Thomas James Richards, Diaries, Transcript Vol. 1, 26 August 1914 to 24 April 1915 - Part 17

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stops at the physical suffering to yourself but it

is carried in the system and transmitted to and breaks

down the health of the innocent wife, also brands the

offsprings with ulcerated sores that mark the disgrace

of the parents at the first weakness or illness that

comes their way. A man that has been wayward enough

to contract a dose should never be permitted to marry!

Fancy a woman giving a clean and wholesome body to

a wrecked and turbulent, diseased body of a soulless

man, The horror of it! "Oh, if you men would only

look ahead and think of the bright young sweethearts

left behind and the lifelong corruption likely to be

brought to blight their trusting lives by your visits

to the terrible dens of sin and sorrow so plentiful

in this country. A dose is thought lightly of by some

of our men but if they only knew its possible consequences

 they would hide their heads in shame from

their comrades and tremble with knowledge that the

body given them by a good mother and father has been

wasted and thrown to the winds all for a moment of

doubtful excitement through want of strength and will

power. A man who violates the laws of chastity in 

these dens of infamy should have a harlot for his 

wife." It was a lecture that carried tremendous

weight and has given the fellows something to think

about and will no doubt do them the world of good.

Why this lecture did not take place eight weeks ago

before there were so many young and inexperienced

fellows dosed with dread venereal troubles, more or

less seriously, is difficult to understand. I think

Headquarters have given our Chaplains a bit of a

shake up, as they are seldom seen on the camp and

just rush carelessly through their services. Anyhow

it's better late than never; giving in that the men

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have mostly taken a tumble to themselves, and

instead of lining up at the brothels in crowds they 

are in twos and threes.

9th February, 1915. I had a chat with Captain Wessal

about football being of such great benefit to the men,

which he agreed to, but he and the other officers

have not attempted to assist in either arranging

games or obtaining leave for the players, so unless

they move and take some interest I will let it drop,

as I have no inclination to play. I don't get much

fun out of it and run a greater risk of being knocked 

about as they leave such a lot of work for me to do.

Football with me is a thing of the past absolutely.

I know that I can't work beside             without

getting knocked about and I have been knocked about

sufficiently during my sixteen years of play, though

fortunately never seriously. I have also had my

fun and glory out of the game.

I am on guard to-day and had a pleasant time

watching the ever-changing light that breaks through

the clouds and shows up the bright patches of the 

desert in the far distance.

At a lecture in the Y.M.C.A. rooms last night

Judge Amos gave a good chat on Egypt which the fellows

are pleased with. I was on guard. He said that the

cream of Egypt were the Turks and intermingled

descendants, while the Arabs are higher than the

Egyptians. The married laws are remarkable. A man

can divorce his wife simply by telling her to walk

out and go  away. She goes to her father and the dowry

is returned. If he wants her again he goes to the

father and gets her back. If the wife is unusually

strong and independent she secretly takes away the

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jewellery in which most of their money is invested

and then run away themselves. Only in isolated

countries do they look upon more than two wives with

other than disgust. Both Egyptians and Arabs are

absolutely chaste in married life. Many murders are

committed and nearly all are brought about through

lack of chastity. The girl's father always asserts

great influence over her even after marriage and

mostly favours the man, making the girl bow to his

wish and rule. Fathers kill their own daughters without

compunction if they are in any way immoral.

 

10th February, 1915. I did not go on early parade

this morning and went on sick parade at 8 a.m. with

my scabby knee which has been festering a bit. I was

ordered light duty so I went away to the Y.M.C.A.

room and with a weak sunlight printed off a large

number of Capt. Welch's films which I borrowed, unknown

to him. I did the same in the afternoon

besides collecting my pay and stayed on toning and

fixing up to 8 o'clock, and now I find to my regret

that I do not print them quite dark enough so the

40 or 50 of them are a very poor lot indeed.

Pay day has not come before its time.

There's not a fellow in camp that seems to have a

piastre. Borrowing is rampant - money as well as

matches, cigarettes and tobacco. Half the fellows

stayed at home on their leave day as they could not 

go into town. For my own part, the photographer

brought my postcards on which I owed 1/-, and when

he brought them Bob Miller had to pay the 1/- for me.

This is the first time I remember being absolutely

broke.

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I got two Xmas cards from California yesterday.

Philip Rees, John and the Scales family.  Win also

wrote a nice kindly letter. By jove, it's up to me

to marry this girl if the fortunes of living favour at all.

11th February, 1915. 

It is now 10.30 p.m. I have

just arrived back to camp from a real good day's

entertainment with Jack Pidcock. We left the tram

just past the Zoo and went across the Kars de Nile

bridge into the Ghezireh Gardens which are splendidly

kept. It was a glorious morning - just the golden

sunlight that made one long to roll and loiter on the

nice grass. We passed along the river where a number

of luxurious passenger steamers are lying idle,

there being no tourist traffic this year at all.

