Cecil Mills Collection - Wallet 2 - Part 1 of 22

Aerodrome Camp 
Heliopolis 
4th Jany 1915 

Dear Old Sweetheart. 
Two good old letters No. 7 & 8 
greeted me upon my return to camp from a 
Field Day this afternoon. Altho Ive had  
the cable saying you were quite OK, it was  
great to know that you had been well all the  
time. Well old girl the School finished up  
on New Years Day & we are all back at our  
Training Battallions once more. I did pretty  
well at the latter part of the School & Ive  
got my Certificate, which shows an average  
of 90% right through. Considering that I 
only got 75 & 80 for my two first musketry  
exams, I came out pretty well & am not  
only quite satisfied, but very pleased. I would 
like to send the Certificate home to you, but  
our Camp O.C. advises us to keep them here  
as they may be useful to us when there is any 
promotion knocking round. As soon as I  
had lunch on Saturday, another chap & I  
buzzed off into Cairo & went to the Mueseum. 
We only had about 1 ½ hours & of course could  
not see a great deal, but it is all very wonderful.  
Seeing these old things many of them 4000 yrs BC  
makes one realise how small we mortals are

2/
 
I saw old Pharoahs mummy, the Pharoah that  
was looking for Moses scalp when they hid him  
in the Bullrushes. Some of the old jewellery  
was magnificently barbaric in design. The  
huge statuary of old time Kings was also  
wonderful. There must have been some 
mighty sculptors before the Lord in the good  
old days when Pharoah the first sat on the  
throne. Sunday we were Duty Battallion  
& no one could leave the Camp, so the New 
Year Sports were held. Very good sports  
they were. Considering we have 3600 in  
our Training Battalion it is only natural 
that there are some pretty hot athletes among  
them. The 7th Reinforcements of the 23rd Battallion  
have arrived. They got in on Saturday night.  
They were looking for me all over the place 
 to come away with them, & eventually  
discovered that I'd already left. They do some  
funny things in our War Office. Yesterday 
all the chaps that had done the School had a  
Holiday, in fact we get 3 days. I took Monday  
& will take my other two days later on when  
I want to go somewhere particularly. Went into  
Cairo & sailed along to the Bank & got my Letter of 

3 

Credit. I have not had to draw anything on  
it so far, But as it only runs to the end of  
the month I think I'll draw £10 & not draw 
anything on my Pay Book. If we stay in  
Cairo much longer will be absolutely broke, as  
it is very expensive, & I'll have to stay in 
Camp so as to be able to live on my six bob a  
day. I also went to Cooks Agency & found out  
Mrs Robinsons address. She is the lady to whom  
Mrs Bartels has given me the letter of introduction. 
The address is Rue Lotus, Heliopolis, & that is  
quite close to where we are camped. Can walk  
to the centre of Heliop in 15 minutes. In 
fact I mean to stroll along there tonight &  
present my letter. In the afternoon we went  
along to the Mousky where all the Bazaars are. 
It is very interesting to watch the natives  
making all the brass work, they cut out all the  
old Egyptian patterns with a tiny chisel & 
hammer & do it like lightning. The chap I was  
with bought two nice silk shawls for £1 ~  
Goodness only knows how much he was beaten  
for. The price was 28/- to start with, & three times 
 we got as far as the door & were begged to come  
back. They are really wonderful traders. Im not  
game to buy anything to send you. Am waiting

4/
 
until I can get Mattie Chisholm to come with me  
as I could not tell a silk shawl from a Mercerised  
Cotton one & these nigs have a very convincing  
manner with them.  Well old Girl I'll go across to 
Heliop now & see if Mrs Robinson is at home. So  
Ba Ba for tonight & I'll add some more tomorrow  
before sending this off.   Wednesday afternoon  
Found where Mrs Robinson lives & called on  
her. She seems very nice. Has 2 daughters & another  
girl staying with her. There were heaps of boys  
there. Her own son was just back from Gallipoli.  
Young Bartels is away on the Western Frontier  
where there is some fighting going on at odd times.  
Mrs Robinson asked me to dinner for next  
Monday night & I'll go if I'm not on any duties. 
If I've got any duties, can send a note across to  
let her know. Have to make engagements with  
that proviso. Also when I was in Cairo on Monday  
I went to the Intermediate Base Office & found  
out about Dick Bond. He is in the 7th Reinf: of  
1st Light Horse. Made inquiries where they were  
camped & the spot is only about 300 yards away  
from here. Sent Albert Louis Foley along this  
morning to find out if Dick was there & he found  
him straight away & Dick arranged to come see  
me at 6.30 tonight. Unfortunately we are on  
night operations & I don't go out until 5 o'clock & get back

