Everyone was quite excited at seeing the land again. We had to leave our comfortable quarters in the isolation hospital to- night to make way for a man to be operated on for appendicitis and we have returned to our former quarters for
the remainder of the voyage.
It might be explained here that immediately this force left Canada, it came under the direct control of the War Office, similar to the forces in France. The movement of the troops by water is carried on by and under the control of the Admiralty. The transports are taken over by the Admiralty for this purpose and a naval officer takes charge of the embarkation and debarkation, and they prepare the ships for the accommodation of the troops. While Canada provides the personell and pays them, the War Office provides arms and equipment. The rifles, packs, boots, entrenching tools, etc. are shipped direct to us from England.
Monday, January 13th, 1919 - Ships run was 288 miles. Weather partly fair with snow squalls; wind north.
This morning we passed through the Straits of Tsutargu, between the Islands of Hokoshu and Houdo (Japan). We passed within about three miles of one shore and could see the country plainly, especially with glasses. We passed a couple of towns or villages and the houses mostly looked like small shacks, grey in color, but there were a few buildings more pretentious, two or three stories high with red roofs. The villages were laid out in streets running up from the beach. The country is mountainous and the farms appear laid
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