60 
SOME EXPERIENCES IN EGYPT. 
Major Lawrie, which fired no less than 913 rounds—that is over 150 per gun. 
As regards the supply of ammunition each battery, the 32nd Battery and all the 
Egyptian batteries, carried 100 rounds per gun with them, that is to say with 
the gun and on the mules accompanying the gun. We had the ammunition 
column carried on camels, also carrying 100 rounds per gun all round, and 
besides that we had on barges close up to the Zareba 200 rounds per gun. We 
found the ammunition supply work well on the whole. The battery I spoke of, 
Major Lawrie’s battery, was delayed at one period—that was during the attack 
on Macdonald’s Brigade. I may say that that attack on Macdonald’s Brigade 
was supported by three of these Egyptian batteries who marched with it and 
came into line with it and bore as much of it as anybody else. Well, that battery 
had to wait a few minutes for its ammunition, but it managed to get some from 
the battery alongside of it, and by the time the action was over its own ammuni¬ 
tion had come up, and when we moved off after the battle all the batteries were 
full up with their 100 rounds per gun. I think that is all I have to say, sir— 
(applause). 
The Chairman : The next name on my list is that of one whom I am sure we 
all welcome very heartily, that is Commander Colin Keppel of the Boyal Navy. 
Commander Colin Keppel, R.N., (Commander of the gun-boat flotilla) (loud 
applause): Sir Henry Brackenbury, ladies and gentlemen, on coming here to-day 
I had no idea, as I think Major Elmslie will bear me out in saying, that I should be 
requested to speak. I cannot, however, plead that in itself as an excuse as I am 
sure that if I had had any length of time to prepare I could not add in any way 
to the great interest of Major Elmslie’s lecture and the way in which he 
described all that we did in the most flattering way in the gun boats. I was in 
a very good position for seeing the actual attack on the Zareba at Omdurman 
before the advance afterwards took place. The gun-boat was very high and I 
could see from the top very well—we could see the whole scene in comparative 
safety and look on, and it always struck me afterwards that in the newspaper 
accounts sufficient was not made of the artillery fire. I should say that certainly 
in my humble opinion the Dervish force was broken entirely by the artillery fire. 
It was very open ground—I should think for 2,000 or 3,000 yards you could 
see in all directions and these men came on in a dense—I do not know quite 
enough about military tactics to describe it—but in a sort of line of columns—I 
should say dense columns, but moving in line, and at somewhere about 2,000 
yards, I think I am right in saying about 45 guns opened fire on them together. 
I think I need not tell any officer here what that means with shrapnel shell 
bursting as it did amongst those fellows. There is one other point that I think 
Major Elmslie did not dwell upon sufficiently, and that is that we were very 
much impressed in the gun-boats with the wonderful accuracy of the fire of the 
howitzer battery (loud applause). I do not know the exact range, but I am sure 
it must have been somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 yards ; we were going up 
round Tuti Island that we saw just now, and we naturally watched with the 
greatest interest the howitzer battery. We could not see the gun firing because 
of the smokeless powder used, but we saw the enormous explosion just over the 
tomb and the very next shot went right into the middle of the tomb. I think that 
will explain what their accuracy must have been. I thank you for the honour you 
have done me in asking me to speak (applause). 
The Chairman : I now call upon Major Hunter-Blair, who commanded the 
battery of Maxim guns at Atbara. 
Major W. C. Hunter-Blair (commanded the battery of Maxim guns at Atbara): 
Sir Henry Brackenbury, ladies and gentlemen, my experiences in the late 
campaign were confined to the period up to and including the battle of Atbara, 
