Major Henry Charles David Marshall - Wallet 1 - Booklet 3 - Part 2

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provided himself with a torch and in defiance of the

blackout and orders in his endeavour to see that the

old gentleman did not fall into Our slit trenches he

commenced flashing it. He struck a couple of our guards

who were fairly tense but the third time they ran against

what turned out to be one of our tough guys. His remarks

after Dakers saying that he had the Bishop with him

were : I don't care who the b-[[?]] is - you can put out

that bloody _____ light now and keep the bloody thing

out.  They were a bit quiet when they got back. Harry

and I decided to go to Communion and do things properly

by not having breakfast until we returned as we

felt the Bishop would not like it. We arranged for our

mess Corporal for our breakfasts as well as a good wine

for the Bishop after his services as I think he was doing

another as well as ours. We came back and had ours

and then checked the Corporal about the Bishop's

breakfast. Imagine our surprise and annoyance

when he said "I don't think he'll want a second one.

He had a bloody big one early before he went." All

our goodness gone for nothing. At the ordinary church

service our beautiful padre covered us with confusion

and mortification.  At the end of the service which the

Bishop preached he was just going to pronounce the

benediction after he had concluded his sermon and

had raised his hand when our bright boy stepped

forward and raised his hand and in a louder

and more sanctimonious voice pronounced it himself

He looked and sounded rather like a warning to the

Bishop that he was there only to preach the sermon

as a guest and that this is my dungheap. If there is

any blessing to be done Ill do it. Actually the

Bishop took it very well and when we apologised

to him in the mess afterwards revealed that he had

been an adjutant of a fighting Battalion in the last

war and knew all about Padres. The only other

church service of note was the memorial service we

held to Street and the others who were killed in the

aircrash. It was a big show and all the division were

present. Tom Blamey was also there and it was as

impressive as possible. I don't worry much about

those things and particularly  as I was Field Officer

and had no rank out the ground I can tell you I 

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was fed up with it long before I heard the first hymn

sung. When we were first setting up the camp Russ

Godby had a large marquee for his Regimental Aid Post.

After the contractors had finished there were a large

number of concrete slabs left lying about. But not for

long. We used a lot to make bridges over the deep gutters

along our camp roads and then there were some over.

So we made a beautiful concrete floor for the R.A.P

and installed the Refrigerator that we brought from

Australia. Russ fitted it up beautifully and it

became the show place. Later during the Sandfly 

epidemic I raked up a couple more EPI tents and

he established these as two wards and used his

orderlies for nurses. Strictly speaking this was against

regulations as we had a small camp hospital and

from there the patients were evacuated to Gaza. As

his wards were used purely for observation cases and

those who were not very ill the authorities - I mean 

the medical authorities turned a blind eye and in fact

held him up as a model. Russ was everything that

a good Regimental C.O should be and turned up

trumps. I might say here that with the exception of one

disease we were the heartbeat Battalion in the A.I.F and

this was due to Russ and the backing Theo gave him in 

putting his ideas into practice. Another force in

Palestine of which I must tell you are the Police. They

were recruited in three sections - English, Jew and 

Arab. The British and I have changed to this as there

were members of all Dominions in it were distinguished -

Apart from their facial characteristics by the color of

their caps. All the police wore a sort of flowerpot cap

covered with sheeps wool - something like the Egyptian

Ambush with the curly wool outside. The British color

was grey - Arabs black and Jews brown. Naturally

Jews and Arabs were used for duty only in their own

national area but all were under the control of

British NCOs and officers in charge of units and

sections. Just like our own police they had town

serving police and in the country mounted men.

These were a fine body of men and looked as well

as our own. I believe they had to find their own

horses for which they received an allowance and

they were magnificent beasts and magnificently

cared for. On patrol we occassionally met some

and their turn out and bearing was a credit to

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their force. We saw an echo of the Riots in the Police

armored cars which patrolled the roads and also they

ran another couple of armored cars on the railroad. Their

record is a wonderful one and their difficulties immense

and I should think as a Corps have done just as good

a job under as difficult conditions without the novelists

advertisement of the R.N.W.M.P of Canada. The native

drink of the Arabs is Arrack a very insidious and

deadly drink for anyone not used to it. Of course there

are many grades of it and it requires an intelligent drinker.

The Arabs of course drink it properly. I don't know what

it is made from - I think wheat or barley and when

mixed with water it turns milky. I never tasted it

but Halliday had some very good stuff at an Arabs

house but the normal troops efforts were on rotgut and

it was a kill stone dead drunk. The sufferers used

to find that after recovering from their period of unconsciousness

that a drink of water used to make them drunk

all over again and this lasted for about two days.

