“The voyage to Marseilles over a calm sea was uneventful. Transports took different courses, and some touched at Malta. In addition to the ordinary routine, emphasis was laid on gas lectures, and gas helmets were issued. Every precaution was taken against submarines. No lights were allowed on deck between sunset and reveille, and all lights below were carefully shaded and deadlights closed. The minimum of noise was enjoined after dark. All ranks worked ate and slept in lifebelts "Boat stations" were regularly practised, and beside machine and Lewis gun sentries a submarine guard was on duty throughout on each vessel. This consisted of 2 platoons, 1 in the forward-well deck, 25 men armed with loaded rifles on each side of the ship, and 1 platoon in the aft-well deck, similarly-divided. Wireless message announced the presence of submarines off Marseilles, and observers on one transport sighted or thought they sighted a periscope 800 yards astern. But all the vessels reached Marseilles, from 11th April onwards, without incident.” [Excerpt From: Col. H. Stewart. “The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919: A Popular History Based on Official Records.” ]
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