Thomas Whyte Collection - Wallet 4 - Part 3 of 10

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of the party followed. They were kicking
up a most horrible noise, it was more
like a funeral.
Sunday I seem to have hardly time to
continue this letter until now.
Just after finishing this on Thursday
evening we got news of Fordhams
death. It came as a shock as we understood 
he was getting better. And it was
smallpox and in its worst form.
How it was his brother got the news that
contradicted smallpox goodness only
knows. No1 Platoon with the band all went to the funeral
party on Friday. We left here at 9 o'clock.
Twelve were the firing party, six including
me, pallbearers, & the rest formed the party with
Lieut Hosking in charge. We were taken
in a special tram right through Cairo
to Abbassia near Heliopolis. Then began
a long search for the Infectious Diseases Hospital.
We marched a mile along the Heliopolis
road to the Egyptian Army Hospital, as that
was not the one back we marched a mile
& a half then cut off to the left up a bit
of a hill past some brick works & the
Abbassia cow barn & found the Hospital.
It was then 1 o'clock. We had brought
no lunch with us so the matron & the

20
doctor two very fine French people, soon
prepared some tea & bread & butter. We
very soon eat them out so tucked into
some Arab bread. It is dark in appearance
shaped like a large pancake & somewhat
heavy & sour in taste. It was very
filling. There was no gun carriage
so a hearse that looked as if it ought
to have been burned too, had been
requisitioned. It was a ricketty wooden
affair with an almost collapsing wooden
cross on top. The whole was painted
a most billious bilious looking yellow & brunswick
black. After putting a Union Jack
over the coffin and a new hat & belt &
bayonet on top, off we started. The band
played the Dead March for half a mile
while we stepped in slow time. First line
came the firing party in file marching
with reversed arms; then the band followed by the hearse
with 3 pallbearers each side. Behind
it Fordhams brother then Hosking & the
others. There were not many people
about except a lot of delighted fellaheen
kids whom the undertaker was swearing
at most volubly in Arabic. After
the band had finished we broke into
an ordinary march & kept going for

21
two & a half hours without a stop on 
black asphalt roads right through Cairo
on th 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 tram 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 that 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 dont
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, on our way going  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

A represents the entrenched British positions
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 and 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 that about 1000 dead Turks have
been found which would mean roughly
5000 wounded or approximately 7000 casualties
out of their estimated force of 15,000. 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 Isaacsin 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 Mophetville but
kept back on account of illness & a
chap named Pritchard
We are trying to get up a Lacrosse match
with the Terriers. They evidently have
some crosses here as there was notice
of a match in yesterdays papers between
Lancastershire & Cheshire representative from
the E. Lancas. Fusiliers. Time is flying
and we are parading extra early to-morrow
so I will end by saying goodnight
darling.
Your ever loving Husband
Tom

27
14
Mena Camp
Feb 19. 15

My Dear Little Girl,
There seems something familiar
about the date to-day. I had almost forgotten
& only but 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 Mondays

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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 & assault
on a position at 'Tigers Tooth' an
outcrop of several sharp pointed small
hills where the 3rd Brigade rangers
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 movement
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,
cavalary etc. Heliograph flashes represent
the different kinds of fire by the enemy
& kettle drum rattles, machine gun fire