At the next little but beautiful garden we played

football with the two small boys while the nurse maids

held conversation and gave cheek. We passed the well-fitted

up Gezira Sporting Club with its racecourse,

golf links, bowling green and innumerable tennis 

courts. The big bridge was open to allow the sailing

boats to pass up and down the Nile when we got there.

I took two photographs and caught the tram for Cairo

and on to Heliopolis, where I found it the same dream

town or fairy-like town as on my last visit. I went

into the magnificent hall of the Palace Hotel, now

used as a hospital, and through the immense black

and white marble columns supporting the dome - very

fine. Back by the slow round-about way to Cairo

and arrived after much interest at the Muski at

4 o'clock. I got some films and a bright smile from

the register girl. The National Bank of Egypt would

not give me any blank cheque forms so we went to the

Anglo-Egyptian Bank and got them there. We saw some

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lovely photographs and longed for a few pounds and

the surety that we would return to Australia again.

We went into a large store to look around and had a

pleasant half hour with the men and anxious girls who

mostly spoke a little English. Dinner at the St.

James - 18 piastres. It was very good indeed.  I

enjoyed it immensely, more so as we only had a bun 

and a cup of cocoa since breakfast.

I struck an intelligent group of college

boys with the red caps on and I was surprised at their

quest for information and the nice questions they asked.

Pidock assured me that it was the best

day he'd yet had in Cairo.

12th February, 1915. The whole of the 1st Brigade

(4,000 men roughly) with the A.M.C. and the Army

Service left Mena Camp for a three or four day camp

on the edge of the Zibyan Desert - some 6 miles south

of the Pyramids but by the road we took withs its

windings and turnings it must have been 11 miles

distant. The camp is situated on a lovely patch

of green reeds that are like grass for 500 yards

or so. It is the most pleasant natural sight I have

yet seen near Cairo. It would be a lovely spot

for a cricket or football ground. I took off my

boots and ran around like a youngster when we first

arrived into our new camp and had the tents pitched.

I went for a walk towards Abusir Pyramid after dark

with Pidcock, and unexpectedly found ourselves tramping

across field of young barley. At one mile or

so it seemed so dark that it would be quite useless

to continue so we turned back and went to bed under

the sheets spread over the Ambulance waggons to keep

the dew off, at about 8 o'clock.

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The march out along the winding valley road

was very interesting although I was on the Canal side

and had the views on the more open side cut off, also

had a poor position for the scenery.

 

13th February, 1915. Mabel Williams wrote a nice

welcome letter telling that Bro. Tom had married and 

was living in Cardiff. I will have to write him.

She also mentioned that Malcolm McArthur had joined the

Black Watch and gone to the front.

Yesterday was intensely hot and those poor

infantry fellows were out manoeuvring from 4 a.m.

until 2.30 p.m. on the sand-dunes. On their return

to camp there were in the very best of spirits and even

had foot races, leap frog and other games bare-footed

on the green and soft ground. After dark the Pipers

played off a few tunes, then the fellows kept a very

enthusiastic concert running.

Water is obtainable from one small hand pump

only, and the men had to wait two deep back for 100

yards to-day in line.

All of our officers are just as discontented

and anxious to get into action as we men are. They

growl and snap at one another just as we fellows often

do.

I slept under an ambulance waggon last night

with Pidcock.

 

14th February, 1915. Four of us slept together under a

few stretchers covered with a waggon sheet spread over

the top to keep the heavy dew off. I lay like a 

blooming mummy all night as there was no room to

double one's self up or even to turn over. This is

very necessary when the ground is so hard and one's 

side gets stiff and even sore.

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The flowers on the Desert edge are fairly

bright and have some little perfume, yet the variety

is small. I have never seen anything so surprising

and handsome as the flowers on the semi-desert

country of Western Australia. They have no perfume

but they grow on all kinds of bushes, trees and grounds

and in wonderful variety and plenty,

After filling two water carts I could  see it

was going to be a quiet kind of day with us, more so

as the infantry who had come in at 9 o'clock were not

going out again until 12 o'clock at night, so I

influenced Pidcock to come away without asking for

leave with a possibility of being refused, over to the

Pyramids of Abusir and then on to Sakkara - a distance

of about 5 miles.

At Aubsir there are three Pyramids in a very 

decayed state, but they are remains of most remarkable

work, not so much the construction of the Pyramids

as the astounding temples on the East side of each

of them - just broken portions of columns and fragments

of wall decorations, pavements and fine granite reliefs.

These are scattered about and shattered but quite

enough to enable the visitors to judge just what the

height and elegance of the temple was.

