Letters from John Hector Croft to his family, 1915

The Young Men's Christian Association
WITH
H.M. Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Egypt

From No.2. General Hospital

3^rd Batt. Reg't. C Coy.
(1)
Gehezireh Palace
Cairo, Egypt.
July 8^th. 1915,

Dear Charles,
I have just received you letter today, Jim
brought to me, it is the first letter I have had since
I first landed in Egypt, it was in a very battered
state having been following me about for a long time, it was
marked missing so that accounts for the rest of my mail
going astray. On the day you wrote yours we went into
action and got a bullet through the arm seven hours
after landing, it was only a small wound but it
cut the sinews, and my hand has been very near useless
ever since, it will be 11 week on Sunday since we
landed, but I have not been in hospital all the time,
when my arm healed up I went to Zeitoun training camp
but I could not do any drill and very near got sent
back to Australia, but I managed to get sent in to
this hospital as I had to undergo an operation but
I am alright now, I have been in bed for 10 days so I
shall soon be getting up and going to a convalesent
home for a spell and then back to the trenches.
Well we had a pretty lively time when we rushed a
landing on the 25 of April, it is a day I shall never
forget, on the night before we lay down on the decks as
usual x if the live would lets us, (you must we were all
to go to sleep 

The Young Men's Christian Association
WITH
H.M. Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Egypt 

From .....
... Batt. ....Reg't .... Coy.

(2)
very louy lousy) we were pulled out of bed about
4 oclock in the morning it was very darck but we
had to roll up our blankets and get some tucker into
us and be ready to go ashore, Just as it started to get.
daylight the Turck started to bombard our ships with
shrapnel and big shells and our battleships started too
it was a great sight while we were on the ship to see
the warter fly up when the shells droped into the bay.
We had get off our boat onto a to distroyer and she went
for the shore like the wind with shells dropping al'round
us, then the water got to shallow to go any closer, so we
had to get in rowing boats and all the time the distroyer
was racing about like a mad dog so as the Turks could not
get our range. Our first boat tried to row ashore but they
sank her, so a pinnace took about 6 boats in tow and
away we went again full rip, when she got about 20 yards
from the beach she cut us adrift and sheered out to sea
while we whent racing into the beach like a breaker
but my boat bumped a rock and we had to wade ashore
as best we could, a lot of men got wounded before they got
out of the boats, as soon as we were on shore we ran up the
cliffs to the firing line and got busy. We had no shelter or
artilary to proteck us so the Turks warmed us up a bit, at
first their shrapnel went screaching over our heads
but they soon got it onto us and chopped us up very
bad, a shell fell in front of me about 6 yards away, but

The Young Men's Christian Association
WITH
H.M. Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Egypt 

From .....
... Batt. ....Reg't .... Coy.

(3)
it failed to explode and I was very thankful, then one
burst right over my head the concussion driving my
nose into to the ground and a slug hitting me on the
sholder but it did no damage, I picked it up (it was
pretty hot) and show it to a leiutenant who was alongside
of me. while he was looking at it he got shot through
the shoulder, I just had time to say poor b--- when I
got one through the arm, it was terrible men were
groaning everywhere but we had to lay low till the
machine-gun stopped firing then cut back over the hill to
the beach with snipers potting at us all the way.
I am Glad to hear that you are working again I heard
that you were in the hospital again, I suppose things
are pretty slack in Bulli a present. Remember me to
Uncle and Aunt and cousins tell them I hope to see
to see them before very long. I will now draw this scribble
to a close wishing you good health and hoping to hear
from you shortly
Yours Sincerely
JH Croft

Note only address
No. 2843 Pte. Croft
C. Company 3rd Batt.
A.I.F.
Cairo. Egypt

P.S. Jim Pankhurst is
doing alright he has
had a cold but is
now better and ready
for work again 

Pyramides de Guizeh

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Dear Charlotte
I got your note alright but
I suppose you thought I had forgott to
answer it. I didn't forgett you, but will
write when we get more time.
Tell Arthur not to growl about his
work, I only wish I was 
at work instead being here.
Yours Sincerly
JH Croft