5 
about 8 o'clock. Dick is on [[Picquet?]] today  
and could not come before. Foley (my Batman) is to  
meet him & bring him to where I live, so I hope  
Dick will be able to wait. If he cannot Foley will  
arrange for him to come along at the first opportunity  
Foley says Dick looks A.1. & has been looking for  
me all over the place also. Last night Bob Salmon  
came to this Camp to see one of the Officers. I heard  
the chap telling one of the others. Salmon is [[?over]] in  
the Light Horse. All the time he was at Gallipoli  
he was not only never hit, but did not have a  
day off sick. Great record for a chap to have. I  
want one just the same & feel quite sure am  
going to have it. The 2 Arguses came along  
this morning, but no Bullys have arrived at all.  
The colour is too well known I think & people  
snap them at the Post Office. Weve had quite a  
lot of rain for Egypt. Rained heavily on Monday  
night. The soldiers had a bad time, at least those in  
the huts did.  The huts are not built to keep out  
rain but simply as shelters. My Batman came  
up in the morning, quite wet on one side where  
he had been lying. It's been [[?dashed]] cold again today  
& for the first time have worn as sweater under  
my tunic & was glad to have it. The socks  
Perle told you she sent me came on Monday & jolly good  
socks they are. I've got heaps of socks now old girl

6 

Could wear a new pair each day for a month &  
then not be finished. Those two cholera belts you  
sent me are lovely.  I could not go back to a strip of  
flannel again, so you've got me into an extravagance  
I never thought of. Send me one more about a month  
after you get this note & another about a month later  
& register the parcel please old girl. There is really  
nothing else I want. I did not go back to my old  
Unit 6/23rd upon returning from the School, but  
have been given a Platoon comprised of the 4th & 5th of  
21st Batt. The 4th & 5th Reinforcements of the 21st 22. 23.  
24th Battallions have been formed into a Reserve  
Battallion & will probably never go to the original  
Battallions they never intended to Re-inforce. It is  
rather awkward not knowing the men for a start  
but I'll soon know them. They seem to be a good lot of  
chaps. This is purely an administrative move, & I am 
still on the strength of the 23rd Battn. The old pen  
has run out & I have got no more ink, so this  
must be ended off in pencil. Have to get ready to go  
out on this night razzle so I'll end this lot off.  
Nell old girl, your old man is awfully well,  
& full of confidence for the future & all it contains.  
Nell answer your letters properly tonight or tomorrow.  
Love to all, & with the biggest hugs possible for  
you and the Boy. Your ever loving Husband 
Cecil 

15 
On Active Service 
Abroad 
  
Mrs C B. Mills 
C/- Dr A. Burns 
'Kinellan' 
Dalley St 
Waverley 
New South Wales 
Australia 
  
FRANKED 
TRAINING  
Battalion 
Censored by 
NG Pellon-Lieut 
Lt. C Mills
6/23rd

Tel El. Kebir 
9th Jany 1915. 
  
Dear old Girl. 
Hope you got my PostCard  
written last Thursday night, saying I had new  
orders to come along to this Camp. We left our old  
Camp early on Friday morning & blew along here  
to this historic old battle ground, so even if I don't  
see any fighting myself, I've been on the spot 
where there was a bonny scrap about 34 years ago.  
I brought 49 men of the 6th Reinforcements, all  
the rest that came were the 4th & 5th, only 2 Officers  
came with them, all the others were left behind.  
The old original Brigade is gradually drifting in  
from [[?]] & Lemnos & those places. Our Battn  
has only 1 Company in so far, but the other  
3 Companies & Head Quarters are expected in  
daily, so then we will be re organised & all these  
reinforcements alloted to different Companies &  
then I hope I'll get a job of some description  
myself. We Reinforcement Officers are not  
looked on with much favour by the original  
members of the Battalion. They have been in  
action & we have not, so we have a pretty cold  
time until they get used to seeing us about about the  
place. This is going to be a tremendous Camp  
when all the Brigades get in & I think we will 

2/
 
be here for a long time as they can't refit &  
get all these Battallions going again in 5  
minutes, besides the men have to be spelled, after  
their hard toil on the peninsula. We are now  
among real soldiers who have seen real fighting  
but then this is only the 2nd Division. This  
Division is looked upon with scorn by the 1st  
Division, because the 2nd Division was not in  
the landing. Funny game this soldiering.  
I was so pleased to have found Dick before  
leaving Cairo. I franked a couple of letters for  
him before leaving, one to [[Mick?]] & one to his  
Mother. He told me his father was quite OK.  
Just fancy our Boy being 10 months old  
yesterday. It is just 6 months today since I  
enlisted. Hope I have my discharge inside  
another 6 months. You ought to see some of  
the derelicts back from the Peninsula, they  
have the weirdest collection of clothes, Tommy 
tunics, pants & boots, most of them stolen, they've  
nearly all got their own caps, but they are so  
well decorated with indelible pencil marks on the  
outside that they are dangerous things to steal.  
There are hundreds of bags of mail here, for our  
Battallion alone. They are sorting a good few  
bags each day, so it will soon be distributed.