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 and esprit de corps that 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 battleship Ocean and the cruiser Minerva. 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 the Minerva only. 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, the Weymouth taking the Minerva’s place, 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.” The Division 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.