ed to the rear and returned, after an absence of some hours, with a supply of water. Many of these exhausted men did not get into camp until the following day, and all of them, together with eight officers—for they, too, were “foot-slogging it” with their men—had forthwith 46to be sent to hospital as the result of this one day’s march.

None the less, on the 27th November, the Regiment shifted camp to a spot lying three miles to the west of Mitole; and on the following day it moved on to Chemera, where it relieved the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the King’s African Rifles. As soon as this had been effected, I Company with 2 officers, 1 British non-commissioned officer and 182 rank and file, marched off to Namaranje to occupy an outpost position at that place.

The strength of the Regiment at this time was already very considerably reduced, as the breaking up of G Company and the distribution of its personnel among the remaining Companies indicated. The field-state on November 28th—the day upon which the Regiment went into camp at Chemera—showed that only 19 British officers were present, as against the 36 who had started from Sekondi at the beginning of the preceding July, and that during the intervening period, the number of British non-commissioned officers had been reduced from 15 to 10, and that of the rank and file from 980 to 715. The principal battle casualties have been noted in the course of this narrative, but much greater havoc had been wrought to the personnel of the force by ill-health occasioned by exposure, over-exertion, bad food, and water insufficient in quantity and often vile in quality.

It was hoped that on its arrival at Chemera a period of rest would be enjo