The excavation of these massive buildings

are carried out be a German and much of interest gone

to Berlin between the years 1903-1907.

The largest Pyramid was built by King Suhura

of the Vth Dynasty (about B.C. 2750) and with its

temple is even now an impressive sight. Both Suhura 

and Urerenna have long causeways leading from the

Pyramid down to the desert edge along which the

huge stones were brought while the Nile was in high

flood. Portions of the columns must have been 4 f t.

in diameter and 18 ft. in length.

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At the third Pyramid is a poorly built temple

of bricks said to have been completed by the King's

Son after the father's death.

Amongst a heap of red earthenware pots and small

wine glass shaped utensils we noticed a piece of

cloth which was soon discovered to be a mummy or

parts of one. Anyhow we unearthed the skull and

spine, parts of which (including teeth and hair) I

put into my pocket. There were some pieces of stone

carvings that I would have liked to send back home,

that is it I only knew when we would be like to be

going back. We walked over fully 2 1/2 miles of desert

to Sakkara and found interest every yard of the

journey in the peculiar colours and shapes of the

stones and the number of bones; while the wind-swept

sand-dunes with ravines worked through the softer and

stoneless materials as though the rain had cut them

during a thunder storm, but it only rains 1 to 2

inches per year around Cairo.

Pidcock like myself was very much taken back

to find that the desert is not one long sandy waste

of flat country but a series of hills and hillocks

of all sizes and varieties and even fascinating shapes,

covered with stones and petrified wood and bones.

The first tomb we came to was that of Ti

and it is considered the finest example of Egyptian

art that has been handed down. One room out of some

five alone has its original roof. Every portion  of the 

wall, above 4 ft. from the floor, is pictured with

very interesting and well executed stone carvings.

The fact that this, and other works of ancient art,

are so splendidly preserved is due to their having

been covered over with sand for a thousand or more

years. Ti was not a king but a very wealthy man of

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great influence. A theory that ropes were used to

build all of the Pyramids, instead of the popular

belief that sand was backed up against it and the

stones rolled up the and into place, is much forced

upon me now by the wall carvings showing a huge king's

shrine being drawn along by a whole crowd of men with

long ropes and men pouring water on the rollers or

skids to prevent friction. In fact rope with the same

appearance as present day ropes were commonly used

judging from the many times they are shown on these 

wall carvings.

We went 200 yards to Mariette's House

where we expected to get fruit and a large cup of

tea but all they had was coffee, egg-cup

size, at 1 piastre. We cut it out and bought some

tomatoes and Arab maize meal bread from a dirty-looking

curse of a nigger, and sat down to a very

passable lunch. We took some bread and jam from the 

camp but these had long since been devoured.

On arriving at the Street of Tombs the

map showed that the Pyramid of Onnos was on the other

side of the Step Pyramid and as we missed this old 

relic on our camel journey through Sakkara we pulled

ourselves together and made off. The day was very

hot and the walking heavy. This pyramid was opened

in 1881. The tomb chamber and ante room are of the

earliest and rather roughly-cut hieroglyphics referring

to mythology and are known as the oldest Egyptian

Pyramid texts. The tomb chambers are lofty and

covered with the well know star design. The vertical

shaft of 72 feet has an iron spiral staircase leading

down. This after the burial was filled up again.

For some 100 yards around here there are many later

forms of burial in big square shafts attributed to 

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the time of the Persians. So far so good! Now

that we had seen all that we wanted to see it dawned

upon us that we may be brought before the Colonel as

defaulters for breaking leave. "It doesn't matter a

damn" said Piddo, "We've had a good day and if we

have to pay for it with a few days "C.B." it won't

much matter." I felt sure that the gods would stick

to me once again. At Mariette's House on the return

home we met Lou Buss and from him, by a little quiet

diplomacy, we learnt that the Corps fell in after

dinner and were granted leave for the afternoon.

We gave Buss the guide book and candles and padded

back over the long but interesting track to Camp

just as tea was finished but we had a bucket of water

bath and a dish of cold stew that I arranged with the

cook to save for me before leaving in the morning.

And when we creft under cover to bed at night we were

both pleased and tired.

 

15th February, 1915. We had a loafing kind of a day.

I acted as patient with 18 others and C. Section

had to apply first aid and take us back to the

dressing station in the waggons.

At night Captain McKenzie had arranged a

concert, by his energy and bustle. He is an old

Salvation Army man and follows the First Brigade

everywhere while the other Chaplains are never to be

found. The concert was a great success, some of the

items being really good and some of them humourous

and accidental. One big gruff fellow with a good

voice and clear delivery told of William Tell and the

apple feat, but he never got an 'h' in its right 

place for the night. I remember him saying "With a

happle in his 'and." At the conclusion the Captain