Thomas Whyte Collection - Wallet 2 - Part 3 of 12

21 
two & a half hours without a stop, on  
black asphalt roads right through Cairo  
on to through the old Roman aqueduct past the  
outskirts of Cairo & to the Protestant Cemetery.  
It must have been 7 or 8 miles. I forgot  
to tell you we were headed by a mounted   
Egyptian policeman who evidently wanted  
to impress his pals as he took us a  
roundabout way through the main streets  
of Cairo when the shortest lay nearer the  
river.  The parson was not there so 
Hosking had to read the service while  
we all stood round & the firing party  
leaned on their reversed rifles. Then  
3 volleys were fired & 3 of the band played  
the Last Post. We then marched across  
the Abbass II Bridge to Ghiza & caught  
a train for home reaching it about  
6.  It was a hot day & the roads gave us  
hell.  Poor Fordham was never popular  
but he had never been cursed as he was  
that day.  It is a shame to say anything  
against the dead but I don’t think there  
was anyone who liked him.  He was the  
biggest liar I ever knew. Even his brother,  
who seems quite a decent youngster, said  
so. I am telling you this so you can  
understand why I felt like I did all 

22 
through.  The only ones I feel at all sorry  
for are his brother who has shown himself  
quite calm all through and his parents 
in S.A. His father is a broker & probably  
well known to your father.  
Where he caught the smallpox no one  
knows. The doctor at the hospital told  
me it was the worst form, confluent  
eruptions all over the body, and there was  
no hope from the first. They got out  
of him that he had missed vaccination  
at on the boat. No one vaccinated could  
ever get it like that. How he missed is hard  
to say. He may have wiped it off just  
after being done. Apart from vaccinating  
A Coy & disinfecting our tent no precautions  
have been taken. Mickey Smith has worn  
his hat since he was the day he was 
 taken to the hospital with influenza 
All our vaccinations have taken in mild  
forms. Dr Nott says that shows we are  
practically immune. It is now over  
three weeks since Fordham was first  
taken to the hospital & no case has  
been reported so I suppose there is  
no risk now. 
Hosking promised to do his best to  
get us off parade Saturday. He was 

23 
successful until the 10th were ordered  
to make an attack on a position near  
the pyramids for the benefit of Divisional  
Headquarters so out we had to go.  
We must have done well as the General  
congratulated the Colonel & all the officers  
seemed pleased. I was up on my first  
crime sheet yesterday afternoon. Thursday 
morning I had to wait some time  
to get a shave & when I came down  
the Coy had just fallen in.  Gertie  
spotted me & put in a sheet. I had  
no hope of getting out of it so pleaded  
guilty & got 24 hours C.B. As I knew  
the sergeant & corporal of the guard I got  
out of reporting every half hour so  
I haven’t been caused the slightest  
inconvenience. C.B includes half an  
hours pack drill at 4.30 but as to-day  
is Sunday I miss that also.  
No further official news about the  
Commissions though the Engineers  
are supposed to have heard that the  
hundred or two recommended in the  
division have all been accepted except  
theirs more latrinograms  I suppose.  
That is what we call these rumours.  
Don’t repeat that word in case you don’t  
know the meaning of latrine. 

24
Brigade operations is the order this  
week Next week it is to be Divisional  
Operations & then there is talk of a  
slackening in the work.  The first  
brigade started off on a four days  
route march & bivouac on Friday.  
We passed them moving off North  
towards Memphis, going on our way to the funeral.  
Well what do you think of the Canal  
business now. The 7th & 8th came back  
the other day not having fired a shot  
much to their disgust. The New Zealanders  
had a couple killed and a few wounded  
pure bad luck they say. My engineer  
friend told me some very interesting  
news. In the Turks first attack you  
remember they were allowed to start  
erecting a pontoon bridge. Well the position  
was something like this. 
  
______________________________________________ 
                                   CANAL
______________________________________________ 
____ ____ ____          | |  C             E 
A  ____ ____ __         | |                          ____ ____ ____ ____ 
                                   | |  B                     A____ ____ ____ ___ 
                                   | | 
                                   | |  F     _____________ 
                                   | |        __________D__ 
  
A represents the entrenched British position 
B is a canal the engineers dug & C the  
ground they left to keep it from flooding  
D is the position the Turks entrenched 

25 
themselves in while they were trying  
to bridge the Canal at E, while a desultory  
fire was kept up by the entrenched British  
and from some Canal tugs & cruisers which had  
been mounted with 4” guns.  When they  
thought the Turks had gone far enough  
the point at C was cut & the tugs came  
right up to the position F where they were  
able to so enfilade the Turks that they  
were practically wiped out in the trenches.  
The rest were cut off while the pontoons  
were blown to blazes. In the second  
attack they had something of the same  
thing except using redoubts & when  
the Turks had advanced to the Canal  
the Egyptian Artillery blew them to bits  
from a concealed position on the  
other side of the Canal.  The latest information  
is about 1000 dead Turks have  
been found which would mean roughly  
5000 wounded or approximately 7000 casualties  
out of their estimated force of 15000 No wonder  
they have gone back. The prisoners are  
most horribly clad. Boots in pieces & out of  
date equipment They seem to have forced  
a lot of Bedouins & Syrians into service.  A lot of  
the Ghurka wounded have their hands  
cut through seizing the Turks bayonets 

