WITH THE GREY FLEET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 177, 5 January 1915, Page 7

WITH THE GREY FLEET.

NAPIER OFFICER'S INTERESTING NARRATIVE. Life on hoard the troopships conveying the New Zealand Expeditionary I'orce to Egypt, while, no doubt, proving monotonous to many, had its interesting side. Letters from members of the Expeditionary Force are now coming to hand in numbers, and the general expression of opinion of the men is that that all had a, very good time. Lieutenant Leslie M'Lernon. writing in diary form to his parents at Napirr. strikes a happy note, lie commence..! by describing the departure from Albany* "About fi.l.V he says, If.M.S. Minotaur steamed slowly eown the harbor, closely followed by ff.M.S. Melbourne and ir.M.S. Sydney. As the cruisers passed, the various troopships the 'attention' was sounded, and everyone stood at attention along the decks while the warships clipped their ensigns. Altogether it was a splendid sight, and one, long to be remembered. Soon the Australians started moving, and it seemed as though their line would never end. (The beautiful Orient steamer, the Orvicto, (the flagship) looked particularly One as she headed the line out of the harbor. As soon as they got out to sea. the Australian ships gradually sorted 'themselves into three lines, and the New Zealand ships formed themselves into two lines at the rear of them. The Australians had twenty-eight troopships and the New Zealnaders ten, which, with an escort of 'five ships, made a total of forty-three in all."

WHITHER BOUJfD? "Quito the principal subject of discussion or, board," writes Lieutenant M'Lernon, "is as to the next port of call. We all think, and still think, that wo are making for Colombo, but the captain says we are going via Cape Town. Various wagers have been made on the point, "which is a most interesting and important one. It has always bpen the custom on board to post up at mid-day the ship's run for the previous twentyfour hours (say 260 miles) and directly beneath the number of miles the next port. We are getting the former all right, but not the latter, so very naturally we are interested in the subject. However, we shall, no doubt, be able to tell at the end of a few days' time from the course we are sailing. If we go to Colombo, it will take up fourteen or fifteen days, and if via Cape Town, at least twenty-one or twenty-two days."

FRENCH LESSONS. Lieutenant M'Lcrnon states that they , wi re having lessons in French. The class is divided into two divisions, A and B. He states that the officers have to take it in turns to give lectures, and they all find them a very good thing, and that it 'had proved very interesting work. Every afternoon they had company sports, which were greatly enjoyed by the men. One of the most popular items, was blindfold boxing, as in nine cases out of ten the spectators and the referee received most of the wild ■punches of the combatants to the great amusement of all. The men held competitions in drill amongst themselves and tho lieutenant colonels had challenged the o'ther regiments in a competition to be held at the next port of call. The officers continued practising the men in bayonet fighting, and although it was very hard work, they enjoyed it immensely. They had to attend to the rifle and the bayonets very regularly, owing to the effects of the sea air.

ITjAGSHIP PULLS OUT. "(This morning," continues tlie writer, "the Maunganui, our flagship, was seen to pull out of line and drop behind steadily, until she was a mere speck on the horizon. We found out, via wireless that slie stopped while an operation for appendicitis was performed on one of the men. We also had to leave one man behind in Albany suffering from the same complaint. This makes about the eighth case among the New Zealand troops since the commencement of the war."

THEIR NEXT PORT. "At last," he says, writing later, oil November 5, "we have discovered that Colombo is to be our next port of call. It was posted up to-day and wc were all very pleased, as the Red Sea route is by far the most interesting. The English mail steamer OBterly is just abreast of us now, having taken all day to catch us up. I suppose she will reach Colombo quite a day ahead of us, as our speed of 10 knots is all the slowest troopship can do."

"FAIRLY STIFLING." \ Lieutenant M'Lernon's diary 'is noticeable for the remarks on the increased temperature. "At the time of writing (Sunday)," he says, "we are in latitude 13 degrees S., and longitude 90 degrees IS., so you can imagine how hot it must be. At times it is fairly stifling. Awnings have been erected all over the exposed places and these afford us considerable protection from the sun, but even so, at times it is rather trying. Officers are going in for light suits. To-day, as the weather was so beautifully fine, the horses, or rather a number of them were exercised about the lower decks, and the poor brutes seemed to appreciate it very much. Although the days aTe so fearfully hot, the nights are always nice and cool on the decks, and it is the part of the day •which we all enjoy. The band is generally playing, and the fellows all join in and sing choruses. Owing to tlfe hot weather, the men are permitted to sleep on deck, and it looks very strange and picturesque at night to see the rows of sleeping figures with the moonlight shining down upon them."

ARRIVAL iAT COLOMBO. Dealing with tlicir arrival at Colombo, Lieutenant M'Lernon writes: —"I have never in all my life seen such a wonderful scene as the one before nie at this present moment. The harbor is simply crowded with many large magnificent ships, and we are packed so closely together that we can almost talk to one another. There are beautiful P. and 0. ships, Orient liners, Russian cruisers, British cruisers, and tluMisands and thousands of almost funny little native boats full of half-naked humanity. We New Zealanders had the honor of entering this amazing and beautiful harbor first. The Australians, at the time of writing, are just looming up on the horizon, but it'is quite impossible for us all to get in here. I suppose we shall water and coal and make room for the others, None of the natives are allowed on board, but it is most interesting | watching them."