Albany
H.M.N.Z.T. No.9.
28/10/14
I posted another budget to day, & hope it will reach you all right. We are lying here under a pretty hot sun, & nothing but parades to keep us amused. It is a fine sight to look out the door & see all the lights shining from the ships, quite different to what it is when we are out at sea. We Subalterns have lectures every night now from 8 P.M. until we knock off; we are working up scales of maps just now, & a darn’d tickly job it is. Capt. Glen. was telling us to night that he was going to put us on sketching tomorrow, & we are all hoping he will, for it is very interesting work.
29/10/14 Another day going after the rest, & we are no further on our way, in fact if we do not hurry up the reinforcements will be there before us. We heard to day that we are not going away from here for a day or two yet, & if that is the case we might get a mail before we go. Well we were out sketching today, getting an outline of the prominent points of the harbour, & did not do so badly either. I think I will turn in now & wait for the letters that will not come, I suppose.
[Page 2]
30/10/14 Still basking in the sun at Albany, & not much to break the monotony. We had the G.O.C. round on an inspection, which meant a little more bustle & scrubbing than usual. However he paid us for the pains we took to make things clean, by telling us that we had the cleanest ship in the New Zealand forces. By that I do not mean that we do not keep it clean at other times, because we do, we spend 5 hours every day doing nothing else but hunting round for dirt. The long delay here is caused, we are told, because of the presence of German war ships in the Pacific. We are told that the Australia is hard on the track of one just now, & of course it is quite on the cards that we will not move from here until she returns.
31/10/14 No move yet, but have received orders to be off early tomorrow morning, under sealed orders. So the proposition of us going to Colombo is knocked on the head so far as we know. We spent all day to day exercising the horses, altogether we did 200, giving them 20 minutes walking round the deck. It seems almost an impossibility, but we put matting on the alley-ways, & put out 20 at a time & they stalked round in great style.
[Page 3]
Nov. 1/11/14 At a quarter past six the British cruiser wended her way down the harbour followed by one of the Australian battleships, these were closely followed by the Australian squdron some 26 ships in one long line. We were lying on the outside & had to wait for two hours, which time it took the Australian fleet to pass us, then we followed on in double line. The Australian fleet once clear of the heads formed up in three lines & we came up in rear, between the two outside lines & the center one. When night came on it was remarkable the difference in the appearance of the two fleets. None of the Aust. ships have been painted like ours, & when it grew dusk you could see them as plain as anything & guns were hardly visible. Over & above that they made no attempt to darken their lights & every ship was a mass of glaring lights from stern to bow. However about nine o’clock they must have received an order to cover all lights for on ship after ship the lights were gradually extinguished.
No 2/11/14. We are sailing along with very pleasant weather as a companion, our destination known, but we are under strict orders not to divulge. It is pretty hard luck but we
[Page 4]
have to carry it out, & leave you to get your cue from where this is posted. We got a wireless message this morning informing us of the declaration of war between Turkey & G.B. It did not come as a surprise, as they seem to have been hanging on the brink for some time. In fact it is just as well they have come into it, for it gives us a chance to clear off the map a nation that has been the source of annoyance to other nations for many years. All they can put in the field at this time will not affect the ultimate results materially, in fact the number of men Portugal is putting in will more than counter-balance their force.
3/11/14 The weather has turned out very squally to day, with the result that the ships is rolling great guns, quite the worst we have had, & yet we are told that it is only a mere trifle. We are sailing along here & we have no idea in the world where we are going, even the Captain of the ship does not know, simply a case of follow the leader.
4/11/14 The rough weather of yesterday has turned to a perfect calm to day, & the sea is going down nicely. The Cap. was tell us
[Page 5]
that for all the times he has been through these seas he has never struck it so rough. I do not mean to infer that it was a real rough sea, but is was rough for this particular part. Except for the sudden changes in the weather, the climatic conditions are much the same here as they are in N.Z., sometimes it is quite cold, & when you consider that we are very near the tropics it is not what you would expect. The sun will be shining quite brightly & in a quarter of an hour it will be pouring down, then it will clear up just as quick, & the air will be quite fresh, just like a summer shower at home.
5/11/14 I said somewhere in this, that our destination was known but we were not allowed to divulge, & then further on I said that none of us know where we were going, not even the Capt. well such was the case, for when we left Albany a certain course was maped out & in the possession of the Captain, but after sailing for three days it became evident that we we were not taking that particular course, & heading for where we knew not. Now howeve we have received a confidential message informing us where we are going to call next, & strange to say it is where we all
[Page 6]
thought we would call when we left Tahuna P.
6/11/14 Entered the tropics sometime this morn, & the day has been such that one can hardly realize it. The sky was over cast all day & a nice cool breeze was blowing, making the day a real mid-summers day in Southland. Amongst the ones who are sick on our boast, is the veterinary Officer the only one who is really bad, he had burst a blood vessel in his head & they can not get it to stop bleeding; so to day the, flagship hove-too, & we pulled alongside & got another doctor off her to come aboard, whether he will do any good or not remains to be seen.
