 On 1 December , injured by bomb wounds to his face and head , Cherry was evacuated to Egypt , where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 9 December . Three days later , the 26th Battalion was withdrawn from Gallipoli and evacuated to Egypt where Cherry rejoined them in preparation for service on the Western Front . Remaining in Egypt during this time , Cherry was selected to attend a machine gun course in March 1916 . After completion of this , he was transferred to the 7th Machine Gun Company in France . 