26 
when they charged preparatory to using  
those murderous looking knives on them. 
There has not been the least sign of  
excitement either here or in Cairo.  
From the behaviour of the Cairenes you  
could not possibly imagine that  
Egypt was concerned in any war.  
Eric Isaacsen was out here yesterday.  
He is looking very well. The 10% Reinforcements  
have all been drafted into the  
different companies  We have two  
in our section. A chap named Clark  
who was in A Coy at Morphetville but  
kept back on account of illness & a  
chap named [[Bond?]].  
We are trying to get up a lacrosse match 
with the Jerries. They evidently have  
some crosses here as there was notice  
of a match in yesterdays papers between  
Lancastershire & Cheshire representative from  
the E. Lancers. Fusileers. Time is flying  
and we are parading extra early tomorrow  
so I will end by saying goodnight  
darling. 
Your ever loving Husband 
Tom

27 
Mena Camp 
Feb 19. 15 
My Dear Little Girl, 
There seems something familiar  
about the date to-day. I had almost forgotten 
but & only remembered this afternoon when we 
came in. Fancy me 29 It seems terribly  
old. An interesting coincidence is that  
to-day we complete six months service 
& are now all soldiers in the full sense 
of the word Until today we were only  
recruits. All the Citizen Force boys in 
this force will not be compelled to do 
any more, training in Australia; they have completed 
six months continuous service. The  
subalterns who had not received their 
second star were all promoted to first 
lieutenants to-day 
No mail again this week. What a  
terribly long week it is now, only one 
day in 14 to look forward to. 
I am not sure if a mail leaves from 
here this week. The papers publish 
no information & our brigade Post Office  
know nothing; they only make up the  
mails & send them into Cairo on Monday

28 
where they are forwarded by at the first 
opportunity. I believe there are only 
3 mails a week to Australia now but 
when they go I don't know. 
We have had quite an interesting week 
of Brigade manoeuvres. It has been advancing 
attacks defences retirements & night work. 
Tuesday we had a light day & at 7 we 
went out on an advance, attack and assault  
on a position at 'Tigers Tooth' an 
outcrop of several sharp pointed small 
hills where the 3rd Brigade ranges 
are. The Brigadier gave us a very 
difficult formation to advance with 
& we evidently carried it out to his satisfaction 
as he sent us in at 2 o'clock 
instead of 6 as was originally intended 
and said we had carried out movements 
that could only have been done by  
well trained troops. Our manoeuvres are 
interesting as we always have an  
enemy in the shape of flags which 
either represent a platoon or company  
Different coloured flags represent 
superior fire, equal fire, weaker fire, 
cavalry etc. Heliograph flashes represent 
the different kinds of fire by the enemy  
& kettle  drum rattles, machine gun fire

29 
If it is an advance & a red flag 
shows, we cannot move forward until 
steps have been take to overcome it 
by moving in reinforcements & of course 
this must be done without weakening  
any of the line sufficiently for the  
enemy to go pierce it. F Thursday  
& to-day the manoeuvres were carried 
out on a new ground to us, the 
other side of the pyramids. It is 
similar to the cam desert at on  
this side except that it is not quite 
so hilly. Yesterday we marched in 
going right alongside the Pyramids 
& past Mena House on to the camp road 
or 'Canberra St.' as it sign posts name  
it. 
Next week we have Divisional Training 
& then I believe we slacken off a lot. 
We may have a four days bivouac 
like the 1st Brigade; but nothing has 
been rumoured about it. I don't  
think we are likely to move from 
here for sometime. There have been 
three cases altogether of smallpox 
none of them recent but I hardly think 
they would move us until a quarantine 
time had passed from the last case.

30 
Wednesday was our leave day 
but all the Brigade had vaccination 
parade. All who had not taken sufficiently 
to show marks were done again. This 
is not really necessary but they 
evidently were taking no risks. I 
was done again but up to now there  
have been no signs. We were the 
last company to go through at about 
3 o'clock. Poor Harry Nott looked  
quite fed up, he had been at it from  
8 o'clock. We were then free to go 
to Cairo. I didn't find anything new 
Several of us had a bonzer dinner 
at the Restaurant Parisien. We always 
have afternoon tea at Groppis or Saulto 
two celebrated 'Confiserie Cafes' I think 
I told you about the wonderful creations 
you select yourself from the glass cases 
before you go into the tables. Wednesday  
was evidently not reckoned as a holiday 
as we are to get from 10 to 10:30 tomorrow 
Last Post has gone so I may not be able 
to continue until Sunday. 
Saturday afternoon I have not been into 
Cairo after all 'mafeesh filoose', no money, or  
at least not enough to make it 
worth while. I have found from experience.