Letters from Albert Charles Cox to his mother, 1915-1916 - Part 5

at missing the Peninsular, of which you have already read about
of course. It is great to strike old pals & have a yarn as you
can imagine. I hope for your sake Eric manages to get away
for I think the sooner all do their bit the better, & it certainly
looks from what I can hear that conscription is pending. It
is jolly hard work trying to write as a couple of chaps are
in here talking for all they are worth, so excuse disjointed
sentences. I have taken very few photos during the last couple
of weeks but hope to get some more this afternoon to send you.
Shepheards & the Continental Hotels have been closed to all privates
from last night & there are some pretty strong comments flying     
round. It is all right probably for the Imperial Army & the rowdy
individual in ours, but there are some privates who are
really a damn side better than the officers, which makes it
pretty hard. Nevetheless distinctions cannot be made.
There has been quite a lot of rain here lately (about 1 inch) but
it has made our parade ground quite hard. The desert (round
about here anyway) seems to have some kind of cement in with
the sand, for the slightest drop of water & some rolling swill
make it hard enough for a cricket pitch. I hope it does not
rain again for we will have a rough time in the huts which
we are living in. Will send you a photo of them by next mail.
Well! dear I don't think there is anything more to write about,
except that I hope you are all as well as I am, for the rest in
an hospital is not needed yet. Love to all from
Bert 

Zeitoun
22/1/16
Dearest,
I received your reply to my cable last night & felt much
relieved. Any cables send to Cooks will be sent on to me, so if
at any time you have anything important to relate, you can
take the cash out of that being paid in; at least I presume
it is being paid as you have not said anything about it. Your
letter dated 4 Dec. came along a couple of days ago, so I now
have all you have sent.
Am still grafting at the School, but there is only
another week to go. We have had several exams, & results
have been satisfactory so far. It is most interesting, for all
the instructors are men who have been to the front, & we get
some pretty good yarns. One of the Captains is he who wrote
his experiences of the German's methods of illtreatment early in
the war for the papers, so you can imagine we get plenty
of his stories.
It is wonderful how quickly one gets tired of
Cairo itself, & it seems awfully hard to tell you any news
now of interest. 

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By jove Rys Jones must be doing well. Hope all the other
Cos. are doing likewise. I saw a paper the other day & all stocks
seem to be doing very much the same, so far as prices indicate
A couple of us are thinking of going for a donkey ride this
afternoon along the Ishmalia canal, & I should get a few good
snaps to send you. It is great to see such green foliage after
looking at nothing much more than the desert for a week. The flats
round about the waterways at present are as green as possible, &
they often make me think of Burrundulla flats.
I received a pair of mittens from Mrs Mulligan (a relation of
Mr. Mr Laughlins) to-day, & they will be very handy in the mornings
It is pretty chilly at 5.30 a.m.
I hope Tol. is not feeling hurt at not receiving a letter
from me every mail, but it would only mean a repetition
& he sees these to you of course.
The weather here is still all that could be desired, in fact
every day has been like an Autumn day in sunny N.S.W, & we
have not had a sample of the dust yet.
Sunday morning
Had a great ride of 2 1/2 hours along the canal yesterday, amongst
the natives' farms & dwellings. The contrast between the watered &
unwatered land is wonderful. There is not a blade of vegetation
on the latter, but the former is beautiful. I got quite a number
of photos which will be sent along next mail.
I struck dozens of other acquaintances in town last right 

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& it seems ∧if every one is here. Webbe arrived the other day & we are
going out somewhere or other this afternoon.
Am enclosing a few more photos which will probably be of
interest.
Shall have to close now dear with best love
from your affectionate son, "who hopes you are as well as it
leaves him at present". (A typical & unfailing phrase in all, the men's
letters)
A L Cox
(Remember me to all) 

Zeitoun
24/1/16
Dearest,
Your letter of 19^th Dec. to hand yesterday & I was very
disappointed when I read that you had not yet received a
letter from me up till then. At any rate the cable arrived
which is one consolation.
We are all very pleased to hear of the rains in N.S.W.
& hope they will have the desired effect, although a bit late. We
have struck quite a wet season here this year, & a pretty good
downpour got us this afternoon & made it pretty unpleasant in
the huts for a while.
I suppose you are all back from the mountains by
this time, & I hope you had a good time, although hardly as
good as last year no doubt. Glad to hear Fred. is still faithful.
Who do you think I struck in the Continental last
night? I bet you would never guess in a hundred tries.
A chef we struck in Hobart: - Harry Leitch on Red Cross work with
his motor car, so I propose looking him up as soon as possible.
It is wonderful how small the world is isnt it? Jack is still 

