(Signed) H. Kitchener,
Lt. & Adjutant 2nd B., 6th R. Reg't."
Next day Lieutenant Kelson, who commanded No. 5 company, appointed me his pay-sergeant. The company were 150 strong, and not one of them had yet received their uniform and kits. Between the drills and parades which were long and frequent, I drew the recruits' uniforms, knapsacks, and kits from the quartermaster's store, marked them myself, and had their clothing altered and properly fitted at the master-tailor's shop. I must say the Crimea was nothing to what I went through in Preston. After the battalion had got organized, clothed and drilled, we got the route for Aldershot.
On the 26th February, 1858, at 10 o'clock in the morning we proceeded by rail to Aldershot, arriving at Farnborough Station at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and marched to South Camp, where we were quartered in the huts of L lines. During our term at Aldershot, the battalion was put through a strict course of drill. On the 15th of April, H. M. the Queen, and H. R. H. Prince Albert, received the troops in camp, when we marched in grand divisions. They were much pleased at the manner in which the movements were performed by the young battalion, and H. R. H. Prince Albert expressed himself in a highly complimentary manner to the general, who conveyed it to the troops in orders. After the review was over, Her Majesty and Prince Albert drove round the camp in an open carriage as the men were at dinner, when the band of each regiment played "God Save the Queen" as they passed each respective regiment. That was the last time I ever saw H. R. H. Prince Albert, for he died, deeply lamented by the British Army, on the 14th December, 1861. On the second of May we received a letter of readiness for Gibraltar. On the 12th, the colonel received the route to proceed by rail on the 18th inst., to Portsmouth, there to embark on board of H. M. Ship "City of Manchester" for Gibraltar. On the morning of the 18th May, 1858, the second Battalion 6th Royal Regiment marched from South Camp to Farnborough Station, where we took the train for Portsmouth. The signal being given, the train moved out of the station with its lively freight of redcoats, rattling steadily on over the beautiful green landscapes. Trees seem to go rushing past; still on and on, panting in its rapid course, flies the long train, clattering past walls and bridges with a crash, whistling shrill to warn the unwary of its approach, and howling like a demon pursued, as with hiss and roar it plunges into the tunnel. To describe all the incidents which came under my notice at the station might be thought tedious. Suffice it to say that we arrived at Portsmouth at 2 p.m. and embarked on board H. M, Ship "City of Manchester," in the main dockyard. At 4 p.m. all being reported present and correct, the captain gave the signal and we moved out from the wharf amid loud cheers from the spectators, which were heartily returned by the red coats on board, and we passed down the bright, sparkling Solent, glistening in the sunshine of a beautiful May day.
The spectacle was not lost on many of us, as our ship passed through the crowds of magnificent men-of-war and transports, with their sails glittering like silver in the summer sun. After we passed through the Needles, late in the afternoon, the wind being favourable, we spread our wide canvas to the evening breeze, and now the sun went down leaving a pale glare over the dark horizon; the wind began to freshen and the sea to rise. The beacon on the Eddystone lighthouse faintly faded like a little spark and disappeared; on went the good ship bounding beneath a starry firmament, the dim trackless ocean stretching before us like the undiscovered realms of the future, and I once more bade farewell to England. At nine o'clock the last post sounded, when those who were not already in their hammocks now turned in. I stopped on deck watching the sailors reefing sails and handling the ship, and when tired of listening to the piping of the wind through the rigging, and the shrill sound of the boatswain's whistles, I followed the example of my comrades and turned into my hammock. I was awakened in the middle of the night by a tremendous noise on deck. Footsteps rattled, shuffled, and stamped above my head, and every now and then, amidst hoarse shouting, whistling and yells of "Aye, aye, sir," there was a sound of banging down upon the deck of heavy coils of rope. The ship was tilted over very much on one side, and at times shivering from bow to stern as a heavy sea struck her on the beam. Several of the recruits on hearing this uproar, jumped from their hammocks with fright; some thought the mast had gone overboard, or that the ship was on fire, or had sprung a leak and was fast going to the bottom; but I divined the cause at once, and told them that the wind had changed and the sailors were reefing topsails, when they all turned into their hammocks again.
The motion of the ship, now heading against a heavy sea, became very unpleasant; she heaved, jolted, and pitched so that I found it in vain to sink again to sleep, but after a couple of hours I again sunk into the arms of Morpheus, where from a heavy and dreamless slumber I was once more aroused between five and six o'clock in the morning by the orderly-sergeant rousing the men to stow away hammocks and wash decks, and a hard job he had of it, for most of them were very sick. Just hear the orders and the replies: "Peter Riley, come get out of that hammock," said the sergeant. "Tommy Devanny," said a voice, "d'ye hear the sergeant? Are you going to lay there all day like a lazy land lubber?" "Och, sergeant, I'm that sick, I'm as wake as' wather, an' not able to stand on my feet, I'm so sick!" "You get a piece of fat pork, and bob it up and down your throat, then swallow it and see if that doesn't get you all right," "Och, sergeant, for the love of God, lave me alone, I'm dyen, send for the docther, and the Lard have marcy on your muther's sowl." The latter supplication was addressed to Sergeant Bramall, who, unable any longer to restrain his indignation, had seized the blankets, and was tugging and tearing them out of Private Tommy Devanny's hammock. A thud on the deck, and a loud roar of laughter, announced that the sergeant had succeeded in dragging the offender from his hammock.
The men were soon up and busily engaged, the pump and hose were set going, and the inundation and swabbing went on briskly; all hands were at work with swabs, scrubbers and scrapers. The ship was still heaving, although the warm sun had burst through the heavy clouds. When the breakfast bugle sounded at eight o'clock many of the recruits were absent through sea sickness. Time will not permit me further to detail the distresses of landsmen who encountered at starting a gale of wind which lasted nearly two days; I only wish, good reader, you may never experience it. I shall simply record the satisfaction experienced by many of the redcoats on board the "City of Manchester," when the wind changed and sent us flying at the rate of ten to twelve knots an hour, as we shaped our course across a well-known bay of tempestuous character, which, however, on the present occasion was found quiet enough. It was, however, a joyful moment when the rocky and precipitous coast of Cape St. Vincent, loomed up distinctly through the hot mist of the early morning; and before many hours had elapsed our transport was bounding before the breeze through the straits of Gibraltar. The men were now perfectly recovered from sea-sickness, and they assembled on deck looking out for the long wished-for haven, and gazed on the much-talked of "old rock of Gibraltar," which was to be our present home. At three o'clock p.m., 25th May, 1858, we moved into our moorings at the new mole, and in half-an-hour disembarked and marched to the Town Range Barracks, and part to the Wellington Front and King's Bastion.