We were invited to a couple of parties in the Sergeants Mess

which under Sutton improved and had a good name 

in the division. Actually I think that their meals were

better in their mess than in ours. They were the usual

sort of Sergeants parties with plenty of beer and the Sergeants

getting all confidential at the end. The last two or three

things I have about Palestine are first the Dance the

nurses at Gaza gave to all their officer friends in the

Division just before we left for Egypt. Our battalion was

invited en masse as a return for the ship and our

hospitality in Palestine. They had the sisters mess

decorated and it took the form of a dance - with

drinks turned on. As usual I made my duty dances

with the matron and had all I wanted to drink.

Young Mary was not able to be present as she had

a bout of sandfly fever and was confined to her tent

When the time for leavetaking came and good wishes

etc were being thrown around two of her tentmates

smuggled me out and I was allowed to say cheers

and receive her good wishes outside the tent. Their

lines were taboo but her tent was right against

the camp road so their was very little danger of

trouble. Everyone of note from every unit was

present including Stan Savige. About a week before

we left another incident occurred with many very

puzzling features. Henry and I had gone with John

   93

Young down to the 6^th Bn mess about half a mile away

and were having some drinks. We suddenly heard an

explosion and immediately thought a bomb had been

dropped or that someone had sabotaged part of our

water supply. We looked towards the direction of the

sound and found it in the direction of our lines. We

stumbled into the truck and went home. Their was a

decent glow and when we got over the hill found that

one of our buildings was on fire. I got there and found

that our canteen was on fire and burning beautifully.

We roused all companys and the nearest dropped

their tents whilst the rest of the companies stood to in

their lines and watched that none of their tents caught

with sparks. Any tent will catch easily and burn in

about 30 seconds due to the draught between the flies.

We also set guards around our other buildings for

with the malthoid roofing they might easily have caught

too. The fire started in the canteen for the men and

in an incredibly short space of time it was blazing

everywhere and the heat was blistering. The Padre

and some helpers had salvaged the library and

furniture from the mens reading room but that

was all we could save. We had no fire fighting

appliances for the water pressure was not very strong.

All water had to be pumped from two natural wells

into a high water tower on a hill where it was

chlorinated and fitted for use. It was all the pumps

at the wells could do to keep the tank filled and

the chuff chuff of the oil pumps went on for 24 hours.

All we could do was to watch the building and its contents

burn and to prevent it spreading to our tents. We

succeeded in doing this and just stood around watching

the damn thing burn. It was intervened by explosions of

materials in the fire - tins of kerosene and tins and

beer bottles exploding. It burnt fiercely for many hours

and was still glowing at dawn. Both the mens canteen

and contents and the tuck store and its contents all

went. There were three Refrigerators of a large size worth

hundreds of pounds each including all the food

and liquor stocks. Before we thought of  it we had an

invasion of troops from everywhere who started a

private salvage. They were successful in getting some

toasted cigarettes and surprisingly enough there

were lots of bottles of beer which had not burnt. Troops soon

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found these and made pigs of themselves. We had to place

a guard around the debris but it did not stop the pilfering

particularly at night. For over a week during the cleaning

up this went on and any one found with a beer bottle

was charged. The heat was so great that lots of the glass

was melted and molten masses a foot thick were

scattered about. On the other hand despite the fact that

you could not get nearer than 50 yards due to the heat

the amount of undamaged stuff was remarkable. No

one can estimate how much as so much was thieved.

As an instance - despite the losses from the fire and from

troops stealing bottles after we had cleaned up there

were 84 dozen bottles of beer unbroken carted away

from the canteen. An inquiry was set up and we

had the Palestine Police about investigating all the

natives and Jews. It came out in evidence that the

fire started a minute after a guard had looked

around the buildings and that it started by explosions

from ten places at once. Nothing definite really came

out of the inquiry although everyone was certain it was

sabotage. No one could be found to charge although

some evidence pointed to certain of the assistants so

it could not be proved whether it was an act instigated

by the enemy or an act of revenge. The last is more

possible as the turnover in assistants at all canteens

was large as the never could be honest and were

usually detected in stealing goods or cash. Two-up

as a gambling game did not have an easy run in the

Battalion. It was impossible to stop it altogether but

we made it so difficult and chivied them so much that

things never got out of hand. Jenks just before I left had

a breakdown in his heel from some old injury and

it turned septic. He was sent to Gaza and from there

he wrote asking if he could be transferred to the hospital

as an orderly. I knew it was his wish to learn all he

could for use in the future - in fact he was half my

batman and half Russ Godby's medical orderly.

If ever I wanted him quickly he was most likely in

the R.A.P. As you know I agreed and once again

how much wiser we are after events. Had I refused

he might still be alive instead of drowning off Greece.

When we arrived our main Camp road was not finished

although the roads within each Battalions lines had

been so we were treated to the spectacle of Arab workmen 

 95

laying road metal. The routine was to dump large piles

of rocks and set men breaking them by hand with hammers.

