Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-Oct 1916-Part 9

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the Australian rides
over their old dust, a
conqueror 31^st Aug  All is
very peaceful here so far,
we have not been
attacked, and our wandering
patrols miles out in
front have so far only
come across parties of
Bedouins. We know there

are some regiments of Turks
at Mersa, something over
twenty miles away. We
are getting good tucker
here, and sufficient of it.
I suppose the Heads know
they must feed us to keep
away sickness, and to
keep us in fighting trim.
We get bread, bully
beef, occasionally Maconochies
rations, potatoes

wide, the well being
circular, and dome
shaped at the top.  Running
from the well is a strip
of cement about 20 feet
long and five wide,
Just like a cricket pitch,
in but what it was
used for we don't know.
There are pumps on the
well now, and we water
our horses from it. The
Tommies found some old
coins in the well Away
out in the desert, past
Bir el Abd, while on
patrol duty, I came on
a lot of bricks and
cement, where the sand
had blown away. No
doubt it was some
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and onions, jam, tea and
sugar, occasionally
coffee and bacon  Each
section of four men do
their own cooking and
many a tasty dish these
old palm trees smell through
the days. Our cooking
utensils are empty meat
and biscuit tins and
the ever handy quart
pot. Those of us who are
not lucky enough to
own knives use sticks
for forks and spoons.
None of us have blankets,
very few tunics, from the
Colonel down, so when a
man comes to coolly think
things out he realises that
we are a pretty tough
lot. A few minutes, and

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the lot of us could be
away on a forty mile
march, and fight at the
end of it, without thinking
the day much out of the
ordinary. Just as well
we are that way, because
old Jacko is no mug at
this type of warfare.
Aug 2nd. A few days ago,
at Hod Amara, the regiment
received a £100 worth of
bucksheesh tinned fruit.
It was great. It is the
first appreciable dish
out of gift stuff we
have had since the
regiment was formed.
And to-day, each section
has been issued with
eight more tins of tinned
fruit. Coming at such

buried Roman building.
I wonder how long
ago it is since those Roman
soldiers legions trod the
desert. I suppose in the
days of Alexandria. And
now an Australian
division has ridden
triumphant over their old
caravan route. I wonder
how many different
nationalities of soldiers
the sands of the desert have
absorbed, and how many
countless thousands of
th others will die disappear
in the desert before the
world dies of old age,
I think it the most
lonely grave a man
can have, in the desert,
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a time and place is
splendid. Good luck
to who ever sent it.
El Fatia Sept 8^th. We have
been in this oasis about
nine days, and are having
an easy time of it. We
have only been out on
one twenty four hour
patrol. Sept 12^th. The
Victoria Racing Club have
sent us a splendid gift
of tinned fruits, lollies,
first quality tobacco,
and some shirts, marked
from the Mayoress of Melbourne
Everything was real good
and appreciated immensely.
14^th 15^th Sept. To night we
are going on a big three
or four miles stunt, to
attack a strong Turkish

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position, some twenty
five miles away, and
no water until we take
the position. We are
going out some eight
miles to night, going to
camp all through to-morrow,
and go on again at sundown.
We are to attack
on the dawn of the following
morning. What an
awful trip on the camels
and sand carts the poor
devils of wounded, will
have over those miles of
a desert.  Aug Sept 16^th. Midday.
We started out at 1.30 a.m.
this morning, and arrived
at this oasis just at the
dawn of day. A party has
sunk wells here, and
there is plenty of water
for the horses. A little
while ago a taube

and yet he must
have many, many
comrades all around
him. If there is such a
thing as spiritualism, then
what queer meetings there
must be here in the
nights, should the spirits
of these dead soldiers
meet and talk together.
What queer tales they can
tell one another. Do the
Barbarians, the Christians,
the Mohammedans, the
Moslems, the countless
other religions, keep
together in their separate
groups, or do they all
mix together. I wonder
do they rush to meet the
Anzacs, the youngest
soldiers in the world.
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came overhead, and
immediately four of
our planes appeared
and took after her.
She fired a burst from
her machine gun, and
disappeared. I'm afraid
our chance of surprising
the Turk is gone. 3 pm
We hear now that the
taube when she fired
her machine gun killed
a man and horse of the
10^th Light Horse. Unlucky
poor chap. We are to go
on at sunset, cover
the long dry stage,
and attack at dawn
to morrow. There are
two Turkish outposts
some distance this 
side of their fortified

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position, which we
are going to try and
surround. 18^th Sept., EL
Fatia. We came back here
yesterday morning about
six O'Clock, dead beat
after an awful trip. We
don't know rightly yet
whether the trip was the
most awful Gawk act
we have yet been through,
or whether the whole thing
was well and wisely
carried out. Here goes. We
left the oasis we had
camped in all day, at sunset,
and set off straight
across the desert. The sun
soon went down, and
night came. We knew
the third Brigade were
on our right, also the
Camel Corps, and the 
second x First Brigade
were somewhere close

to listen to their new
swear words, to xx listen
to their tales of defeat and
victory, of machine
guns and aeroplanes, and
gum trees and the swag,
and old Australia.
9^th Oct The age of miracles
is not past, so help me
God. I am in Port Said.
The sergeant came to me
and said Idriess, you and
Crewe are going to Port
Said on six days leave,
to the Rest Camp. Two
men out of each troop,
who are absolutely run
down, and need it, are to
go to the rest camp for
six days spell. "I thought
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behind to our left.The
country soon became
rough travelling, up and
down big sand hills all
night. There was no smoking,
no talking. Our
Regiment was the advance
guard for the second
brigade, our own troop
being on the extreme
left flank screen. So
you can guess we kept
our ears and eyes pretty
wide open, that is as
much as we could. We
had already been two
nights without sleep. A
thousand yards in front
of the enemys position
were two of their outposts, 

in redoubts, one
to the left, and one to

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the right, about a mile
apart. The left redoubt
was supposed to hold
twenty men, the one to the
right fifty. We had to
find the two redoubts,
surround them, anx and
rush them without a
sound if possible. That
meant two bayonet rushes
in the dark. We were
then to push on and
smash fxx right into
their big position. Such
was the plan so far as
we knew. In the meanwhile
the Third Brigade
was to attack in the
rear, while the camel
corps cut off all communication
to EL Arish, which
is the big Turkish arm
base.  After a while
the moon came out, and

for a long time that
it was some silly kind
of joke, but we are here
xx now, and I am gradually
working up to the fact that
it is true. Before we went
they paid us four pounds
each. Surely the war must be
over. For the military to do
a thing like that is absolutely
beyond my comprehension.
10^th  We went up the Canal a
bit to day, to where the
Armenian refugees are camped
There are over 4000 refugees,
men women and children
The tents are all laid
out in splendid order,
quite a little colony of
them. Their refugees are
self supporting now,
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lit up the deep dongas
and steep sand hills and
low stunted bushes.
Orders came along that
if we rode into an enemys
out post to immediately
open fire. And so the
night wore on a weary
night. We in the screen
had the worst of it, 
never knowing the second
when a burst of rifle
fire in the bushes all
around would tell us
of a Turkish outpost.
And all the while
having to keep touch
with one another and
with the long, dark
moving object that
was the fighting column
Just  occasionally x the