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.
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