lled back from sunburnt chest and arms usually marked by a dirty
white bandage or two, drill shorts stained, blackened and often torn,
bare knees, puttees and rather disreputable boots. It is said that
General Allenby when he took over the E.E.F. was much shocked at the
sartorial appearance of the infantry. We must indeed have afforded a sad
contrast to the cavalry in France, but the conditions of life certainly
did not lend themselves to spit and polish.

Of El Mazar there is little to record. The country was getting more and
more hilly, the sand ridges running roughly parallel N.W. to S.E. On the
western side they presented long gentle slopes, very trying to scale,
while on the eastern they fell sharply into the succeeding valley, so
that the well-earned down hill was over in a minute of scrambling over
the boot tops in a cascade of sand. Camels could only take these steep
slopes at an angle, and it was often very difficult to get them and the
Lewis gun pack mules along. The night we arrived at Mazar was memorable
on account of our divisional pipe band and the band of the 42nd Division
both playing at the same time during mess at their respective
headquarters which were a very short distance apart and both only about
a mile in rear of the outpost line. A few nights previous Brigade
Headquarters issued an order that all nocturnal noises must be
immediately reported and steps taken to stop such noise. This probably
referred to the camel drivers who had a habit of singing native chants
far into the night and consequently disturbed the rest of those who
wished to sleep. However, this opportunity could not be missed. The C.O.
drafted a message which was at once signalled to Brigade Headquarters as
follows: "Listening Post reports nocturnal noises vicinity of Division
Headquarters. What action is to be taken?" The Brigade reply which
arrived a few minutes later was very brief and pointed; it ran, "Put the
cork in the bottle."

All thought now centred on the taking of el Arish, some twenty-five
miles further east, and well protected by Turkish trenches cleverly
revetted with scrub, and dress rehearsals were held in which the whole
force took part, and which meant a good deal of heavy marching. Between
Mazar and el Arish lay a big belt of country where water could not be
obtained even by well digging, so that not only men but camels and
horses had to be watered from supplies brought up by rail and stored in
great canvas cove