Account by Arthur James Rouget 1915-1919 - Part 1

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13. L H Regt preparing

to embark 28 May 1915

2 a.m roll call

4 a.m issue of plumes

5.30 a.m get out of bed

great commotion in

camp till 8.30 saddle up

9 oclock we move off leading

our horses as they are a

bit fresh ¼ mile from

camp we mount a few

get spills but no bones

broken arriving at the

Pier about noon put the

horses on board and wait

on the Pier to receive

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the colours the latter

presented by Gov Stanley

We go aboard ourselves

the people then allowed

on Pier very soon we are

away. From Port Melb

to Port Suez on Persic

we get a small pay going

down the bay after that

nothing much happening

till we get in the Bight

when she shipped a sea

and breaking some of the

horse boxes on top deck

one man receiving a fractured

leg, by this time plenty of

seasickness on board

3

but very soon getting

alright we had a quiet time

from then on till we got

out in Mid ocean when

a wave broke over the stern

and breaking the horse boxes

on that part, from then on

we started to feel the

heat and had to take to

sleeping on deck, another

inconvenience coming into

the warm climate the

horses required exercising

and in some cases had

to be brought up out

of the hot holds onto the

top deck and the

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horses on top go below

we eventually arrived at

Suez 28 June loosing on

the voyage 1 man and

30 horses we were very glad

to get off the boat and

the horses were I am sure,

greatly impressed with

the niggers they seem

to be very lazy and have

to be driven to work also

being knocked about by

the water police. We

unshipped the horses and

put them on the train for

Abbassich one horse pulling

away and jumped into

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the Sea but was caught

by a Motor Boat and

saved, we buy a lot of

water melons from the

natives and pelt the

skins back at them.

We arrive at our destination

in the wee hours of the

morning tired and hungry

and out of sorts we stay

at Abbasich for a few

days it is very hot for

us and the horses which

are out in the open after

we had been here a few

day we are given leave

to Cairo it is a wonderful

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City we had no idea

that there was a City

like it in the world so

dirty and a peculiar stench

we also had a trip to the

Pyramids and went and

seen the tombs in the

most of them and also

seen the Sphinx we

nearly all get tired of

them and go into Cairo

and have to toe the

carpet next day for it

but get let off. We

shift to Oaisis camp

after a few days which

is much better as we

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stables for our horses and

baths for ourselves a week

after we get here the horses

are able to be ridden and

we do some mounted drill

which is better than having

to do it on foot we get up

at 5 oclock have a cup of tea

and drill till 9 oclock.

as it is too hot for either

man or horses in the middle

of the day. We have to take

our turn guarding the

Turkish Prisoners at Mahdi

it is a bit of a change for

us but plenty of polishing

to do we take take them

out to work in the

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mornings and evening

to their work was extending

their own prison one morning

9 men go escorting over 1000

to their work without a 

cartridge in their rifle someone

forgot to see that we were

loaded before we started we

soon got over that one man

sneaking away at a time

and loading so as not to let

the Turks know that we

had not loaded before we

started we had about 10 days

of this and then go back

to our camp at Oaisis

9

We are told that we are

going to Galipoli as infantry

and exchange our equipment

for web we dump all our

saddles and leather equipment

in a bag and put our name

on it we eventually get

our web equipment together

and our packs filled with

the things we think we

will need most and are

ready for the fray marching

to Zietoun station to entrain

for Alexandra, getting aboard

the Megantic we have a

good trip across as we are

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in cabins and have a

dining room to have our

meals in reaching Lemnos

They issue us with fly veils

amunition and iron rations

and then transfered to a 

smaller boat the Prince Abyaos

we give 3 cheers for Captain and

crew of Megantic, in the afternoon

we leave Lemnos for Anzac

towards midnight we hear

for the first time war and

see the gun boats using the

searchlights and shooting

also as we draw near the land

we are put into lighters

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and towed alongside the

little bit of pier at 1 a.m

we go up into Shrapnel

Gully and camp till

daylight next day we

shift into Monash Gully

and dig in, after resting

a few days we go into

Lone Pine trenches with

24^th Battln until the

11 Dec the Regt shifted

to Thompson's Lookout

trenches and stayed there

till the evacuation

helping to load the mines

that were being put in

that sector

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we are marched down

to the Pier this time to

go off getting on a lighter

again and towed out

to a vessel the (Mars)

an old Cruiser and

taken to Lemnos island

we stay there for a few

weeks and spend our

first Xmas from home

getting our Xmas Billies

and enjoying a good

rest we are not here

long [[b?]] when are once

more put on board this

time on the Simla

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back once more to Egypt

disembarking after a

short but not too pleasant

journey at Alexandra

and entraining for

Tel-el-Kebir here we

get reorganized as the

Regt has come down

from 500 strong to a

little over 200 we also

hand in our web equipment

and get our own back and

also our horses after being

made up to full strength

again with a new Colonel

(our own going back home)

we set out for Ferry Port

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in the Suez Canal to

patrol the desert, very

shortly after this it is

decided to split the Regt

up so as each Div could

have some Mtd Troops

our lot being sent to the

4^th Div we joined them

at Tel-el-Kebir and were

sent out on the plantations

guarding them in case

some of the troops interfered

with the Natives we were

on this job for a fortnight

then taking over from

the 1^st Div at Serapeum

on 1^st of April 1916

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here we are given a little

patroling to do as this

is the place where the

Turk tried to cross the

Canal before, so we are

patroling the desert with

9 L.H and also the sweet

water Canals to prevent

the natives from bathing

in it and also from

using it to irrigate their

land, We celebrate the

anniversary of our leaving

Australia here, 2 days

after we put the horses

on the train en route

for sunny France

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on the Kingstonia arriving

at Marseilles in June 1916

we were given 2 days leave

which gave us an opportunity

of seeing a good deal of

the City putting our horses

on the train we start for

the North at 1 oclock in 

the morning when day

broke we were passing

through the most

picturesque country that

I have ever seen our

train did not stop in

many places but wherever

it did we received a

warm welcome in fact

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some of the girls exchanging

kisses for badges I had

all my badges when we

arrived at our destination

on the third morning we

could _^see Eiffel Tower in the

distance and from there

on we were given tea

by the Red Cross workers

at every station we stopped

at arriving at our destination

on the following morning

we were certainly glad

to get out of the train

after over 3 days trip.

but I am very glad that

I never missed that

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train journey from

Marseilles to Baileul in

the summer of 1916.

From the station we walked

to our camp about 4 mls

away as the horses could

not be ridden so soon

after the sea trip it was

at this place that we first

heard the guns on the

Western Front we have an

easy time at this place

doing gas drill and grazing

the horses in their our spare

time after about 3 weeks

I took sick and was

sent to Hospital and

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10 days latter joined my

unit at Contay on the

Somme which in the

meantime had been

joined by the other two squadrons

completing the Regt

again with Col Williams

in command in this place

we are given a good deal

of mounted drill also

learning the horses to jump

a party of us left this place

and went to Albert on 

different jobs and stayed

there till the Aus Troops

were relieved by the

Canadians then entraining

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at a place called Bell-a-glez

we go north once again

to Abiele while here they

decide that they will

build stables for the

horses for the winter

with brick floors so a

party of us were detailed

to proceed to Ypres

to pick out the good bricks

from among the ruins

and load the waggons

when they came up at

night we used to do a bit

of souvenir hunting in

our spare time among the

ruins it took us about