Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/3/1 - March - April 1915 - Part 4

73    April 2     28 34
way they used to fight dervishes – back
row standing, second row kneeling, thru front
row lying down. The officer in command
warned the crowd in the street that he
must fire if it didn't disperse & it
dispersed at once. Three rows of men
like that are not the sort of thing you
care to face when you are unarmed."
After that this particular
quarter was barrier guarded by
territorials. Ixx I myself went in
about 10 p.m. & the front space in
front of Shepheards was then
kept clear by a square of territorials
drawn across the road. This
particular lot was armed only with
side arms but others were marched into
the square armed with rifles whilst
I was looking on. The town was
quiet again but the disturbed street
was a wreck. I didnt see it but I'm
told one public house was burnt out.
The fire xxx The men were tremendously
bitter against the red caps & a few fools
would have tried to xx lynch some of

73   April 2   29 35  
them after the firing. I heard every side
argued by Australians who were in it.
My friend the artilleryman was quite
fair - he said the police could not
help firing; they had to do something, just
then things looked very formidable. He
himself thought things had gone much
too far. He clearly knew the risk he was
taking but like hundreds of others was
quite ready to take any risk in
order to see the fun.
There is no question that in this
scrap xx a leading part was played
by the New Zealanders. I myself saw
several drunken New Zealanders about Cairo
that night. But the public here does
Both Australians & N. Zealanders
were pretty well in it. Many men
are very sick at it having happened at
all, as it will get Australia & _^ N. Zealand a hopeless
name in Cairo. - people always speak of
N Zealand as if it At the same time, I have
known rows of exactly the same sort at Oxford
& Cambridge, carried through in precisely the
same spirit; & people only called it
"light-heartedness" there.

73    April 2/3    30 36
The men mostly heard xx a story that
a Maori had been stabbed in one of these
houses & that was what started it. Our
picket was under the impression that
a Maori hat been hit with a bottle. The
Maoris did not seem to be involved in
the fighting afterwards to any extent, & some
I think went of the men, & most outsiders,
do not think the Maoris had anything
to do with it.
Saturday April 3.
Dear Old Jack left camp today with his
regiment for the front. They say that there is
likely to be heavy fighting before they land - 
& that they will land about somebody at the
hospital said they expected 30 per cent casualties,
Well, if it is a difficult landing I shd say
these fellows are just the men to carry it out.
Whatever they can do they can certainly fight.
Harry Raymond came up in the morning
for J's washing. I gave him a haversack
I wanted J. to have, & later on took
came up himself I went down myself.
I wanted to make sure that his batman
knew how to make some additions to

73     April 3   31 37
his sleeping bag.
I have had added
on to mine the
three extra flaps
shown on this sketch
[Hand drawn sketch - see original]
- they make it impervious
to rain. He had the
material but not the pattern & I gave wanted to
give his batman the pattern so that he
could get it sewn on board ship. I
saw him & he promised he wd see it was
done. It is an enormous
improvement.
As Jock was very busy
I arranged to come back
at about 6.30 or a little before
and have dinner with him. His
battalion was going off in
two detachments: the first
at about 7.30p.m; to entrain
at 11.20 p.m.; & the second
at about 11 p.m. to entrain
at 3.50 pm. When I got
down there it was dark.
The tents of the 1^st Brigade were down
& fires were blazing all
over the place - burning up the
 

RIOT IN THE ESBEKIA
AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT.
The following official communiquē
has been issued in Cairo: -
Last night (Friday) a disturbance
occurred in Sharia Wagh el Birket which
resulted in a somewhat serious riot. As
it is impossible to discover the reasons
for this outbreak an inquiry will be held
Only soldiers were concerned, but unfortunately
considerable damage was
done to property in this street, which
bears an unenviable reputation. A large
crowd of soldiers collected and considerable
resistance was offered to the military
police and pickets in their efforts to restore
order. Several pistol shots were
fired and four men wounded besides
others who were injured. A squadron
of cavalry and strong pickets were quickly
on the scene, and soon after 8 p.m.
normal conditions were restored. The
fire brigade and the civil police acted
with commendable discretion and forbearance,
and it was due to the latter
that no natives were implicated in the
disorder. Some 50 soldiers were arrested
and will be dealt with under military
law.

73   32 38
rubbish in order to leave a clean camp ground where
the camp was. It is very difficult to ensure
this when a column leaves after dark - I
believe that in S. Africa some offi officers of
columns which left overnight after (as they
thought) having cleaned up the ground until
the sight site was perfectly clear of rubbish,
returned next day & were horrified at seeing
the state in which the ground was left -
with all sorts of valuable property lef still
lying about it. This night the men were cleaning up
to the ground. So Jack's battalion was at
work cleaning up, huge bonfires going
especially in the incinerator, a _^ small round
mudwalled enclosure at the back of the
lines of each unit into which all rubbish
was daily pitched & burnt. The men
amused themselves by pitching into these
fires any cartridges that they happened
to have left them in their pouches - mostly
blank - (which ought to have been given up, but
a little always escaped). All through the
evening these things were popping off
like crackers.
I found old J. examing xx with a line of about
8 or 9 men in front of him, with their kit

^X Coulter completely failed
at the landing - he was a man
(we heard later) who went
the pace too hard in Cairo - &
like Col. Lee of 9^th Bn (who
also was a hard liver) he
could not face the fighting at
the landing.

