Suez Canal
18.3.16
Dear Mother,
I just posted my weekly letter last night & today I got mail with a letter each from you & May. We have been doing a good deal of shifting about and re-organising lately & this is the first mail I have had for about 3 weeks. The Ensigns have not arrived but might come any day. I see a many Witnesses here & an odd Ensign and last week I picked up an a/c of Min Looney’s presentation. It seems funny to be getting letters from N.Z. wondering how we spent Xmas when it is over 2 1/2 months since I wrote you a full account of our wanderings
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but I suppose you will have it long before now. There was a bit of scrap with the Zenussi tribe at Xmas but only the 1st Battn of Trents was engaged there. It was on the North coast about 150 miles from Alexandria. Gordon McKay was killed at the Dardanelles. Holmes Hartley told me about him. I think he was near him at the time. About cabling money I am glad to know that it can be sent through the Dept. At present I am getting along alright on my two bob a day but am not saving much so if I happen to get a trip across the Channel I will probably send for a tenner.
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I haven’t seen Min Looney yet & doubt if I’ll get a chance of seeing her in Egypt, as there will probably be something doing very shortly. We think we know where we are going to but there is a sort of mystery about it all. However you will will see all about it in the papers – probably before this reaches you. We have had a lovely time down here on the canal & have been well treated. You know Quaker oats & tinned milk, fried bacon, bread & jam & cocoa make a very good breakfast. But I had better stop or I’ll be making your mouths water & perhaps father will be wanting to enlist; but really we have had a great time, & if you could
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only drop in someday & see us you’d know it. As you know, we are among the mainbody boys & we find them terribly good hearted chaps. Being new chums at the game we didn’t expect much of a hearing from them but it makes no difference with them & we are all a happy family here. The rumours we used to hear about all the stealing that went on were a lot of rot. I have never lost a single thing. We leave our watches, moneybelts, shaving gear etc scattered about just as if we were at home with never a thought about their safety & the only way we ever lose anything is by getting it tramped into the loose sand in the tent & it is usually raked out a day or two after. Will write again first chance but don’t be surprised if it is not for a week or two.
Goodbye just now
Love from Len
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Address:-
14th Regiment
Otago Inft Battalion
1st Brigade
N.Z.E.F.
G.P.O. Wellington