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in Wagga so I daresay Harry is not so lively. He sends his love to
Molly, who by the way has not written me a line yet, the little
devil.
Poor old Clive, it is hard luck for him, but I suppose he
will have better luck in England. Brian must be feeling pretty
lonely all by himself. At any rate I dare say he will be here or
elsewhere some day.
With regard to Aunt Dill's socks; I have not received them
yet & am afraid they must have gone astray. I think it is a
mistake in sending them through the Red Cross & far better to
address things direct.
I don't know whether I told you of a letter I got from
Marjorie Mackenzie some time ago asking me why I let Marjorie
O'Brien slip through my fingers. It is the fun of the world
what gossip goes round, but it is very interesting to hear the
local gossip.
Three of us went to the "Barrage" on Sunday & had a
great afternoon. It is a beautiful place & runs a very close
second to our botanical gardens. The main feature is the
water scheme, consisting of bridges, locks & weirs. There are
models in the museum there of all the irragation schemes
in Egypt which by the way are wonderful. It is marvellous
how the waters of the Nile are handled, & it must have cost
millions to construct these works. The gardens are undoubtedly
beautifully laid out & one cannot see a blemish on the lawns
The labour is done by the prisoners who are kept there, & we
saw a couple of hundred being marched back at the end of
their work. All round the gardens run trolleys on rails
pushed by niggers, who run all the way. It costs 15 piashes
(3/-) for three for an hour & is real good sport. We motored
there & back in pretty slick time, in fact we were racing
other cars all the way. We came back (25 miles) in 35
minutes, so it was some going. It shows you what sort of 

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roads they have here. The motor certainly has the road to
itself, for there are no speed regulations, & if these coves with
their carts get in the road, They get a cloud over the head
from the driver. Our driver knocked one fellow spinning
through not hearing us coming. I took a few photos, but I
am afraid they will not be too good as it happened to be
dull when we arrived there.
There is a photo herewith which I got from a chap
yesterday, taken on the boat. In case you can't find this
chicken, he is second from the right in the rear rank, next to
the chief officer. I happen to be Orderly Officer to-day so am
putting in the time bill 12 midnight writing a few letters. The
school is finishing on Saturday next, but I am going to do
a machine gun course if we are to be here much longer.
25^th Tuesday morning
Another blooming rainstorm got us last night & the majority
were wet through in bed. Luckily I took precautions
& was in my sleeping bay which kept all the moisture
out. It was very funny to see some of them on rising this 
morning. I have just heard there is a mail closing
this afternoon so will end this letter right here & get
it away. Best love to all from
Your affectionate & loving son
Bert

Aerodrome Camp
30/1/16
Dear Mother,
Finished the school yesterday & ended up with
an average of 90%, & am now back at our own camp.
We have shifted again, but for the better. It is an ideal
spot for a camp & the recent rain has made the ground
as hard as a rock.
Am enclosing a few more photos together with
the negatives of those I have taken since arriving, so Jim can
try his hand on any which he thinks worth while. The
enclosed photos are those which I took on our donkey ride
mentioned in my last letter. They are not as clear as they
might be, but I think the fault lies in the paper.
Who do you think I saw yesterday?- Geoff M.L.
We passed each other in the tram & he was only able to tell
me he was in town for the week-end, but I found out he
was at the Continental, so left a note to say I would look
him up to-day. He looked very well, & I can tell you I 

was pleased to some across him.
Received your letter dated Xmas day.
Later
Had so stop here on account of the alarm going although a bit of
trouble cropping up in Cairo, but we were not wanted after spending
the best part of the day under arms. Unfortunately I was unable to
see Geoff, but hope to meet him again in a few days, as I
think I shall be moving to where he is.
I am enclosing a photo of the officers at the Infantry
school at Zeitoun. I am sixth from the right in the third
rank from the front. A large photo is going on under
separate cover.
Shall have to close now dear & will write
you further in a few days. Best love to all from
Bert 

Cairo
3/2/16
Dearest,
I shall start another letter to-day as I have a bit of
spare time, & finish it later on. Before I forget; you might
let the Sydney Mail have a look at the negatives I sent last
mail, as they may like to print some. I understand they are
very pleased to receive any photos from here. I should be very
glad if you would send me a mail every week together with
the Times, as local gossip is very dear. Am still waiting for the
£10 which I cabled for, but expect it will arrive in due course.
Don't think I am in debt my dear, but the fact is that we are
not allowed to overdraw against our deferred pay now, &
noticing that funds were getting low, I used my initiative.
Of course you will take all expenses out of the cash in the bank.
Am beginning to wonder if a war is on, for they don't want
us yet. In the meantime I am going to do a machine gun course
starting on Monday next, for it is a thing that all should know
I think. Had a look over the Red Cross stores the other day, & it
is wonderful what a stock they have. In fact we were told