When this had been done a gang arrived to spread the

metal. Each gang was divided into parties with one

spreader of metal who was the absolute autocrat and about

8 boys and young men who carried a measure of metal

from the pile to him. This measure was a kind of heavy

rubber basket which was filled at the heap and carried

to the metal spreader. It had to be handed to him just

so or else he immediately lost his temper and either

booted or smacked his assistant. Another thing he always

did was never to hand back the emptied basket but 

to sling it behind him. If annoyed he would either

throw it at the owner or else as far away as possible.

This was the invariable method of working and whilst

the carriers did not seem to work hard they kept their

boy friend busy and the road progressed quickly. It

looked an expensive method but the pay was so small

that it did not matter. In the Jewish areas women worked

on road making - I never saw them at it but others including

Theo have. I must tell you a true story about Jewish

women artisans in this case carpenters. The showers for

the camp of the first convoy were being erected and the

water was on but the roof had not. The C.O of the

regiment was having his morning shower whilst two

carpenters were putting the roof on. He was mostly enjoying

himself under it when he looked up and was horrified

to find that what he thought were two men - were women.

Collapse of the shower party as he had by now been joined

by others. I think I told you of the tricks I played on

Guinn for his birthday. He had ragged me for some

thing so I went down to the canteen and bought

three articles, soap, shaving soap and toothpaste I

think. I then wrote him a letter from the three girls

and faked the address and stamp on the package

and arranged for the delivery by the postman on his

birthday. I thought he would drop to it but he

swallowed it hook, line and sinker but I hadn't

the heart to tell him for over a fortnight. Especially

when I found he had written and thanked

them. When I did tell him he took it well and

I really was pleased that he had all the fun

and excitement even if it was spurious. I have

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always wondered why he never smelt a rat at the

coincidence of the parcel arriving on the exact day

of his birthday. I must tell you how the Arabs draw

water and thresh their wheat and cereals. Over the well

they either have a pump with a long handle to which

they affix a donkey or camel and this walks round

and round. The more usual method is to have a

pulley with a sheep's skin for bucket at one end and

a camel or donkey at the other end and it just goes back

and forwards as required. To thresh their wheat they

place it on the hard ground of the village square and

drive all sorts of assorted cattle round in a circle

usually attached to a pole like a capstan. Their hooves

do the job and on windy days they winnow the grain

from the straw by throwing it against the wind. The

last thing about Palestine is our leaving of it. For a number

of days before we returned some gear and packed the rest.

Everybody was busy and we finally got things finished.

Troops were travelling on one train ∧^[[?]] and our goods in

one big train for the Brigade. Finally on a dark cloudy

night September 13/14 we embussed in the Battalion

lines and travelled by road to Barbara and entrained.

We actually drew out about 12.30 commencing on our journey

proper on 14 September.  We had mounted our anti aircraft

guns at each end of the train and also had a special

truck mounted for A.A in the centre. Besides which our

signallers wired the whole train and Theo's compartment

was connected both to the engine and the guards van

and to Corp spread throughout the train. Eugene

Gorman was there and he distributed cake, tinned

fruit and cigarettes to everyone from the Comforts

Fund.  We then set out on the return journey over

the route we had come some four months before but

in much pleasanter conditions and this time the

troops had carriages instead of trucks. Everyone was

very tired but eager for Egypt and whatever lay

before us. There are many incidents and events of

Palestine darling that I have forgotten and omitted

so I shall leave a little time before I start my 

story of Egypt and Libya to try and remember

them. If I don't I shall make a note and later on go back.97

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I have not quite finished with Palestine.  I have been talking with

Theo about visits to Arab towns and he gave me some additional 

information. The Arabs are extremely proud that is the Buktar and

it is on record that the big noise of Beersheeba considered it beneath

his dignity to be visited by junior officers so he sent into Corps Hqrs

and told them that he was surprised that he had not been visited

by a Senior officer. So Theo was sent on this trip. Others were very

conscious to of what they rated and were very indignant if anything

less than a company was sent as escort. As all work is done by

the arab women the men have all day to think out these things

and it has become rather like a game to them although it

might be a very grim one.  We had a trans Jordan Arab attached

to us as an interpreter and he led us through all the routine.

