Thomas Whyte Collection - Wallet 1 - Part 9 of 14

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the fifth time. You felt much
like I did the first month. If it
hadn't been for being caught
I believe I would have sloped
back to S.A. Still I am gradually
getting resigned but it still hurts
a lot. I did not send a telegram
from Fremantle as I had no
means of getting one off until
we had been there a couple of
days. Always remember no news
is good news. You will hear
quickly enough if anything goes
wrong. Our tent have an arrange-
ment that way. I am dying to hear
all about Molly. It will be hard
to realise her quickly growing brain.
I am glad I was wrong about
you & her. Keep me posted about
here new sayings. I sent that
dilapidated p.c. from Fremantle
I hope you received it. I am enclosing
the photo we had taken on the
Ascanius of the Colonel's boat
crew. I only got hold of one yesterday

21
I put the names on in case you
would not recognise me.
What are the outings you have arranged
for us? I hope Morphetville is not
one.
I have posted an illustrated paper
of a sort. The only Australian
troops that took part in the march
in Cairo were the Queensland
Light Horse.
The behaviour of the Aust. troops has
been excellent. You see very
little drunkeness, less than in
Adelaide + 20000 of here, to times
as many as were in Adelaide. They
pay for anything they get, not
like in South Africa. Occasionally
there may be a bit of a row
always caused by some native
trying to cheat. The Cairenes
like us better than the [[Terriers]]
or N.Z. Everyday nearly there
is a letter in the paper praising
us. I don't know whether they
will still appear after we get
 

22
our back pay.
I don't think I told you of the
wonderful vegetables we get here.
Cabbages larger than you ever
saw, with perfect hearts & not
the sign of the grub. Cauliflowers
the same and beautiful new 
potatoes. Onions & leeks are 
plentiful too. The tomatoes are
large & good. The natives say
it only takes 4 weeks to grow
a cabbage.
Well I think I have exhausted
all the news this week.
I really enjoy writing these
letters, something I never thought
possible. I imagine I am
talking to you all the time.
Well, keep on smiling darling
it won't be more than [[5?]]
months now.  Goodnight little
girl. Your loving husband
Tom.

23
Letter No 7
Mena Camp.
Cairo
Jan 3rd 1914
My Dear Sweetheart,
I have left writing
to you until Sunday afternoon this
week. We have had a busy week, no holiday
on New Years Day, Sir Geo Reids review & the
new company formations. No Australian
letters are to hand. I am not surprised
as from your 5 Nov. letter I gather
that no mail was to leave the following
week. I had a double surprise however
in letters from Stewart & Aunt Nellie
or Eleanor or whatever her name is, Mrs
Dick Champion I mean. She wrote a
general letter & very kindly offered to
send anything I wanted in the way of
socks, body belts etc. Thanks to you I have
everything I can possibly want though.
It is a very nice letter. She mentions
that Mr & Mrs Fallon called before leaving
in the 'Osterley'
Here is an extract from Stewarts letter
'I'm shortly going to desert & make for a
 

24
cavalry regiment....I can't stick being
out of the biggest battle in history....
what about your half section, has he gone too?"
not a word about the last line to anybody.
I wish I had half his warlike spirit.
He is very bitter against the rebel Boers
& German atrocities. I like Stewart,
though if we had been contemporaries
a century or so ago I would have been
his deadliest enemy.
Well let me see what I can tell
you about the weeks doings.
Sir Geo Reid reviewed the one half of
the Division on Wednesday & the
remainder including the 10th on
Thursday. The 8 or 9 thousand
made some show I can tell you.
We formed up in close order while
he made a short speech. We then
marched past in column of route
(fours) & did it very well, so they
told us. The new General commanding
the Aust. & N.Z. Divisions was there. Burwood is his name I think.
This appointment is interesting as
they make us an Army Corps though
 

25
the total 30,000 is only about half
the usual strength of a British one.
This points to special work away
from the front. It may possibly
mean Palestine. The Turks seem
to have got themselves into a
muddle & biding our time a chance
might come of annexing Palestine
bloodlessly. Settling it with Jews
from Britain & Russia would possibly
be a popular move. Of course all
this is purely surmise. I know
no more than you what the intentions
of the authorities are.
On New Years Eve we had some fun
'Lights out' blew at 10:15 as usual
& everything was quiet. About
11.30 one or two tents collapsed on
their occupants & the band started to
quietly assemble. At midnight
there was a tremendous burst of
music from all over the camp.
More tents collapsed and down went
the canteen tent. The [[niggers]] inside
were moaning in a most heartrending
 

26
way when it started to shake.
Just before it finally subsided one
ran outside frantically yelling
'Poleece Poleece'. We started off
on a procession with the band,
armed with every conceivable piece
of metal capable of making a row
Along the main road (named Canberra
Road) we marched, picking up bands
& half clothed soldiers until we must
have been 2000 strong. At each
battalion we would halt & play
'Auld Lang Syne' joining hands
all round. In the bright moonlight
some of the figures were looked fearful &
wonderous wild in nothing but their
short shirts. Our drum major
was a 6 ft 6 Queenslander who wielded
a 10 ft flagpole without regard to
instruments heads or shins.
Right along the road we wandered
down to the Artillery lines &
Light Horse gathering fres reinforcements
& dropping those whose spare clothing
was not proof against the cold
 

27
the officers would come out & wish
us a 'Happy New Year' & join in
the 'Auld Lang Synes' then on to
the hospital at Mena House to
give the patients & General a treat.
All the instruments not legitimate
kept quiet there, which the patients
and General, no doubt appreciated
We got back to our lines about 2 o'clock
Don't conclude from this description
that it was a shickers parade.
Ninety five per cent were cold sober.
Those who had had a drop were just
in the right state to keep us amused
New Years day we started on the
new Company formations.
There are only 4 companies now
instead of eight Major Beevor, Captains
Jacob, Herbert & Oldham have the commands
& the other four captains are seconds
in command Each company is
divided into 4 platoons under
a subaltern & platoon sergeant & each platoon into four
sections under a non. com. It is
much easier for field work but
 

28
harder for drill. We still have
Hosking for subaltern in No 1 Platoon
Sergeant Henwood is Platoon Sergeant
while Jack Gordon is section commander
& still retains his stripes. We joined
in with F Company so Captain
Redburg is second in command
& Lieuts. Gordon Holmes & Talbot Smith
have charge of Nos. 3 & 4 Platoons.
Dennis Jones, Rhodes, Crowhurst
& Dukien all Adelaide Rowing Club
boys are in No 3 Platoon. The
address is now.
No 1 Platoon, A Company;
10th Infantry, 3rd Brigade;
First Australian Division, Egypt
The sections are only half the size
now and our old tent at Morphettville
forms No 1 Section with a couple of
other very decent chaps. We will
be on Platoon drill for a week or
two with a little break at a some short
ranges now complete. They put
what they call a morris tube
in our rifle & small bullets are
 

29
fired at a hundred yards.
I was on Brigade Picquet last night
We helped to surround the brigade
at 10.30 & were on until 2 1.30. This
was because the authorities thought
a more than usual had broken
camp. We were up before reveille
this morning so you can understand
I am a bit tired.
The camp is getting much more
comfortable. The mess houses are
completed. There is plenty of
room at the tables twice as much
as we had on the boat. I am
writing now at one. The Y.M.C.A.
is complete with and a concert is given
nearly every night. At the back
of the lines there is quite a native
bazaar The two canteens where you
can purchase everything in
the grocery line, good lemonade
at 1¼ bottle which we prefer to
waiting half an hour for beer. A
haberdashery, drapery, ironmongery
& postcard vendors shop combined