f troops of over 15,000 men makes a brave show upon the
road, its length from the van to the rear being not less than twelve
miles.

Apparently the cheering folk along the road passed a sleepless night,
for at every hamlet and village people lined the road, waving us their
farewells; and from many a cottage window kindly faces could be seen
silhouetted against the light of the room, cheering us onward with
hearty words.

The embarkation at Southampton was a busy scene, and took many hours to
accomplish, but finally fourteen huge transports got under way, and
steamed up Channel for Dover. There we 'stood off and on' until 9 p.m.
on October 6, when picking up our pilot we steamed out into the Down in
the quiet of the autumn night.

The names of the officers who composed the mess of the 23rd Field
Ambulance were: Major Crawford (now Lieut.-Colonel), Major Brown,
Captain Wright, Lieut. McCutcheon, Lieut. Mackay, Lieut. Hart, Lieut.
Priestly, Lieut. Wedd, Lieut. Beaumont, Lieut. Jackson (quartermaster),
Col. the Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray, and the writer; on the whole a very
cheery, hard-working set of officers, whose work met with high
appreciation of Head-quarters, in due course.

Many conjectures were on foot as to our destination, but when we found
the course was north-east, we knew that France was out of the question,
and Belgium loomed large in our imagination.

The scene was an eerie one as the black hulls of the vessels moved
quietly over the placid sea, with a protective squadron of torpedo
destroyers surrounding us. It was sufficiently risky to give a piquance
to the experience.

The Admiralty had laid mines from the Goodwin Sands to the Belgium
coast, and it was a remarkable feat of pilotage which took the whole
fleet through this mine zone in safety to its destination. The naval
officer who acted as pilot to the _Victorian_, on which I was aboard,
informed me the next morning that it had been the most anxious night of
his life, and I can well understand it, for the responsibility upon a
man, under such circumstances, was a heavy one.

Coming on deck in the early hours of the following morning I saw the
low-lying Belgium coast bathed in sunlight; Zeebrugge lying a couple of
miles to the east. It was with a very thankful heart that I realized
that the first risky stage of our movement towards the Front was over.

In due course we warped in alongside of the massive Mole at Zeebrugge;
and admired the huge pr