Letters relating to Oliver 'Trooper Bluegum' Hogue, 1915-1927 - Part 7

2
out in the desert. The
British War Correspondent
has done them but scanty
justice.. All the bullocking
work & the risky work
& the advance guard
work & patrols are
our boys work but
the plums all got to the
English. And the rewards
too. It is high time
some one told the
story of the campaign
here... But I
cannot write all
I would like on 
that point.
We had a game 
of cricket here recently
& I lost the only match
Ive lost in Egypt. I

3.

had a shocking team.
And tho I got 7
wickets for 23 runs
& top scored with 15
we got a bad beating.
I had the bad luck to
get a nasty crack on
the knee while practicing
& could not bowl or do
anything for an hour
otherwise we might have
won. I bowled with
a gammy leg after the
other side had hit up
about 40 but my
field would not catch
the chances so my
record of 7 for 23 is
quite commendable.
I saw about 5 of my
chaps out for only a
 

4
few so I started to
slog & was caught
in the long field.
Maleesch . . .
Glad to see you
are having a game
now & then . . . 
Am wondering when
Jim is coming
across here . . . If
that appointment of
War Correspondent
does not come thro'
I guess Id have a
shot at trying for leave
to visit Australia. Ive
had a good spell of
it now, but Im in
with real good people. . Have
a go with the boxing
gloves now & then &

5
have only got one
chap amongst the officers
who knocks me
about. I sent
a few stamps to
Ian a week or
so ago. Hope they
arrive safely.
Best love to Phil
& the kiddies.
Your affec brother
Ol

4^th Aust Camel Regt A.I.F.

17-1-17
My Dear Whyte:-
It's about time I
sent you a line, not that I
have any letters of yours to answer
but just on general principles.
Im fit & well in fact except
for that spell of Enteric on
Gallip Ive enjoyed wonderful
health ever since leaving sunny
New South.
Last letters from Percy told
me of the death of poor old
Briggs & Joe Davis. Seems
to me there will be a lot
of old faces missing when I
get back & a lot of new
ones in the old shop.

2
I ought to let you know
something about this job of
War Correspondent in Egypt for
the A.I.F. Im expecting to
hear of it any day now. Am
rather surprised not hearing before
this. I think I told you
that when Col Payne Col
Arnott & General Ryrie first
suggested it I was not at 
all keen on it & told them
I could have a similar
job in England. But now
that they have sent on the
recommendation & G.H.Q.
have endorsed it & sent it 
on Im keen to get to work.
I wonder if the Minister for
Defence will get busy or
refer the matter to the  A.I.F.

3
In any case it will probably
be solved before you get 
this . . . .
Really it is high time
some one did get busy &
write up the doings of
our boys here. They are
getting but scant justice
from the British Press
or from the Official Communiques.
They have done
wonderful work at Romani,
Katia, Dinedar, Bir El Abd,
El Arish Maghdaba &
Rafa, but roughly little
ever gets into the papers.
Massey of the Times did
them scanty justice in his
earlier articles & lately the
papers only refer to the

4
"British Mounted Troops", which
almost always mean the
Anzacs. And in Murrays
official communiques they
get scant mention.. Our
boys are very sick of
the way they are ignored
by the press - not
that they want publicity -
but they see glowing accounts
of the Yeomanry & Territorial
Infantry & they know exactly
how much these
are work - or how little.
For the lover of Mike
dont publish this or
Ill be shot at dawn, but
Pearce ought to know
what is going on here.
Our boys do all the 

5
hard work, patrols, night
marches & dangerous
jobs but the mention
in despatches is never
on record with their
deserts.  Besides it is
only fair to the folk back
home that they should know
how the Light Horse &

Camelry are working &
fighting. For instance you
might see references in
the English papers to the

I C C  = Imperial Camel
Corps doing splendid work
But the pick of them &
over half of them are
Australians & they have
done excellently.  But until
I mentioned it in a 
 

6
recent letter Ill bet few 
knew that the pick of
the I C C were Australians

But it is an English general

who commands the ICC
& he gets the glory. I'll
wager the English papers
have never mentioned the

Australians as comprising
the bulk of the I.C.C.

Re the Book
I sent a few articles recently
 on El Arish, Maghdaba Camelry,

&c. which you can use
for the book. . Any early
1915 articles of mine on
Egypt not included in 
Trooper Bluegum you can
use if you think fit.

Im intending to send an