On reaching a village a display of force is made by mounting of

arms - and the officer then proceeds on foot into the village to call

on the Buktar. He has already received a list of questions to

which answers are required by the authorities. But to go direct

to the point would be considered the height of rudeness by the

Arab.  On calling on the Buktar you pay him all sorts of compliments

and received them. The game is to try and beat them by saying

something better than they. After some time at this you move to the

village reception or audience house.  Possibly only a special

part of the village square. Cushions are provided and all the

men - that is those who have reached the stage of manhood arrive

and sit around in a semi circle facing the guest. The Buktar

stands for the whole time behind his guest. It has evolved from

olden times and in the tradition of Arab Hospitality that he is

responsible during the time of your visit for your health and

arms and this is the best position from which to fulfill his

charge. At the same time it is a very good strategic position

should the guest try any funny business. Then comes the

ceremony of drinking coffee. You are presented with a tiny cup

of thick muddy Turkish coffee very sweet and and a large glass

of water. The significance of the water is not as we thought to wash

down the coffee.  It is brought in case you are thirsty and 

then you drink the coffee.  The first cup is the welcoming one

and the second the ceremonial one.  All this time the exchange

of flowing and complimentary conversations and question and

answer is going on.  You cannot be in a hurry and when you

have stayed for sufficient time you intimate that you must go.

Then the game carries on. Immediately the Buktar will

suggest that you stay to a feast and offers to kill a young calf.

Should you accept you would probably throw them into

confusion as they probably have no calf and in any case

eating fresh killed meat would be terrible.  So the ritual

goes on. You plead that your superiors had given you an

order that you must be back at a certain time and much

as you regret it you must go. After suitable protestations the

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third cup of coffee is produced, the stirrup cup. Even now

you cannot just get up and leave but must wait 5 or 10

minutes.  Otherwise you would lose everything by rudeness

when it is the right and proper time you rise and make

salutations to the assembly and accompanied by the Muktar

walk off. He must accompany you under all the laws of

hospitality until you dismiss him and relieve him of the 

responsibility of your care.  Should you walk miles without

dismissing him he would still be with you.  I don't know

if you remember Nelson. A fair headed very innocent

looking lad. On one of his visits he was offered a wife for

$100. How he refused I don't know but he was at that time

the least likely to have accepted and was a marvellous

charge of the Arab.  I have also had the dress of a Captain in 

the Palestine Police described to me. They were shaker drill

shirts and shorts with a bright blue cummerbund about

a foot wide.  All their leather work is mirror polished but

for headdress they wear a variation of the Arab turban (if

you like) in blue and gold and believe me they really

are picturesque.  To continue our journey.  We arrived at Kantara

about one oclock and had a short halt on the Palestine side as

I think I told you the means of crossing the Canal is by a Barry

rather similar to the Williamstown Ferry across the Yarra and

it was a slow. It carried vehicles and troops and natives

and it took a long while to get the whole Battalion across.

Finally we did get across. Somewhere back in Beit Jirja the

troops had adopted an Alaskan dog and kept him very

quiet.  They were determined to take him along and although

whispers of the attempt had reached us it was not

discovered on the buses or the train. However the Jerry

defeated them and the Egyptian Police impounded him as no

dogs are allowed free travel between the countries without

a period of quarantine. The troops were broken hearted and 

so was the dog. He was held on a leash by an impassive

policeman - a big chap too - and whenever any native

approached the dog sprang at them and he nearly pulled

the sixfoot policeman over. Many times he only missed

connecting by a hairs breadth and seemed to know just

how far he could pull his jailer. Natives who thought they

were safe were unpleasantly surprised by this calculating

hound. He was a beautiful dog though. Secrecy of movement

must be ordered but it never seems able to overcome the

bush telegraph.  As soon as we hit the Egyptian side of

the canal we were beseiged by hawkers - there must

have been a hundreds. Where they got information from

lord knows. Combined with their voices and [[impertinence?]]

and the cries of the money changers the station was bedlam 

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Both sides of the canal have Money changers who will change

Egyptian with Palestine and vice versa and they appear

also to have season tickets on the Ferry.  They usually

offer a couple of points below the bank rate and for small

amounts it means nothing and is very convenient. The

hawkers sold everything. Switches - watchstraps - Cigarette

cases (nudes and others), photo xxxxxxxx frames - laces - jewellery

bangles and necklaces, sweets - magazines of very doubtful

purity - I can't remember everything. The only other vendor worth 

mentioning was the seller of obscene photographs and postcards.

Egypt has always been noted for this but they now have a

law against the sale and while it is not difficult to find the

seller he has to take all sorts of precautions against the police

catching him. We had a very long wait on this side of the

canal until our train arrived and when it did like all

railways was short a carriage. It took some time and trouble

to fit everyone in but at last we were finished besides having

mounted over anti aircraft defence and again wiring the

train with our telephones. Just before the train was due to

leave another sort of hawker arrived along the carriages

and offered bottles of whiskey and beer for sale. They always

left this until the very last with good reason. Apart from

now not allowing troops to buy the cunning Egyptians had

collected emptied whiskey bottles, the tinfoil tops and

tissue paper - filled the bottles with clear cold tea and

very carefully rewrapped it. They made a wonderful

imitation and for awhile sold some at about 25/-

a bottle until the fraud was discovered. By some sixth

sense they knew and had faded from the scene before

any irate soldier could find them.  It was actually a great

lesson and we had no more trouble.  Another feature of train

travelling was the ability to buy hard boiled eggs. Very nice

but sometimes doubtful as to age. Further down from our

crossing they also had a rail ferry which brought over two

trucks at a time. Jack Bishop knew all about the habits

of Egyptian Railways and he travelled with us to Kantara

but stayed there to see that we lost none of our goods train

which was following after. Egyptians were marvellous

at losing trucks and sending them to Part Said or Suez.

