enthusiastic French people collected to greet us and the news of the
fall of Bagdad made us doubly important to them, for not only were we
British but they knew we had come from somewhere in the East.

The following morning we arrived at the environs of Paris, and after a
stay at Juvissy continued our journey past Versailles and on through
Amiens to our destination at Pont Remy, a few miles from Abbeville. It
was pitch dark and raining. Imagine the shock to troops straight from
Egypt, where they had left a beautiful dry climate, when they jumped out
of the carriages into four inches of squelching mud. Then we were told
we had to march six or seven miles through the cold rain to our
billeting area at Merelissart. However, we were amongst new surroundings
and new modes of doing things, and conditions were vastly different from
those we had just left, so the sooner we became accustomed to them the
better.

Despite the midnight hour everyone found subject for fun in the French
barns and shippons which were to be our temporary homes. Lt. Hodge and
Lt. Taylor who had worked hard allotting the billets for us joined the
battalion here. Lt. Sievewright had rejoined us at Alexandria on the
boat, he having been invalided to England from Gallipoli. Lt. G. Harris
left to take charge of a Divisional Bombing School, and ended his
service with the battalion, although later he became the Brigade
Intelligence Officer, when we saw a good deal of him again.

After three days the battalion moved back to Liercourt and there the
work of refitting commenced. We had much to learn about organisation and
methods of warfare as practised in France, and vigorous training was
commenced at once.