The railway journey of sixty hours to Pont Remy, near Abbéville, will not be forgotten. Men who had at much cost become acclimatized to the intense heat and dryness of the Sinai Desert, were suddenly plunged into the opposite extreme of an arctic climate. The winter of 1917 was one of the most prolonged and severe on record, and throughout the tedious journey in French troop-trains the men shivered and trembled with the bitter cold. But if France greeted them freezingly there was no mistaking the warmth of the welcome of her sons and daughters. Wherever the trains stopped the inhabitants gathered round to cheer them on their way. The news of the fall of Bagdad had preceded them, and the French women and girls, old men and children, knew that these were victorious British reinforcements from the East, and Bagdad and Sinai were equally remote.
The troops detrained at Pont Remy in a storm of snow and sleet, and marched through deep, freezing slush to the villages in which billets had been prepared. After six months’ experience of open bivouacs wherever the day’s trek ended, the barn billets were something of a novelty. Reorganization and re-equipment were, of course, the most urgent matters to be dealt with, and the refit was carried out expeditiously. The short Lee-Enfield rifle displaced the longer rifle with which the Division had been armed; and the issue of two strange items, the “tin hat” and the box respirator, provoked some hilarity. Baths, each capable of washing sixty men per hour, were erected by the R.E., and henceforward the Division left its mark in the shape of new or remodelled baths in every area in which it was located. The Divisional Cinematograph and Canteen were also inaugurated here. The last troops from Egypt, the 5th East Lancashires and the 9th Manchesters, arrived on March 15. A new Divisional Train joined from England. This train had already had considerable experience of France, as it had been formed to join the Lahore Division in September 1914. Motor ambulances were supplied to the three Field Ambulances, and a complete train of motor-lorries was attached to the Division. The 42nd Divisional Ammunition Column was formed from a nucleus of the former Brigade Ammunition Columns with the addition of a large draft from the R.A. Base in France. A Heavy (9·45-inch) Trench Mortar Battery and three Medium (6-inch) T.M. Batteries were also formed here, and these became a part of the Divisional Artillery. Three Light T.M. Batteries were attached to the Infantry Brigades.
General Douglas’s Farewell
On the arrival of the Division in France Major-General Sir William Douglas left for England in order to give evidence before the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the Dardanelles Campaign. Temporary command of the Division was taken over by Brig.-General H. C. Frith, C.B. (125th Brigade), until the arrival of Major-General B. R. Mitford, C.B., D.S.O., who assumed command about the middle of March. Much regret was felt by officers and men that the general, who had been responsible for the training and organization of the Division in time of peace, and under whose leadership during two and a half years of war it had served with distinction in two campaigns and had “made good,” should be unable to lead them to the gaining of fresh laurels on the most important of all fronts. They had been fortunate in a commander who had ever taken a personal interest in the welfare of all ranks under his command, and who had identified himself with the Lancashire men and was jealous of their good name. That General Douglas regarded his officers and men with affection is clearly shown in his farewell message—
“In bidding the 42nd Division good-bye I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to my Staff Officers, Commanders, and Regimental Officers for their loyal and whole-hearted support and superb work during the period of my command. My admiration for the conduct, fighting qualities, grit, and endurance of all ranks is profound. Never have I met a more responsive, willing and lovable lot of men than these Lancashire lads, and, to my last days, I shall remember with affection and pride the three and three-quarter years that I have had the honour to command them. I know how well you, officers and men, will add to the great name you have already earned for the Division, I wish you the best of good fortune and a rich reward.”
Towards the end of March the Division moved to an area some ten miles east of Amiens, D.H.Q. being established at Mericourt. The 42nd was now a veteran Division in war and in travel, but in the trenches of France it was in the position of a new boy at a strange school. It had learnt much in the old school, and the experience would be useful. Each unit had a record and tradition of which it had good reason to be proud, and the commanders knew that their officers and men could be relied upon. Endurance and courage had been severely tested, but the endurance required for slogging through deep sand under a tropical sun was of a very different nature from that which would now be demanded, and the intense heat of the desert was a poor preparation for the bitter winds, the snow, sleet and freezing mud of the trenches of France. Much had to be learnt in the new school, and much unlearnt.
In Gallipoli the opposing trenches had often been only a few yards apart, and rifle-fire had continued all day and increased in violence at night. In that sector of the Western Front taken over by the Division the recent withdrawal of the enemy had created a No Man’s Land, which might be anything from 10 yards to 1000 in width, and unaimed rifle-fire was uncommon. Here, too, patrolling was a matter of nightly routine, whereas in Gallipoli more than an occasional patrol had been impossible. Two of the most novel features were the gas and the amount of H.E. shelling. It was the Division’s first experience of gas, and on rare occasions only had it witnessed annihilating shell-fire. Never before had any of the original members been in billets, and they found them and their inhabitants a source of interest and comfort. Some felt hurt that the bits of Arabic picked up in the East were of no use here, and they resolutely refused to learn any French. “I’ve learnt Gyppo, and I’m not going to bother with any more foreign languages.” Imagine their delight when on leave in Amiens they found that the paper-boys (who had come into contact with the Australians) knew the meaning of “Imshi!” This word, being the imperative of the Arabic verb “to walk,” did duty for “’op it!” Possibly the most striking differences of all were that the Division got reinforcements after suffering casualties, and was able to get back into “rest” of a real kind after a trying time in the line.
The strength of the Division on April 1 was 727 officers and 16,689 other ranks.
New Experiences