Letters of Athol Cluny McPherson, January to March 1915 - Part 1

Mena Camp                                                            
Egypt
Jan 6^th 15

My Dearest Jook
As there is always a doubt as to
when the mail leaves here I think it safer
to write during the week, it is just doubtful
if I caught the last mail home as it closed on
Sunday Evening instead of Monday, I got
a fellow to give it to a cab driver to post
but he may not have posted it in time
Im out of the Hospital now & my leg is nearly
alright again, I was only in about three
days, the D^r called it a Ceptic leg, it is a
sort of blood poison, I,ll be a bit careful
another time, the day I cut my leg, I got
it bandaged up by one of the red cross fellows
& there let it rip, it was just a week after      
that it swelled up, it wasnt much of a cut but
was in a bad place just below the knee
I was lucky it wasnt the knee. There
is a Rumour through the camp today that
we are going to France next month
but a fellow can only believe half of
 

what he hears here, it is worse for lies
than the Melbourne Herald, I doubt very much
if we will go out before the spring, I reckon
Britain intends to force the war there by 
sheer weight of numbers. There is a chance
that we may go over the other side of the
canal to meet the Turks, there have been
Rumours about it for some time, we could
just about knock them out as they are
supposed to be somewhere about 80,000 strong
& we are 28,000 so I reckon we could hold
our own, if we are any good at all &
they wouldnt be armed nearly as well
as we are, & I expect if we went the
New Zealanders would go with us, I think
There are about 8,000 of them. It is terribly
duty  ∧dusty here today Im writing in the Y.M.C.A.
tent & it is blowing a treat, the wind is
blowing off the desert, so you can imagine
what it is like, just like blowing over
the plains at home in the summer
 

next month & as Alley & Russ may
be short of money, I hope they will take
their expenses out of the money that I left
behind to be drawn, I would be only too
glad to think it had gone for that
purpose & only hope that it would bring
them success. I hope that they are not
keeping it a home & running themselves short
it would go a fair way towards buying
different things for the house & I know
money must be very scare this year Must
close now as the dust has got something awful
With Kind Regards to all Horsham friends
& love to Marion Heaps of love to all at home
& hoping it proves a Prosperous year
I remain

yr loving Brother
Athol C McPherson
P.S. If ever you should be sending a cable again
just address it to Athol M^cPherson
5^th Battalion
2^nd Inf Brigade
never mind the number or coy but be
sure & put my Christian name as there are other McPhersons
in the Battalion
 

we havent got any letters here yet & cant
make it out, it is just five weeks since
we landed here & haven't got a solitary
letter direct from Australia, I got one sent
back from England written on the 29^th of
Oct. There will be a big row if we dont get
some soon as a lot of the fellows are beginning
to sing out now over it they reckon the authorities
are keeping them back, they also have
it that they wont let a paper come out of
Australia, but it may only be a yarn.
I hope this year is better for all concerned
than the last, it must have been a real killer
& then to think of this war to top it up, all
caused through a Madman, the general opinion
is that it will end about June or July, I
hope we have the luck to be at the capture
of Berlin, & also have the luck to drive the
Germans out of Belgium  Well Jook I cant
think of any more news so must close, by the
way, it has just struck me that those
tennis matches will be on at Murtoa
 

Miss Jean M^cPherson
"Clyne Milton"
Horsham
Victoria
Australia
 

Mena Camp
Egypt Jan 7^th

My Dearest Mother
As this will most likely be the last letter I will be
able to write home for some time I must send you a few lines
although I posted a letter a few days ago, there is talk of
letters being blocked after this mail & only P.C. available
but it may turn out to be a yarn as we have heard
it mentioned so often, its pretty hard not to be able
to write, but if we cant write letters Ill send a
PC. or two every chance I get, although they will only
have about half a dozen words in them, they are printed

& you have to cross out the words that you dont want
I met one of those friends of Mrs Bevs (Evans) a
few days ago, I was talking to a fellow in our Coy
that knew a lot of F Coy & of course I asked him
if he knew them & as he did I got him to introduce
them to me, he (Evans) told me that he expected
a letter from Mrs Bev. & thought perhaps she didnt
know that they were out here, if she writes
to either of them they are in E Coy now as F
& H have joined together & there are only four
Coys now instead of 8, we are in what they
call Platoons 4 platoons to each Coy, I was
 

2
disappointed that the were,nt joined to us as they
are a fine lot of fellows, I know one in the Coy
that went so school with Jock Young, he is a bonzer
fellow & although I first met him on the boat
I dont know yet what his name is & always
intend to ask him. I often see Symons
he seems a decent sort of fellow, he has been
suffering from a crook ear.  I was just
talking to Roth Burtchaell & he & I are going up
to the Pyramids this afternoon to have another look
round them, there is an old Temple there that we 

want to have a look through. Im sending two
P.C. of the old [[7?]] Coy up at the Pyramids (the Sphinx) the
day after we came here & also a fairly large one
but I dont know what it will be like when it
gets there as I dont know how it will carry
it may crease & tear, it is a very hard photo to

send, Im wrapping it up in Paper & rolling paper
inside it. We all got issued with a pocket
knife yesterday, they are real beautys Joseph Bodgers
& have one blade & a tin opener as well. We
never got a mail this week, but they say there is
to be one here on Tuesday next, its crook not
to get ∧one a mail. We saw in the Egyptian
 

3

that Australia had offered 10,000 more troops besides
the 4,000 monthly that she is sending, if they send
many more, there wont be any left.  I must put
this away now & finish it when we come back
from the Pyramids. Sunday night - I just got back
from the Pyramids, we had tea at a tearoom
on the way back, Roth did the shouting, there
is quite a village near the Pyramids. We
went through the Temple near the Sphinx, it
it a wonderful bit of work, it is all lower
than the level or the ground & the stone
granite that it is built of are tons in
weight, some of them must weigh at the least
twenty tons, it is wonderful how they moved
them about, we also went through a cemetery
everything seems to be built of tremendous
stones & cut as straight as arrows. Im enclosing
a photo taken by one of our fellows in the tent
it is the lot out of our tent.  Im going over
tonight to hear a lecture on Pyria by a
missionary who has been all through there
Well mother dear I can think of no more
news so will say adieu you can rest
assured if I dont write that it wont
 

be my fault & that I'm not going [[askey?]]
Im still a teetoatler & mean to as long
as Im away, Im that way that I wouldnt
take spirits for a fortune I just hate
the site of it. Please Remember me to
all Horsham friends I often wonder if
Mrs Gal is still with you but think she
must be as you never mentioned being
without her. Kind regards to Mr. Reilly
also miss Jenkins & Heaps of love to you
all including Marion.
I remain
always
Yr loving son
Athol C M^cPherson