He had a very hectic time but succeeded in getting all

the Brigades trucks together. Unfortunately for him there

was no carriage on the train and he had to travel on

the kasbak - the equivalent of a guards van on a goods

train. It is not covered and has no sides and looks

like a big trolley with a hard seat. As he was clad

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in shirts and shorts only he darn near froze and had

an unenviable journey. We started on our journey to

Cairo passing through the two big towns of Ishmalia and

Zagazig and finally arrived in the marshalling yards

outside Cairo station. On the journey down we had a wonderful

meal made up of our parcels and the comfort Gorman

had given us. We had sausages which we fried on a primus

stove - asparagus and strawberries and cream and tinned

fruit and cake; a wonderful time. I can't remember whether

we had anything spirituous to drink but hardly imagine

we missed even that. At Cairo we had to be shunted onto

the line which goes out through Abbassia to Helwan which

who to be our new camp. Helwan is about 19 miles outside

the city. Before I forget. The Egyptian railways are quite good.

They were built by Continental contractors and are well

ballasted. Their engines are Belgian French and German

and their passenger carriages are mainly all steel construction

corridor cars of German or Belgian construction.  All lights

of course had been blued over and the windows blacked

out. The carriages were comfortable and each had a fan

in it which was worked from a dynamo under the

carriage. If we stopped for long then the fan did too and

believe me any long halt was soon unbearable due

to heat.  We must have been in the yards for over two hours

and we could see over the yards to the main road to

Heliopolis. Besides there were some very fine new buildings

and there was much of interest. Again with the bush

telegraph working we were soon pestered with hawkers

mostly with lemonade and cigarettes and a couple of

whiskey sellers.  They got rather a cold reception.  there was

another thing about buying cigarettes this way. The artful

Egyptians used to do a big business in picking up butts

off the street and rerolling.  That has been shopped but you

never know whether these hawkers were putting it over. The

Railway police apparently had orders to clear these people

away from us and it caused endless amusement to

see these old chaps try and catch the very fleet youngsters.

They were armed with sticks and whips and occasionally

but only occasionally succeeded in getting a cut in.

Anyway the voluminous garments deadened the blows. It

was a noisy rapid scene and passed the time away.  As

our train was a heavy one and as we found out later

the grade was fairly sharp in spots it had to have

two engines which they put at either end. The Egyptian

shunter has a red and green flag and uses his

whistle and these flags very freely.  Only the engine 

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driver never seemed to understand and the shunters

used to dance with rage.  The crowning insult and

our greatest amusement was when both engines started

but in different directions. One would puff and we

would move a few feet then the other would start and it

would gain the ground for itself.  We thought the head

shunter would die of apoplexy.  After a long conference we

started with both engines going in the same direction

and gradually got along. Everyone was interested in

their first view of Cairo - not so much me as I had already

been there. Still we travelled through a part I knew

that is Abbassia and then past the Citadel.  It is really

an old fortress and looks impregnable from the view we

had of it.  As I told you before I did not go and see its

treasures but from the outside I could picture all the

grim happenings and tragedies that had occurred in its

history. Just past the Citadel we passed and I mean

literally through the burial ground of Cairo.  Each

grave was in a mudwalled enclosure and it stretched

for miles. The richer graves had little houses with

doors and there seemed millions of these memorials.  It

was like passing through a dead village or rather the

village of the dead.  A grim, hasty and depressing place

and like all cemeteries the rich and the poor were there

and showed it.  It must have taken half an hour to

get past this place and I for one was heartily glad.

