s edge. One of these pontoons is now in possession of the Manchester Corporation.
Two sections of the 1st Field Company had been detailed tohold the west bank at this point, and in the course of the fighting on February 3 they lost one man killed and two wounded. The 19th Battery, under Major B. P. Dobson (which had already been in action on the previous day against the Turkish Camel Corps), played a conspicuous part in the enemy’s defeat. They had hauled one 15-pounder through a wood to the bank of the Canal and had fired point blank into the Turks as they vainly attempted to launch their iron boats. Another gun was man-hauled to a hill behind the wood, and this found good targets as the enemy approached the Canal. Captain P. K. Clapham did some good spotting for the battery from a precarious and exposed position in a tall fir tree. The 18th Battery, at Ismailia, fired on the enemy positions with good effect from 2000 to 3000 yards, and every battery of the two brigades shared in the victory. The 20th Battery, at El Ferdan, had the distinction of being the first Battery of the Division—and probably the first of any Territorial unit—to open fire upon an enemy. The total casualties of the East Lancashire Artillery were five men wounded, four of these belonging to the 19th Battery. The men of the Signal Company, who had done good work in this sector, also received their baptism of fire.
The attempt to invade Egypt had failed. The Punjabis (upon whom fell the brunt of the fighting), the Rajputs and Gurkhas on the east bank were fully prepared both to meet the attack and to assume the offensive, inflicting a serious defeat and making important captures. The Divisional Yeomanry arrived at Ismailia on the 4th of February in time to co-operate with Indians, Anzacs, and the 5th Battery in following up the enemy’s retirement. More than 1600 prisoners were taken. On the 10th General Douglas visited the posts on the Canal, held by units of his Division, to congratulate his men on their good work. The 2nd Field Company reached Ismailia on the 6th, and for the greater part of the month the sappers were kept busy strengthening the Canal defences, making entanglements, trenches and bomb-proof shelters, and laying mines. Another attack upon the Canal was made on the 22nd of March, when the 5th Battery was again in action, and the next day the Battery accompanied a column which attacked the Turks in the Sinai Desert about nine miles N.E. of El Kubri. While the East Lancashire Batteries remained in the Canal zone Brigadier-General A. D’A. King, Divisional C.R.A., assumed command of the artillery of the Canal defences.
Training and Fitness
From the beginning of the year 1915 the training had become more and more strenuous. There were long marches in the desert—occasionally very long ones—in full marching order, through native villages in which the many odours were only excelled in numbers, variety, and offensiveness by the yelping curs that were stirred into noisy activity by the tramp of the battalions. The Khamsin wind was sickly in its heat, the atmosphere heavy and laden with sand, the glare of the sun pitiless, the only shade available while restingbeing the very inadequate shelter provided by a blanket stretched on rifles. But the men were physically fit—they had to be, for only fit men were needed. The amateurs had becomesoldiers. The days were past when the colour-sergeant’s whispered order to the right-flank man of a company in extended order for “two scouts” would reach the left-flank man in the form of “the colour-bloke wants a couple of stouts.” In spite, however, of good physical condition and a fine spirit, it could not truthfully be stated that the Suez road, with its five-mile towers, and the Virgin’s Breast had endeared themselves to Lancastrians. Familiarity had bred not contempt but a whole-hearted loathing for that accursed highway and that distant mound. The Third Tower was the usual goal, the advance ceasing just beyond it. How the troops hated the sight of this detestable pile which, in the dust and glare, seemed to recede mockingly as they tramped towards it! On the homeward march one very hot day, while the men were cursing the dust and sand, a party of natives passed, all being mounted on asses. A bulky and perspiring Salford Fusilier regarded them enviously, and growled: “They say those blighters ain’t civilized. Buttheydon’t ⸺ well walk!” There were night operations and marches, during one of which, after a battalion had been wandering for hours in pitch darkness along the numerous roads in and around Helouan, the company humorist suggested to his Captain that they had lost their way. On being asked why, he replied, “Well, we’ve just passed a road that we haven’t been down.”
Brigade “shows” and Divisional “stunts,” in conjunction with Australian and New Zealand troops and English Yeomanry, now began to play an important part in the training. The sounding of theCease Firewas the signal for importunate orange-sellers to spring up on all sides, holding out the refreshing fruit with shrill cries of “Two for half” (piastre). Under the alleged cover of imaginary battle-ships “landing-schemes” were rehearsed. These, like so many less provocative events, gave rise to highly coloured rumours which, in spite of the hard fate of earlier rumours, were entertained with much satisfaction, for Hope is a cheery soul, always quick to reply that he is not downhearted. The men looked forward eagerly to an exodus from the captivity of Egypt and longed for the promised land, where an opportunity to test their soldierly qualities might be found. Rehearsals, training, and all duties were carried out with alacrity and unfailing cheerfulness, but they were becoming monotonous; and the feeling undoubtedly existed that the Division had—quite unintentionally—been penalized through being the first Territorial Division to be complete for service. Had they been a little less efficient another Territorial Division might have been chosen for useful but inglorious garrison duty in Egypt, and the East Lancashires might by now have been in France or Flanders. It seemed to be a case of the first being last.
On Palm Sunday, March 28, a brilliant day, the Division was reviewed in Cairo by General Sir Ian Hamilton, who had latelyarrived to command the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and Major-General Douglas had good reason for his pride in the troops under his command. The critical eye of the Commander-in-Chief seemed to take stock of every individual that passed before him, and he was obviously impressed by their soldierly bearing and fitness.[2]Here was a Division whose outward appearance equalled that of Regulars, and, as a judge of men, he was convinced that their martial spirit would not belie the outward appearance. He never had reason to alter his opinion or regret the judgment then passed. From that day the East Lancashires were “in the ring,” and were destined to play a part in one of the war’s greatest tragedies. In a Special Order of the Day the Divisional Commander published the following letter—
“General Sir Ian Hamilton, having been accorded the privilege of reviewing the East Lancashire Division, wishes to congratulate the General Officer Commanding in Egypt, as well as Major-General Douglas, on the turn-out and soldierly bearing of that force.“He was able to observe to-day that the East Lancashire Division has made full use of the advantages which continuous fine weather and the absence of billeting have given them over their comrades now bearing arms, whether at home or on the continent of Europe.“Ever since the siege of Ladysmith, General Sir Ian Hamilton has interested himself specially in the military output of Manchester, and it is a real pleasure to him now to be able to bear witness to the fact that this great city is being so finely represented in the East.”
“General Sir Ian Hamilton, having been accorded the privilege of reviewing the East Lancashire Division, wishes to congratulate the General Officer Commanding in Egypt, as well as Major-General Douglas, on the turn-out and soldierly bearing of that force.
“He was able to observe to-day that the East Lancashire Division has made full use of the advantages which continuous fine weather and the absence of billeting have given them over their comrades now bearing arms, whether at home or on the continent of Europe.
“Ever since the siege of Ladysmith, General Sir Ian Hamilton has interested himself specially in the military output of Manchester, and it is a real pleasure to him now to be able to bear witness to the fact that this great city is being so finely represented in the East.”
Early in April there were signs that a fresh attack on the Canal was contemplated by the Turks, and orders were received that an Infantry Brigade of the Division must be ready to occupy a position covering Kantara at short notice. Major-General Douglas selected the East Lancashire Brigade for this important task. The move was not begun, however, until the 16th, when two battalions left for Kantara and Port Said, the others following on the 19th and 20th.