Papers of Athol Cluny McPherson - Part 5

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Miss J.S. McPherson
"Clyne Milton"
Horsham
Victoria
Australia

PASSED

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Mena

Ciaro
Egypt Dec 13.^th 14

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My Dearest Mother
As they say a mail closes for Australia
tomorrow & I am on guard today, I think it is a good       
chance to write home, I sent a short note in last night
to be posted in Ciaro, but as it never had a stamp on it
doubt if it would go. This is a very interesting place
to be, we are camped right alongside the Pyramids, some

of them say it is on the ground that Napoleon camped before
the battle of the Pyramids. A guide that show us over
the Pyramids told us that Napoleon shot the nose off the
Sphnix. We had our Photos taken by the Sphnix with
the great Pyramid in it, it is a bonzer Photo & I’ll send
one home as soon as we get paid to get some stamps
we have been short of money nearly ever since we came
from Australia, they dont seem to have enough money
to pay us, they have only paid us 30/- since we left
Australia, and they arent going to pay anybody more than
two bob a day, but I think that is is rather a good
thing, as most of these fellows live for drink alone
the consequence is they get drunk in town & stop
the leave of the lot through not turning up to
time. Last Sunday night about twenty of us
from E Coy were taken in to Ciaro per town
Ricquet, to bring back drunks etc, we got one
fellow & he was handed over to two of us to look

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after, we each had hold of one of his hands
& he started to pull to try & get away, he
got his hand free from the other fellow &
tried to deal me out with xx me, I gave
his hand a wrench & sent him on his back

got my knee on his chest & hand on his throat
 & took a twist out of him, he called me all
of the names under the sun, we got him in a
tram & he gi cooled down. Ciaro is a terribly dirty
place, they are nearly all yellow people, but

there are some bonzer houses & there are
Botanical Gardens which I hope to see when
we get leave again, we get off every fourth
night in the week from about five until
about eleven at night & there is an Electric
tram from here to Ciaro, it was built in the

first place to the Pyramids, & now it is continued
on to here, they are making hard metal roads
all through the camp, it’s marvellous how quickly

they have laid everything out here, water

is laid on to the camp & they are building
two resovoir one on each side of us for a local

supply. They expect this will be a very
large camp, there is some talk of them
having over 100,000 troops out here before
it is finished, we don’t expect to be

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here for more than a month or so, the govt are

only waiting to see what Turkey will do when

they Proclaim this a British Possession on

the 21st of this month, it will be a great

day in Ciaro, but I doubt if E Coy will be there

as they are duty Coy on that date, they furnish

Guard etc. The authorities seem to think there

may be a local rising when once it is proclaimed

a British Possession, but I doubt if it will be

the case, as the guide that showed us over the

Pyramids told us that before the British were looking

after Egypt they only got one crop, but now through

irrigating the get three crops, so they should have

a good opinion of the British. When we went

to the Pyramids, the guide showed us through

the tomb of Ramses II, it is a cave running away

in through the hill & there are images carved

out on the side, there are parts that they wont

let you go over, that is the reason why we have

a guide, there are about eight Pyramids altogether,

but three or four are a fair distance from

here, you can see them in the distance, bu

but of course this is in the main area lot including

the great one. We are camped right on the

edge of the Sahara desert & had a march

 

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over it yesterday, it is very heavy sand & not

very easy walking. There are a lot of Territorials

camped here, they are very small fellows; Britain

must be a bit short of men when they have

to fall back on such weeds, but they are

a fine lot of fellows to talk too. The French

are the boys that always give us a great

reception, we passed a few of their Warships

in Port Said & they did give us a Hoy.

I only hope we are sent out to France as

soon as the winter is over, it will be

rotten if we go back without firing a 

shot, & it would be alright if we were sent to

France or Belgium. Nearly everything is done by the

Turks Egyptians here, they drive them just like

the blacks in Australia. We can buy oranges

at about 8d a dozen & they are oranges real

beautys, they have a great supply of them here

& pester the life out of you to buy where ever

you go to buy them. It takes the cake

to see the kids they have in charge of camels

little rats that only look about five or six

years old but will argue the point if you

want to shift them off the road, it is all

Camels & donkeys here with a fair few

 

 

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arab horses that are bonzers. I havent seen

Harold Smith yet, I went down to the 8th Camp

last night, but only saw Bert Swindells & Gill Arnott

I hope to go down in a day or two to see all

of the Horsham lot. The reason why you

never got a letter from me the same time

as the others from Albany was, that the 8th

got in on the Saturday & we got in on the

Monday, they caught a mail on the Saturday.

I wrote every chance I got, except last

week & then I never knew until it was

too late. I was pleased to get letters from

you & Jook at Port Said, the day the Egypt

arrived we were in Port Said so we got

the mail alright, but the others were sent on

to England, I know if I dont get a letter

from home by mail that it is sent or

you arent likely to miss a mail & if you

werent able to write, you would see that

somebody 

else wrote. We get a paper here every morning.

but it has no news in it except the cables. This

place is exactly as things are described in the

xx Bible, Camels loaded with sugar cane & donkeys

ridden by men with skirts on & Turbans

& some of their houses are just like as if

 

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they were dug out, they seem to be

made of mud & stones with a thatch roof

& fow∧ls lay all over them, I think eggs are

fairly cheap here. We are going to climb

up to the top of the great Pyramid, plenty of

fellows climb to the top, it is marvellous

however it was built, some of the stones

must be well over a ton weight & they it

is 400 feet from the bottom to the top, it

used to be covered over with alabastor

but it was all taken off a good part of

the smaller one is covered with it now

nearly all of the ground round them is

trenched & caved in, it seems to be a network

of caves, there seems to be hundreds of

graves, there is also an old Church. I'm going

to try to get hold of some old Egyptian coins

the guide that showed us round said he could

get some, all of the fellows here try to sell

Coins but they are "brumbys" The Nile is a

great river & there is a grand suspension

bridge over it, I never saw anything like it

in Australia. This is a grand place

to be at this time of the year, the day

is a little inclined to be warm but

the nights are just right.

 

7

I've just come off the relief of the first guard

& have been trying all I know to get a stamp but

so far without success. The Y.M.C.A. are

putting up a big shanty here like they had

in Broadmeadows, so I will be handy to

write in as they have plenty of tables

in it. This place that we are camped

is all sand & the Egyptians knock about

by the hundred, with camels & donkeys too carting

stones for roads, they make lovely ones

as hard & smooth as a board. I sent

a letter yesterday but find out it wont

go without a stamp, I have half a dozen

Australian stamps but they are no good

I hope you got the letters that I wrote

from Port Said, I sent you a letter &

Father an account of the trip, I took out

of my diary. I will hunt Roy McLinn

up when I go down to the 8th. I'm glad

to hear Jook & Ally are doing so well

with their fowls & hope they make

a fortune out of them. Well Mother

Dear I have just about come to the

end of my letter so will close. Please

tell Jook I'll try & write to her

 

 

8.

by the next mail, I want to get hold

of another Pad, this one got so knocked

about on board, as it had to be put in my

kit bag & I gave a lot of it away to other

fellows. Please Remember me very kindly

to the Bevs, Grays, Rennisons, & Millars

& all inquiring friends, I hope you still

have Mrs Gall with you, I knock about

a lot with Roth Burtchaell here, he seems

a very nice fellow, he is only a couple of

lines off me Goodbye with Heaps of

love to all at home & hoping all are

well & that you have a prosperous

New Year. Kind Regards to Miss

Jenkins & love to Marion

I remain

Always

Yr loving Son

Athol

P.S. Please address letters the same

as we may shift any time.