We came to a branch station where we had a long wait

whilst our engines filled up again with water.  Their

long uphill trip although on a gradual grade had

used up all their supplies.  Whilst we were there all

the dirty little brats for miles around came begging

and there is something appealing through their dirt and

squalor that just makes you throw money to them.  No

doubt begging is bred in them and they know how

to work it on Australians.  Egyptian policemen had

no terrors for them unless they were within range of his

stick and I have no doubt that they collected countless

wins.  We adopted one rather sickly weak little girl

who was constantly losing out in the scramble and

she did not suffer for it.  They kept this cry for "baksheesh"

long after we had run out of our supplies of small

coins.  On the other side one rather well dressed

boy in some sort of a school uniform made his

fortune very quietly.  There was a decent fight

between two of the boys with the smaller winning to 

 102

our delight.  I missed mentioning another hawker we

met.  The vendor of oranges but I am afraid they were as

often as not boiled to increase their size and price

with no juice and less taste.  On the other side of the train

was a deep valley rising to the escarpment on which

the Citadel was some miles back.  We could see some old

women lived in a couple of caves and others nearer to us

were carrying water some distance from a well and

mixing what looked like mud pies.  When thick enough

they shaped the mixture into thin large discs and

laid them out in the sun to dry.  A wind sprang up

and blew a pile of recently collected dried ones down

the hill - they rolled and bounced to within 20 yards

of us.  They turned out to be for fire - they used camel

buffalo and donkey droppings and in effect made

a compressed fuel.  You must understand that practically

the only trees in Egypt are food trees - fruit or dates

and all timber has to be imported.  There are no forests

and consequently no wood for cooking except at a price

to much for the fellaheen to pay.  We continued on our journey

finally and had some glimpses of the Nile.  We finally

arrived at Helwan Station but not our destination.  Helwan

has a famous Health springs and it was there that the

late Kaiser built himself a palace - it later became a

hotel and when we arrived had been taken over as

a hospital by the New Zealanders.  Even the station

house had Baden-Baden underneath its own

home plate.  This is a name relative to the famous

German health resort.  We continued some miles

out of the station and detrained opposite some trucks

in the midst of a howling sandstorm.  It was not a 

very nice introduction to our new camp - rather worse

than our reception in Palestine and we were not

heartened by the pessimistic croakings of our drivers

who said that it had been like this for days and that

the place was noted for it.  By the way Mick and our

transport had preceded us by road and had

arrived a few days before.  Their forecasts were all wrong

for after the storm had blown itself out I can't remember

another - in fact the weather was beautiful.  We could

see some water tanks in the distance and were told

that these were for camp washing and indicators on 

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the side showed the level. We figuratively licked our lips

at the thought of the wonderful baths we were going to have

but we were doomed to a great disappointment. They were

empty and it was some days before the showers functioned.

As I said we got out of our train onto a bare sandy plain about

2 miles from our camp. The sandstorm made things very

unpleasant and our spirits reacted accordingly. The trucks

swiftly transported us onto a good macadam road and

carried us to the camp site.  Like all new camp sites it 

looked bare and forbidding - the permanent buildings

being a long way apart and seemed very small in

the area. We had almost similar appointments in the

way of buildings as in Palestine. An officers and a 

sergeants mess building near to a large canteen for

the men. Half a mile away were the Battalion offices and

stores in two large buildings. I shall tell you more

about them later. As our tents were on the brigade goods

train we were without tents so our first night at Helwan

was spent in the open sleeping in company areas. Each

man had one blanket and as the wind and storm

had dropped there was nothing unpleasant about it.

Company Commanders - Russ Godby Mick and the C.O.

and adjutant slept on the floor of the mess. Next day

the goods train arrived and we were flat out getting our

tents and stores from the siding. We only had our own

transport and this was very limited we had to make

many journeys with our small 15 cwt trucks. As the

tents etc. had been loaded in bulk items we got say

the tents all together but without poles or sides. Then 

a load of ridgepoles without the uprights and lastly

all the bags of tent pegs and mallets. In the meantime

I had laid out the camp into Company areas and

was generally checking the companies that no tent

was nearer than 100 yards to another and that also

they got no nearer than the same distance to a building.

Again there was to be no regularity of position and as

I travelled round there were numerous tents dropped

and re-erected facing different ways and some in

different places as where two companies joined nether

wanted to give way to the other as it meant the possible

altering of the situations of the whole of the company's

tents. Gradually we produced order and with a few

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exceptions had the camp well laid out.  It was easier than

in Palestine as we had much greater area but I cannot describe

the difficulties of fitting the tents into their allotted area.  There

always seems to be one or two that can't be fitted in.  The

same procedure for sleeping in the mess was adopted again

but next day I got on to the erection of the officers lines

near the mess which stood on a small hill.  By that night

we had all the Company Cdrs tents - Adjutant C.O. 2 ^I/C

Padre etc erected around the mess.  All Company officers 

other than Company Commanders slept in Company lines

and they had a long trip to meals.  This day coincident

with the putting up of the final tents all Companies were

digging out their tents to a depth of 3 feet as a precaution

against bombing.  Easy digging but not so easy to stack

the loose shifting sand. Generally things were shipshape

by night and the men had their bed boards and mosquito

nets erected and generally were comfortable. We knew that

timber was scarce in Egypt and we brought as much as

we could from Palestine. It caused a lot of curses both ends

but proved a great blessing as it was almost impossible

to beg borrow or steal anything that looked like wood.

