On the 24th August were issued the colour patches which were to be worn sewn on to the upper part of each sleeve of the jacket. In the case of the 2nd Division the patch was diamond in shape. The 7th Brigade colour was a light blue and the Battalion colour white. The "28th" therefore wore a blue and white diamond, and by this badge was ever afterwards distinguished.
About this time a slight change was made in the Battalion Staff. W.O. J. Gettingby was promoted to be Quartermaster and Hon. Lieutenant. His position as R.S.M. was filled by C.S.M. P. T. C. Bell.
On the 28th August orders were received that the Battalion would be relieved on the following Monday and march out to camp. On the 30th August the 5th Australian Training Battalion, commanded by Major J. S. Lazarus, took over the garrison duties and the 28th, after being photographed in mass formation, moved by way of the desert road, through the Tombs of the Khalifs and Abbasia, to Aerodrome Camp, recently vacated by the 5th Brigade. Only tents were available here, and the camp was very dusty. As the tenancy was likely to be of a few days duration only, these inconveniences were submitted to with a good grace.
Wheeled transport and riding horses could not, at that stage, be either safely or profitably used on Gallipoli, so to the bitter disappointment of Lieut. Graham and his section, the Divisional Commander ordered that they be left behind—later on to be grouped with the rest of the Divisional Train, exercised, and held in readiness against being required.
On the 1st September a message from Brigade Headquarters directed that the Battalion would proceed "overseas" on the 3rd September. All surplus stores were at once got rid of, and spare baggage collected to be handed over to the care of the Australian Base. The Regimental Orderly-room Clerk, Staff Sergeant S. S. Thompson, was detailed and departed for duty at the Australian Headquarters in Egypt, where he would be responsible for the proper keeping of Battalion records.
The 2nd September witnessed the departure for Alexandria of a small advance party, under Lieut. H. E. C. Ruddock, charged with the duty of making all necessary arrangements for the reception of the troops when arriving at the wharf. Tents were struck that afternoon and a bivouac formed for the night.
After the evening meal on the following day the Battalion fell in, and a check of the personnel was made. Previously a number of sick, and the few men in detention, had been struck off the strength and shown as transferred to the Training Depôt. It was now found that three or four men were missing. As time did not permit of a search being made, a report was sent to the A.P.M., and the additional names were also removed from the roll.
Late that night the move commenced to Qubba station, where the train was boarded. Each man was bearing a heavy burden. All ranks were fitted with web equipment, carrying in their packs great coats and a few necessaries and personal belongings, and bearing a blanket, waterproof sheet, three days' rations of biscuits and preserved meat, together with an emergency ration in a sealed tin, and (for those with rifles) 200 rounds of ammunition. Officers carried revolvers, field glasses, prismatic compass, and various other extras. They were also allowed to place their valises on the train but, according to rumour, it was doubtful if they would ever reach them on Gallipoli.
The entrainment was expeditiously carried out and, with the usual amount of discomfort, the journey to the quay at Alexandria was completed by daylight on the 4th September. Here Lieut. Ruddock was waiting and, after some delay, the Battalion embarked on the transport in a similar manner, minus the sympathetic crowd, to that witnessed at Fremantle.