Cecil Mills Collection - Wallet 1 - Part 10 of 12

POSTCARD 
CARTE POSTALE 
UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE 
  
Went out to the other
side today & had a
lovely day. The Picture
is totally inadequate.
Everything OK. Love
to all. 
CBMills
Had my fortune told out
there prospects very good.
12/12/15. Cecil 
On Active Service Abroad  
  
Mrs C.B. Mills 
C/- Dr. A. Burne 
"Kinellan" 
Dalley St 
Waverley 
NS Wales 
Australia

Zeitoun Training School 
14th Dec 1915 
Tuesday.  
  
Hulloo Dearest.  
I told you in my last that 
I was coming to this School. Registered on 
Sunday & started toil at 6.20 am on 
Monday morning. We parade at 6.20 each 
morning until 8.20, usually a bit of over- 
time given in, Breakfast 1/4 to 9. Then start 
again at 10 & have lectures & demonstrations  
until 1 o clock. Start again at 1/4 past 2 
& knock off at 1/4 past 4. Then our troubles  
just begin. We have to write up all our 
notes after that, and it takes hours. 
I like the Instruction at the School. Our  
Australian Schools are run on very similar  
lines, but we get extra stuff here that  
we did not get at Broadmeadows. The only  
thing I have against it, is that the catering  
is in the hands of the natives & I do detest 
all these Amateur Oscar Asches about the 
place & I don’t like their style of cooking either.  
Sufficient School for the time being. We had a  
lovely day at the Pyramids last Sunday, but I  
can't tell you about it in this letter as it would 

take too long & its yours truly for bed very shortly 
Recd a paper from Mrs Hub Robertson this  
morning & the letter of introduction from Mrs 
Bartels that you told me about in your letter.  
Wasn't it a streak of luck your letter coming 
first out of the bunch. We have a 1/2 Holiday 
tomorrow, but I’ve struck the Orderly Officers job,  
so I’ll be stopping in for the 1/2 Holiday. & perhaps  
I'll have a chance of writing to you tomorrow. 
In the paper Mrs Hub sent me there was a page 
of kiddies pictures advertising Infants Food.  
They were all such nice clean looking kids 
that about a dozen reminded me of Johnnie.  
Am feeling awfully fit. Egypt certainly  
agrees with me & I hope I do not have to  
report otherwise at any future time. This  
letter has to be censored here, as I am away from  
my own Battallion. Letters will probably be  
scrappy for the next 3 weeks, as I’ve got my 
time very fully occupied with the work on hand. 
Heaps of love to you & the Boy from your 
Ever loving Husband 
Cecil.  
Love to “Mither” & all at "Kinellan"

No 10 
On Active Service Abroad 
Franked 6th Training Battalion  

Mrs. C.B. Mills 
C/ Dr A Burne 
"Kinellan"
Dalley St
Waverley
NS Wales
Australia 

From 
Lt. C B Mills 
6/23rd Battn

Y.M.C.A. 
E. G. CLIFFIN 
FIELD SERVICE SECRETARY 
  
The Young Men's Christian Association  
OF TASMANIA, ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH 
The Australian Imperial Forces 
  
Training School 
Zeitoun 
Saturday 18/12/15. 
  
Dear old Darling. 
Don't know where to start this  
letter from. This is the first chance Ive had to 
write since the scrappy note I wrote you last 
Tuesday. It is a 1/2 Holiday this afternoon, hence 
my opportunity. Every minute is taken up at this 
bally school. Reveille at 5.30. Have to be dressed 
shaved &c & on Parade at 6.20. when it is just getting 
light. Knock off at 8.30. usually a bit over. Start 
again at 10 to 10 & knock off at 1. Start again at 
1/4 past 2 & knock off at 1/4 past 4. Then the trouble 
starts. All the work has to be written up & there is 
about 3 hours solid in that, without fagging up 
stuff for exams. Now we have come to the end of 
the first week, I feel that my brain is a blank & 
that I know nothing, but I suppose I do know a 
bit more than when I started & if I went away 
from the school now, a lot would probably come 
back to me.  Its writing up the lectures that settles  
me. It is quite a nightmare. Had an oral exam 
yesterday & I did pretty rottenly. Not that I did 
not know the work, but it was my confounded self 
consciousness again in front of these Imperial

Y.M.C.A. 
E. G. CLIFFIN 
FIELD SERVICE SECRETARY 
  
The Young Men's Christian Association  
OF TASMANIA, ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH 
The Australian Imperial Forces 
  
2 
Officers.  It was on Musketry too, about my 
favorite subject We had our first written  
examination this morning & I think I did rather 
better. Thats enough about the school except 
that I will be here for another 2 weeks & we will 
all be going at the same pace all the time. I know 
Ive not been out of the Camp since I came in last 
Sunday, but Im going out tomorrow if I have any 
luck. Now to get onto things that are merry & 
bright. Your dear old letter with the snaps came 
along on Wednesday, then on Thursday the  
Christmas parcel also arrived. It came just 
at quite the most opportune moment, as my 
tobacco had run out, & I could not get any decent 
stuff in the Camp. Pettie I could not wait until  
Christmas Day, I opened it with a Bayonet &  
delved right in. Thanks ever so much for sending 
the things along,  & will you please thank Mrs 
Holt for me for her gifts & good wishes also;  
not to mention Maude Russell & Emma. 
I think the snaps of you & Johnnie are just 
great & I am so glad to have them. Wish I had 
a photo of you two as good, but then that  
may come along later if I have any luck.