Another very urgent job we had to fix up the first day was

our sanitation. As Beit Jirja the building had been

erected but at Helwan there were none. So we had to

erect a large number of field latrines - that is a

hessian screen.  The army issue for a man is a very

large bucket with a wooden seat which fits over it.  An

egyptian had the contract for removal of the soil and

it took us about a week to educate him into our

ways and our requirements.  The Egyptian native like

the Arab has no idea of sanitation or cleanliness

and things were not so good for the first few days.  The

next appearance in the lines were the inevitable newspaper

 sellers who had to have an accredited pass.  Hundreds

apparently didn't and Ramsay had a great time.  At

the same time no hawkers were allowed and as they

came from all directions it took time to convince

them that it was dangerous to come into this camp.

The newspaper seller knew little English and was soon

taught blasphemous obscene and scurrillous cries

by the troops.  Each morning they arrived with the

cry "Good news today" Good news today" - - -

-.  I think every Commanding Officer of any Battalion

in the A.I.F. suffered by having his name included 

 105

as well as the usual one of the celebrities of the enemy nations

Wookey had gone sick in Palestine and as I had lost

Jenks I used his batman for a fortnight. Guinn and I were

in a tent together until he went to Palestine and as a 

batman Wookeys might have been a good nightcart driver.

He was terrible and I soon seized the opportunity to

send him back to his owner.  At this time I got another

bout of sandfly and was in bed when OReilly came

into the tent.  He was a youngster in my company a thin

redhaired Irishman and had not impressed himself

on me. He said he had heard I wanted a batman

and was prepared to do the job for a fortnight or so until

Jenks got back.  I agreed and he soon brought a change

in the tent.  Within an hour it was speckless and

looked like a tent again.  At the time I expected Jinks

back again but as time went on and he did not return

I soon felt I didn't care as this lad was so good.  As I

go to understand him and he me we fitted in well

and both were happy.  When Jenks asked for his transfer

I had no hesitation in agreeing as OReilly had by

now proved a better find than Jenks.  About a hundred

yards away we found a bed of little gravelly stones the

relic of the time the sea had covered this area. It

was quite usual to find shells and some of these stones

had been worn and polished by the action of water that

they were very pretty.  I had a few for you but I lost them.

Anyway when I got up I arranged for a couple of loads

for the tent and when OReilly spread them the tent

looked and was extremely nice.  OReilly at this time

was only 20 and I thought very quiet and unoffensive.

I soon found that there was very little I could teach

him about scrounging and getting things done and

later I found that whatever he did he remained a

favorite with the troops.  Now a bit about our permanent

buildings.  The Battalion offices and stores were just the same as

in Beit Jirja. In past the plans of camps were almost standard

and they only differed in small particulars as in this case.

The mens canteen here was larger and much better furnished

as to sales room but we had to arrange for extra tables and

forms so that the men could sit down and drink beer in

some sort of comfort. As in Palestine it was a crime to

take beer into the lines so it had to be consumed on the

premises.  Attached to the canteen buildings were two large

106

rooms which were furnished with tables and chairs we

brought from Palestine.  With a library we had brought

from Palestine and with ping pong tables etc it was soon made

habitable.  Lights were the difficulty. Electricity had not been

laid on and there was a scarcity of large oil lamps and

even with lamps kerosene was rationed in Egypt. Still it

was daylight fairly late and we were not unduly inconvenienced.

The officers and sergeants messes were substantially the same

and were in fact a little larger if anything but the buildings

themselves were about ¹/₁₀ as good.  They had concrete floors

and were put up in sections made of 12 inch planks.  The

wood was warped and the beams of the roof were badly cut

warped and after they had been whitewashed looked

terrible.  The whole effect was rather like a very old barn

or cowshed and the cracks in the walls let dust and 

wind in.  The windows particularly had no glass and it

was nearly a week before the glaziers arrived and put

the glass in.  I will admit that if you were drunk enough

and romantic enough and half shut your eyes in the

dim lamplight you could almost imagine that you were

in a lovely oldworld barn or high raftered house.  But

as soon as you opened your eyes the effect was nerve shattering

again and just plain hell.  The kitchens and mess rooms

were a great improvement here as they were all buildings

and the cooks for the first time had built-in ranges of

an adequate capacity with a reasonable chance of doing

some real cooking.  The mess rooms too were close to the

kitchens and the men were able to get food not cold after a

long carry.  I have just remembered that in Palestine our

main cooking utensils were oil-burning Sawyers stoves

in other words just plain coppers.  We did build some

mud ovens with a forced air draft using old engine sump

oil by which we were able to do some baking and

roasting but only when our trucks supplied the fuel.  All

frying and roasting had to be done on trench fires. So

that at Helwan the cooks were very happy.  The canteen

also had a large kitchen with a range and a very good

Sudanese cook.  Now and again I went there with Russ

Godby and had steak and eggs but only occasionally.