73    33  39 
& rifles. They were being men of whose
strength he was doubtful & he had
decided to recommend that they should
be left behind. It was most difficult
work - the men were so bitterly disappointed.
One or two who had been sent for were not
there. He knew they were dodging him - they
wd try by hook or crook to keep out of the way till the battalion, & they with it were, well on their way.
(The General tells me that 100 men got out
of hospital today & 100 more tried to).
By 7 o'clock Jock managed to get away
for some dinner. There were several ladies
dining in the mess _^ old flowery red white & blue patterned mess tent that night – two friends
of the old colonel & another I think a friend
of Major Bennett. Jock & I could not get
seats together & so sat at opposite corners
of the table. Maj. Bennett shouted us
champagne.
After dinner, as Coulter, one of their
best officers ^X, was very seedy x with poisoning
of some sort Jock decided to go up & get
some medicine for him at Mena. The
second first half of the battalion was
just moving off in the dark but the
second half - (Jacks stretcher bearers were
attached to D company) - would not go until
about 11. So after seeing that all stores had

73    34 40
not being taken had been returned to stacked in the wooden
mess room for the ordnance people to
take over, we went strolled up over the
hill towards the Hotel. The 3rd battalion
had collected around a bonfire on
what had been its parade ground - One
could see a big circle of them, their
faces all showing up red in the glare.
They were holding a concert - Col Owen
in the chair the colonel, whom the
men adore, being in the chair, & little
Sergt. Wolsely, the little Canadian chiropodist,
the smallest man in the regiment & the
next most popular man after the Colonel
being one of the chief organisers. From this
hill behind the above it the camp
looked like a fair sized manufacturing
city, with the xx glowing smoking fur heaps
all through it like the slag heaps or
furnaces around Wolverhampton
after nightfall. Every now and then
from some part of the 1^st Brigade
lines a unit would be marching off
to Cairo, without any demonstration
whatever - exactly as if it were part of
the work of the last 7 months.

73    35 41
Jock got his medicine at the Hospital. Old
Col. Springthorpe there let him take anything
he wanted out of the dispensary &
Jock fairly revelled in the opportunity - it was
like a poor man suddenly brought into
a treasury, a regimental medical officer
being suddenly brought into the turned loose
amidst the wealth of that store. All
sorts of precious drugs which the regimental
man had not seen for months looked down
at him from the shelves. The colonel
encouraged him to take whatever any
tit-bit that he wanted & even egged him
on to take more when he hardly dared to
lay his hands on some _^ more than a dozen xx of precious tabloids
& little tubes. He stowed them away in
little pill boxes & cardboard boxes &
stuffed these into the pockets of
the new coat tunic which I made him get
last week for the Luxor trip until
the pockets were, I expect, spoilt
beyond all redemption as far as
shape was concerned. And the old
Colonel stood by grinning. "Well - I'll
want them before you will", said Jack

(^X his corporal)

73    36  42
& the Colonel knew he was right.
When we got back to the lines
with this medicine the battalion was
already drawn up. Jack's boys had got his
horse ready for him - Carrathers ^X looks
after him very well. We cd hear commands
being given in the dark to the black mass
of men over the other side of the empty
space where the tents had been. "Battalion
will move to the right in fours C company
leading." Then " C Company, form fours!
Right..." quick march and so on - & the Company
on the right began to file off down the 
Camp road - you could see the men
moving at the right of the mass. Jock
to and the sick officer (who was going to
motor in) & I were standing watching
them - Jock went off to see to see to some business.
Presently I saw his tall form running
across the sand towards the men, his
long legs & helmet & the new coat outlined
for a moment against the fire which
was still glowing blazing. "Look
Bean," said the officer standing by me,
"I dont say it because you're his
brother, but I've never met a kinder man

73   37  43
in my life than our old doctor. If anyone needs
him nothing is ever too much trouble for him - Its
just the same at any hour, day or night."
Presently I saw old J. on horseback giving some
instructions to the men at the tail of the column. Then
I ran over & walked beside him _^ his horse, yarning & arranging
about writing to one another, up the camp road;
then by a short cut across the now empty lines onto
the parallel road under the hill, "Sapper Lane"; &
up to the corner of the main road out of camp -
& there I left him. He had ahead of him 3
hours march or more along the Pyramids Road
into Cairo. Then three or four hours at the platform
- one of the new plat gravel platforms built
by when we came for the detraining of troops
& known as Madbouli Station. At 6.30
they would move out reaching the end of
their Alexandria at noon when they wd
go aboard the Derfflinger. I went back
to Jock's mess & then to the H.Q. lines.
Sunday. April 4.
Packing at most of the day in
case I get the word to move. Still no word.
Monday April 5. Took Jacks luggage