“Only half of ‘D’ was there, as Payne with the other two troops had been out on a reconnaissance all the night before, and so had been left behind to come on with the supply column. Even so I lost both sergeant-majors, two sergeants, and a corporal wounded--no one killed. Sergt.-Major Edwards was only lightly hit in the leg and will soon be back at duty, but Sergt.-Major Goddard was very badly shot through the middle, and I am afraid was bad: I haven’t been able to find out anything about him since, either, except that he was easier when he left the field ambulance. Sergeants Bell and Hill were both shot through the face, and Corporal Heathman through both legs. Lord was wounded, the only officer casualty. We were lucky to get out as lightly as we did. The monitors helped us too. I only had one horse very slightly hit, but shells fell right amongst them and they were very lucky indeed, too. It’s an extraordinary thing: if you are going to be hit, you’re going to be, and if you’re not, you’re not, and that’s all about it. I was touched--my clothes--by bits of shrapnel, and I got a bullet through my revolver holster and then through my coat--near enough, but I wasn’t touched. Corporal Watkins, my signaller, had two or three through his clothes, one of which was stopped in his pocket by his pocket-book. “I rode Follow Me till danger threatened on the Saturday, and then Caprice, and on this day, the Sunday, I rode Follow Me. We didn’t get back to camp till 11.30, but we got food all right then. “We had to go back, no support ready to push these people out.” _Monday 26._--“Left camp 7.30 and marched across the desert to strike the river much higher up--a long march, and wicked going for the guns in places. I rode Caprice. We found the Turkish rearguard in the afternoon--again very strongly posted. We were rear Regiment of the rear Brigade and did nothing, and the other Brigade found them too strong. But the Infantry were steadily coming up, and the monitors were topping, going ahead like anything and giving the Turks beans. They captured prisoners and destroyed Turkish ships, and did no end of good work. We had a day’s food with us, and just lay down where we were for the night. It rained, but not much, luckily, but was bitterly cold. “We advanced next morning, 27th (New College grind), at 7 A.M., but of course the Turk had gone by then. However, we rounded up about 240 prisoners, a hospital, and a battery of six 5.9-inch guns. We wasted a lot of time over this instead of pushing on, and in the end got no distance that day, and the infantry were only a few miles behind us.... It drove me mad. The Turks were obviously running like smoke--abandoning guns, ammunition-carts, and equipment of all sorts, and yet we didn’t push on. It’s beyond me altogether. [Illustration: TURKISH PRISONERS. FEBRUARY AND MARCH 1917] [Illustration: AEROPLANE ATTACHED TO 7TH CAVALRY BRIGADE]