On November 4th a draft of 240 men left for Redhill to join the 1/6th Battalion, and a very fine body of men they were. In addition, four officers were dispatched--2nd-Lieutenants G. Hughes, T. E. Rome, E. H. Tyson, and N. B. Ronald. We also received a draft of men in exchange, composed of those too young or unfit for active service, with a sprinkling of those unwilling to undertake foreign service obligations. On November 10th the battalion proceeded to Blackpool with the remaining reserve units of the Liverpool Regiment, under the command of Colonel Wilson as Acting Brigadier. Captain Broad remained as O.C. Depot. The route to Exchange Station was thronged with people to wish us good-bye and God-speed. The battalion was now entering its first real stage on the road to active service. We arrived at Blackpool to find the sun shining brightly, and all were as cheerful as could be. The men were billeted with subsistence, at a heavy cost, in streets at North Shore, the officers being quartered at Stretton Private Hotel on the front. Military life now assumed a more stern aspect. Early morning parades on the cold and breezy front, hours of drill on the sands or on the bleak and wind-swept slopes of Norbreck Hill, were somewhat more severe than our easy training at Liverpool. However, we meant to get efficient, and though we worked all day and every day, including Saturday afternoons, with lectures in the evening, life at Blackpool was happy enough, and the local attractions all the more alluring by reason of our hard work and fine condition. We found ourselves forming, with the Reserve Battalions of the 5th, 7th, and 8th Liverpools, the Reserve Liverpool Infantry Brigade, under the command of Colonel S. H. Harrison, an old "King's" officer--a most courteous and kindly Irishman, and a very keen and enthusiastic soldier. Our Divisional Commander, Brigadier-General F. A. Adam, C.B., lately commanding the British brigade at Malta, had been appointed to command a division earmarked for immediate service in France, but had most unluckily been injured in an accident while riding. A most capable and efficient soldier he was, and his misfortune was the good fortune of our division. On November 28th we were inspected by our Brigadier at Singleton Hall, the owner of which kindly lent his grounds for the purpose, and we were complimented on our bearing and steadiness. This was our first introduction to the intricacies of the "Manual of Ceremonial."