Divisional Headquarters and the Signal Company arrived at Moascar on February 4. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th the various units (less the 2nd Field Company, R.E., which proceeded direct by rail to Alexandria) set out from Kantara on the two-days’ march to Moascar along the new road by the side of the Canal. The change from the soft sand of the desert to the hard road was a sore trial to the feet, and a big proportion of the men limped rather than marched into Moascar. All ranks now knew what most had suspected for some time, that the Division was bound for France, and there was general enthusiasm. The prospect of a change from the sand, the glaring sun, the discomfort of intense heat, the monotony and isolation of the desert, was hailed with joy by the majority. A number of officers and men had not been home since September 1914, and knew that there was little chance of home-leave while the Division remained with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Yet there were some among those who had been out longest upon whom the spell of the East had fallen, and who were disappointed that, having accomplished so much of the preparatory work, they, like Moses, could only see the Promised Land from afar, and were not allowed to go forward into Palestine. While at Moascar the Division was inspected by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Dobell, commanding the Eastern Force, and it also marched past General Sir Archibald Murray, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. An event of even greater moment for men who had been nearly twelve months in the desert was a week’s visit from Miss Lena Ashwell’s Concert Party. The troops were grateful and appreciative, and they showed it unmistakably. [Illustration: FLASHES OF UNITS IN THE 42ND DIVISION.] [Illustration] In view of the impending change every man now required serge clothing, winter underclothing and service cap. The field-gun batteries were established on a six-gun basis, and two artillery brigades, the 210th and 211th, were formed out of the three existing brigades of four-gun batteries. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Field Companies, R.E., were re-numbered as the 427th, 428th, and 429th Field Companies respectively. Many details left behind during the advance across the desert rejoined the Division, as did also the R.A. Base at Ballah, and the instructors and staff of the Divisional School at Suez. This school had done most useful work, a large number of officers and other ranks having been put through a series of short courses, and much progress had been made in bombing and in the use of the Light Trench Mortar, or Stokes Gun.