Russ was always finicky and had a lot of meals.

The only other building of note was the shower building.

It was centrally situated for the brigade and was the cause

of more cursing than anything else.  It was always a 

long walk for anyone and as far as the officers were 

107

concerned they usually made up a truck load and drove

over.  Whether you went by car or walked the arrival at the

showers was always fraught with uncertainty.  They were 

supposed to be hot but it was either boiling or not at all.

The greatest trouble was that after gaily soaping yourself

all over the water failed and would not come on again

for about two hours so you went home and 

got the dry soap off with a small ration of water that

experience taught you to keep in your tent. We also fixed

up Russ with his RAP but in this case he could not have

concrete slabs but had to be content with gravel and

packed sand. I was also able to give him another tent

and within a short time the inevitable refrigerator was

set up. We had an accident and broke the glass chimney of

the kerosene lamp which controlled the heating. I was in

Cairo and had a devil of a job finding replacements but was

able to buy the only two glasses here. They cost about 4/6 each

for some glass about 3 inches high. The whole Division had

been concentrated at Helwan and roads had been well

made - macadam and the camp was well dispersed and

travel between units meant going so distance. The local

method of making crossroads is to have a [[?]] of a circle

and you must always travel round by the right. It 

obviates two meeting cars and would be a good idea

if it could be introduced into Australia. I forget if I ever

told you that right of the road is the rule both here

and in Palestine. For awhile it was very hard to get used to

and caused a few accidents as our drivers who had been

trained to the left hand rule in an emergency usually

followed their instinct and swerved the wrong way into

the accident and made matters worse. They soon learnt

however. Another facility which belonged to the camp was

the Laundry whose owner as usual had a contract. They

made a good job but I would not send anything as I 

was afraid of Dobeys Itch. It is a skin irritation usually

caught from clothes washed by natives and is a germ that

loves perspiration and the parts of the body most sweaty get

it. I dont know how I got it in Palestine as I never allowed

any of my clothes to go to the laundry there. I had a

small patch under the crutch and the cure was Whitfields

ointment. It always seemed to me that the germs just

loved the cure and the only effect was to damage and

spoil my underpants. The other cure is iodine which

did a lot of good and I arrived in Egypt practically

cured. It started again and really fired up and also

spread under my armpits. Russ put me on to Whitfields

again but it did no good. So when I complained he said

108

all I could do was to use iodine. I think his tongue was in

his cheek for OReilly used to be greatly amused in the

mornings when I dressed the very tender skin of my crutch

with strong iodine. I used to dance for five minutes. The

armpits cleared up quickly but even then the iodine only

kept the other part in check. I finally found that dry talc

powder was the best and it was not until we were out in

the desert that it finally disappeared. As usual we found

out a few days later that the British Army in India where

this itch is rife cure it in a few days with vinegar and

water. There were in the camp two cinema shows. One was an

open air one and the other a very ramshackle building built

of all sorts of old timber and galvanised iron owned by a chap

called Shaftoo. He had a contract and  had these rotten

buildings in most camps. Someone told me that he was in

the A.I.F in the last war and stayed in Egypt and has

made a fortune in the cinema industry there. Whether

this is true or not I don't know. From now on I shall jump

from incident to incident without any continuity - just as I 

remember them. Harry and I decided to go into Cairo one night

but we were both nearly broke. Between us we had about

30/- - I mean £1.10.0 Egyptian so we had to go into committee

I of course was supposed to know Cairo so we decided to

go on a pub crawl. There are no hotels as we know them

except the larger ones like the Continental and Shepheards

but there are a number of bars. These are usually open

until about 12.30 and then close until 5.30 and stay open 

until 1 or 2 oclock in the morning. They invariably give you

in any bar in Cairo some sort of a snack with a drink.

Either peanuts or potato crisps or prawns. Anyway we had a

good programme. We arranged to be driven the four miles into

Helwan station from which the fare into Cairo is very cheap

and only an hours run in very modern and fast diesel

engined rail motors. I can describe them. They are

huge and long and very comfortable and usually draw

another carriage. They look very smart in aluminium

and brass and crack along at about 60 miles per hour.

Some of our young officers soon got in with the drivers and

I think they all at one time drove one of these. I don't

suppose the other passengers would have liked this had 

they known. The carriages and motors were built in

Germany and were very comfortable and delightful to ride

in. The only snag is that they stop running at 12 midnight.

Whilst on the subject of trains the Egyptian drive loves

the whistle particularly the steam train driver who when