August
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (AMR) is formed from the three Territorial Force mounted rifles regiments of the Auckland Military District and starts training for service overseas as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF).
The regiment consists of a headquarters staff, a machine-gun section and three squadrons:
Each squadron’s number and name corresponds to one of the three Territorial Force mounted rifles regiments of the Auckland Military District (squadrons were normally identified in alphabetical order, as A Squadron, B Squadron, etc.).
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Ernest Randolph Mackesy is appointed to command the new regiment, which is assembled and brought up to full strength at Epsom Camp, Auckland. Mackesy, known as a disciplinarian, introduces a unique form of punishment. Men guilty of serious offences are struck off the roll and replaced by others selected from the hundreds of eager volunteers. Not surprisingly, the level of discipline is high.
The regiment’s horses come from two sources. A man can enlist with his own horses. Those who do not are allocated a horse (known as a ‘remount’) from the stock that the army purchases at the start of the war. This leads to skulduggery as men attempt to acquire a suitable mount.
September
- 22nd – The AMR embarks from Queen’s Wharf in Auckland. Most men join the Auckland Infantry Battalion on HMNZT Waimana; the rest board HMNZT Star of India.
- 23rd – The Waimana and Star of India leave Auckland Harbour in the evening and sail north.
- 24th – The vessels carrying the AMR re-enter Auckland Harbour. The sailing of the Main Body of the NZEF has been delayed because the convoy lacks a sufficiently strong escort to fight off German cruisers known to be in the Pacific.
- 27th – The AMR disembarks at Auckland. Two squadrons resume training at Otahuhu, while the third is based at Takapuna.
October
- 10th – All but one troop of the AMR embarks on HMNZT Waimana and Star of India. In the evening the troopships leave for Wellington.
- 14th – The Waimana and Star of India arrive in Wellington Harbour and join the vessels carrying troops from Wellington, Canterbury and Otago, and the warships that will escort the convoy.
- 16th – The Main Body convoy leaves Wellington at 6 a.m.
- 21st – The convoy arrives at Hobart, Tasmania.
- 22nd – The men of the Main Body undertake a route march through Hobart before re-embarking on their transports. The convoy leaves the harbour at 4 p.m.
- 28th – The convoy arrives at Albany, Western Australia, and joins a convoy carrying the main body of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
November
- 1st – The combined NZEF/AIF convoy leaves Albany and begins crossing the Indian Ocean.
- 15th – The convoy arrives in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Leave is granted.
- 17th – The convoy leaves Colombo.
- 25th – The faster ships of the convoy, including the Star of India, leave the convoy and enter port at Aden.
- 26th – The ships that called at Aden leave and rejoin the rest of the convoy.
- 30th – The convoy arrives at Suez, Egypt.
December
- 5th – After passing through the Suez Canal, the AMR disembarks at Alexandria and travels by train to Zeitoun Camp, near Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
The regiment soon settles into a routine of training interspersed with sightseeing and sport. - 17th – The horses have acclimatised and mounted training begins.