3./ 
Johnnie in his first suit is a little  
Dear. He seems to have grown more than 
ever in the 13 days since I'd seen him.  Wonder 
how big he is now. To think he is 9 months & 10 
days old today is really wonderful, without the 
fact of his own wonderfulness. Have not 
heard anything about Dick Bond. Without  
knowing what Unit he belongs to it will only be a  
streak of luck if I do meet him.  The promotion 
of Lt C Mills is the other one. I do not expect to  
be promoted to Captain during this War. If I 
ever get my second star I'll be lucky, specially if 
we stay in Egypt. I am sorry to hear about 
dear old Dr Dicky being dead, Dear old chap, he 
will be missed by many, as he used to do a great 
deal of good without making a fuss about it. 
Ill write to Mrs Dickinson as soon as I get a  
chance. So glad you had a good day at Beaumaris 
with the Hubs, That was the day we arrived at  
Freemantle & I won the Twoup, so it was a good 
day for both of us. In our training Battallion 
there are two Officers that were on the transport 
that was sunk. the "Southdown" I think was  the  
name of it. One is Linton the son of the Colonel 
that died. They say the fro account in the newspaper 
(published in London & I suppose the Victorian Papers 
copied it) was very accurate. The only thing they 
marvel at is that the Australian Soldiers did not 
kill the stokers & fireman that rushed up from 
below armed with spanners to fight their way to

4 
the boats. Our chaps did not turn a hair 
but all stood in a line & sang Australia will 
be there &c , & as each boat was filled & lowered 
made jokes as if they were catching the Bus 
to Seymour or Broadmeadows Camp from the 
Railway Station.  Room for one more on the  
Box seat, All the way to Camp for 6d , Imitating 
the old Bus drivers. They told me it was hell 
watching the torpedo coming straight at the ship 
They all expected to be blown sky high. The remount 
crowd arrived last week, Alf Scarlett, from the Blt. 
Co is in it, also Banjo Paterson.  Have not seen 
Howard yet, but I may before long, as they are 
camped not far from here. The tucker at this  
School is getting on my nerves & also on my tummy. 
The mess is run by Mahomet Basson Effendi 
all native cooks, waiters &c  & I don't appreciate 
their efforts. Im getting rather sick of macaroni 
& mince meat stuffed in Cucumbers & all those 
sort of things. The bread is splendid, so is the jam 
so one ever goes hungry, but the butter is awful. 
It annoys me to pay Piastres 17 per day for the  
food when good Australian tucker at our own 
Battallion mess is only 10 a day. 17 a day makes 
a hole in my pay of 30 a day.  We had a great 
day at the Pyramids last Sunday. Five of us  
went together & we were robbed in a most shocking  
manner. We caught the tram from Heliopolis & went 
into Cairo, got a guide who had excellent credentials 
& spoke a bit of English, who for the large sum

Y.M.C.A. 
E. G. CLIFFIN 
FIELD SERVICE SECRETARY 
  
The Young Men's Christian Association  
OF TASMANIA, ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH 
The Australian Imperial Forces 
  
5/ 
of Twenty five Piastres as his fee would secure 
us a motor car that would take us to the Pyramids 
wait for us & bring us back for 12/-. We thought 
it was pretty good business & took him on. Eventually 
he brought a lovely car, room in the back for the 5 
of us, with Oscar Asche in front alongside the driver, 
It was a lovely run out to the Pyramids through an  
Avenue of Acasia trees most of the way, lovely road. 
After we started, our Pirate informed is that we 
would require Camels at the tram terminus, so that 
we could go up to the Pyramids properly & have our 
photos taken mounted on Camels in front of the  
Syphynx, This would only cost us 10 Piastres each. 
Of course we had to have them. Oscar contented himself 
with a Donkey (you will notice the old blighter in the  
photo). We did not have much of a look round 
the Pyramids.  Oscars chief hobby was to  take us  
round to where we were met by other pirates, 
all friends of Oscars, where we were induced to part 
with our good silver. As soon as we arrived in  
front of Mrs O'Brien, the Sphynx, the photo johnnie 
had his Camera out & we were marshalled into line the 
guiding rein given into our own hands, Kids with 
water bottles came to light to stand near the camels