“Generally speaking, the recent fighting was not of the violent nature in which you have previously taken part and so greatly excelled. At the commencement of the operation, however, it was sufficiently severe, and the conditions imposed by the Forest of Mormal and the bridgeless River Sambre were such as to call for the highest soldierly qualities. “After long marches at night in bad weather over boggy forest tracks, although cold and wet, hungry and tired, you attacked and defeated the enemy with your customary indomitableness. “When the history of the war is written your efforts, commencing in the Forest, then forcing the passage of the bridgeless River Sambre in the face of severe enemy fire, and culminating in the capture of the town of Hautmont, will rank very high among the exploits of soldiers during this great war. “I consider that the Divisional Motto has once again, probably for the last time, been entirely upheld. “Officers, N.C.O.s and men of all arms and services in the Division, I am proud to be your Commander and to be able once more to thank you, in the name of our King and Country, for your gallant deeds and your steadfast loyalty.” SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY _Charleroi, 18th March, 1919._ Demobilization is so rapidly scattering the officers and men of the Division, that the time has arrived when I must take a formal farewell of those who, during the past two years, have served me so well. On such an occasion, it will not be out of place briefly to review the achievements of the Division throughout the great war. The first critical days of August, 1914, brought with them the call to the Territorial Force to volunteer for active service abroad. The East Lancashire Division eagerly offered itself, and may well be proud of its unique record of being the first division of the Territorial Force to leave England for service abroad. In September, 1914, the Division sailed to Egypt. There the work of training was relieved by a share of the garrison duty and defensive operations in Egypt which, in February, 1915, brought the Division its first fighting in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal. In May, 1915, the Division landed in Gallipoli. There for eight long months it fought a campaign of unceasing danger and privation, punctuated only by fierce and bloody engagements. The Division, and those in East Lancashire who are associated with it, may well be proud of its achievements on June 4th, 5th and 6th, 1915. Following the evacuation of the Dardanelles, the early months of 1916 saw the Division on another front—Sinai Peninsula. There it took part in the pursuit of the Turkish army to El Arish. The month of March, 1917, brought the Division into France, and its achievements there are still comparatively fresh in our minds.