Correspondence between Herbert Vincent Reynolds and his family, 1914-1915 - Part 5

only about ½ a mile from the Pyramids
we often take a stroll around then of
a night. I often wonder how you
are all getting on at home. I wish
the war would either hurry up and
end or take a turn our way, this
is not a nice place to be in, waiting
for something to do. I have only
had one letter from Mum, and one from
Ted, I cannot make out why no
others have turned up, I hope
you are getting mine all right.
This place is very hot during the day
and freezing at night, we have 3
thick blankets each and then
cannot keep warm. The Turks have
made a couple of unsuccessful attacks
on the canal there are a thousand
of them prisoners here. this is all
the news yours truly

Bert
 

1^st Field Ambul

1^st Aust Division

AIEF

Sund 21^st Feb
Dear Mother
I can't make out why
none of your letters are coming to hand
I have only received the letter from you
from Melbourne, and that came along
at Port Said, Stan Davies wrote
he said he seen you at Christmas
when up on his holidays. I am
sorry that I ever joined this lot
we have been messed about from start
to finish. I was out to the 2^nd Contingent
camp at Heliopolis yesterday we
had a day off, I found Pete, he
is having a good time, which is
more than I can say ^for myself he was told
 

that I had not left the Meadows,
they told him that at the 4^th Field
Amb when he asked them, so he got
a suprise when I turned up yesterday
he said he wrote home and told them
We came into the Luna Park at
Heliopolis, we were both almost broke
and we found our way in the back
and had a good time, he has had
word from home, I hope you enjoyed
yourself at Buninyong. I have
not seen Ellis Stones yet he was out
when I went over to their lines the
other day. Smallpox has broke out in
the camp, I think the sooner the
Australians get out of this the better
there is nothing but diseases of some
kind or other here, there are absolutely
no sanitary conditions whatever in
 

the city, and the streets simply
reek, We were out at Sakara for 5
days on a bivouac last week it is about
10 miles from Mena, and the oldest
pyramids are there, the step pyramid
being the oldest, but we were not very
near them. We are getting to know the
correct value of the native coinage now
I don't know if I told you its value
in other letters, but it is 10 millimes = 1 piastre
1 mill is equal to a ¼d there are ¼ and ½
mills so that is about the lowest ^coins in
the world 1/16d just fancy, it is possible
to get 3840 coins for a 1₤.
There is a large canteen just been
opened here where we can get groceries
etc, but that is not much good
without money and we have run out,
we have not been paid since we left the
 

boat it would not matter so much
if we were getting plenty of tucker,
but we are not, then it is what we
have to expect, very rough at that.
There is one thing that ought to
be closed, that is the beer canteen,
the fellows come in after a long heavy
march and to break the monotony
of the days work they start on the
beer, it is not propper beer either
but some sort of tack that sends
them silly after they have a couple
of pots, and it is the cause of all the
trouble of they get into in the city.
I have been lucky so far I have not
been ill at all since we left Australia
our hospitals are all full we have had
to start taking patients in in our
field hospitals. Hoping you are all well
yours truly
Bert
 

1^st Field Ambulance
1^st Aust Division
AIEF
Sat 27^th Feb 1915
Dear Mother
I cannot make out why
none of your letters have not come along by
now, I was out to see Pete last Thursday
and he has received 3 letters from home,
since he has been here, there must be something

wrong somewhere, the address on the
one I received from you at Fort Said was all
right. All the correspondence leaving here is
being censored again, so that means restricting
the length of letters, or you would not receive
them for a month or so. I am sending a
set of 9 postcards of Heliopolis they are good
views of that city, also a paper weight a
souvenier, it is not an expensive artical it
only cost 10 piasties but is a neat little
thing, I hope you receive them all right.
 

(2)
I expect your wondered what the photo
in the last letter was, but it is of
the Turkish prisoners, that are at the
Abbassia barracks, Pete gave it to
me he got it from one of the chaps in his
section, the Photo in this letter is
of a chap in the 2^nd Field Ambul, he
was in the same tent as me at the
meadows, his people live in the same St
as Jim Stones. Clark is his name.
I will not be sorry when we get out of
this place, you might think from the
views I sent you, that this is not a
bad place, but the city of Cairo is
far different from Heliopolis, even that
is not to be compared with our cities
in Australia, if I get back safely
I will not get out of sight of the
Southern Cross, Australia is good
enough for me. I have been over to the
 

3
7^th Batt twice but Ellis Stones
was out on a bivouac with his company
both times, I expect I will come across
him one of these days. You might
send along a paper occassionally, as
we get no news of what is going on
home here. Pete and I were at Luna
Park again last Thurs, and had
a good time there, he is coming out
here tomorrow and we are going over
to the Pyramids. The great Pyramid
is 470 ft high and is the largest of
them all, the name of it is the Cheops
Pyramid, there are 2 chambers inside
it and there is steps up the side.
The camp is about ½ a mile from the
Pyramids and is situated in a
hollow and well sheltered, we have
mess rooms to have our meals in and
tables to sit down to which is a
 

(4)

great improvement on the camp
at the Meadows. It is getting
very hot here now the summer
is coming on, I don't know how
we will get on in the middle of
summer if we are here, it is quite
hot enough now. I was vacinated
again on the 15^th that is twice since
Christmas, but neither of them took
on me, the two inoculations took all
right. There is any amount of

sickness and disease here our
hospitals are kept full, I will be
glad to get out of the place, this
is about all I can write about today
Yours truly
Bert
 

[*There are a set of

Egyptian stamps

enclosed that I

want you to put

away for me.

Bert*]

1^st Field Ambalance
1^st Aust Division
AIEF
Egypt
Sund 7^th March
Dear Mother
I have just received your
letter of Jan 26^th, and cannot say how
pleased I am to get some word from home
at last, the letters have been going to the
4^th Ambulance because the name of the
boat was on the letters. Peter was out here
last Sund but I did not see him, although
I kept on the look out for him, I took a
stroll round the Pyramids after waiting
for him, and climbed the great Pyramid
it is a big climb to the top the steps are
about 18 ins deep some are more, so you ^will know
it is no small job getting to the top a
distance of 471 ft. I met Wallie Raine
and Frank Stevens on the top, so we will