7/11/14 We have fully realized to day that we are in the tropics proper, for it has been a corker entirely. Had it not been for a light breeze that was blowing I think we would have been sniffing for more air. The men when they would come back from their mess room were perspiring the same as if they had been working hard, it was simply crewl to see them. It was bad enough down in the saloon, & it is in a well aired corner of the ship, & then everything is done up in ice, a real treat I can tell you.
[Page 7 – missing]
[Page 8]
8/11/14 “Sunday, beautifull Sunday how I wish it never would come Monday.” but nothing like a Sunday at home, nor anything like the Sunday Harry was picturing when he gave voice to the above. From the very jump the impression of Sunday is lost, by having to get up at 5.30 A.M. We awoke to the fact that we were in for another scorching day, & so it was up until 2 o’clock, when one of these tropical showers came on, however it did not last long & when over the atmosphere was much fresher & not so hot. Ther are quite a number of fellows with a slight touch sun stroke, & there is no mistake it does not take them long to get it. We are all in hopes of getting a mail at the next port, for a fast mail boat passed through the lines a couple of day ago, & if there was any mail sent on from Well at all it ought to be on her. Do not forget to send me some of the Southland papers now & again, perhaps the Otago Witness would be the best; not forgetting the reports of the doings of “Spanish Princess” & Buller.
9/11/14 At 1/2 past six this A.M. keen excitement was aroused over the fact that the battle-ship Sydney, which was keeping guard on our left, was seen turning outwards & sailing under full steam in a South Westerly direction
[Page 9]
As a matter of fact our suspicions were aroused on Saturday for the British cruiser Minator which had been sailing in front all the way, turned about & sailed down through the lines & dropped back out of sight over the horizon. When she dropped back she sent the Melbourne, which was guarding the rear, up to the front, & it is from there that our story really begins. Well as the days wore on & we were hearing nothing of the Minator we began to get curious, so when the Sydney turned off we naturally thought something was afoot, & everybody said Emden. Shortly After the Sydney turned off the Melbourne from the front was seen to follow at full speed in the same direction, however later events proved that she was only going to take up the position the Sydney had left. This all took some time & we began to settle down again, when about 1/2 ten there seemed to be another stir amongst the cruisers & the Japaneese cruiser which was on our right flank moved up at full speed crossed our path in front & joined the Melbourne on the left, again we were on the alert. At 11 A.M. we received the bare word, that the Emden had been sunk. From then on we received a fair detailed account of the engagement, which was to say the most of it short sharp & severe. Later news informed us that the engagement took place at a quarter past nine & she was out of action at 10 AM. When you consider that both ships were about the same size carrying the same weight & size of guns the Sydney put up a magnificent fight, for her casualties amounted to 2 killed & 13 wounded. The Emden did not sink, but ran ashore on Cocos. Island to prevent herself from doing so, what happened to the crew we have not yet heard. After the beaching the attention of the Sydney was drawn to a collier which was attending on the Emden & supplying her with the
[Page 10]
the necessaries of life. Ultimately this was captured also, but not before it had caused all the commotion amongst the cruisers that were left around us. The engagement took place about 50 miles astern of us, so that last night some time we were sailing much closer to danger than we had any idea of or any particular liking for.
10/11/14 Really nothing to write about, just the same dull routine day in & day out. Weather is particularly warm & I expect will get warmer as we get nearer the line, which is not many day off now. We expect to cross it on Thursd evening or early on Friday morn. Had the last injections re typhoid to day, & it is getting to work a little. I do not know whether I told you before or not but they give it to us in two doses, 10 days between each of them. The only effect it has is to stiffen up the joint nearest where it was done, & is sore to the touch, this lasts for a couple of days & then you are all right again.
11/11/14 After a real tropical shower of rain last night the day dawned beautifully fine, in fact the early hours of the morning were simply perfect. We have been sleeping out on the deck the last few nights & have had to get up & get inside because of these same showers. Orders came out again tonight in regard to censorship of letters, & I find that I have written in here certain parts that would not stand examination, so now I do not intent to post this until such time as all restrictions are removed. So henceforth I will just relate exactly where we are, & what is happening. It looks so much like rain that I am going to stop inside tonight.
[Page 11]
12/11/14 Another day following the rest & we are getting very close to the line, we are now in about latitude 3 & expect to cross about six tomorrow morning. Great preprations have been made for Neptune coming aboar, is is the one topic just now, & everybody is looking forward to a little diversion. He hailed the boat last night & warned the chief officer that he & his court would be aboard tomorrow at 10.15 AM. Just exactly what shape the function take we do not know, & not likely to until we are dropped into it, secrecy is the success of the whole affair. Will be able to relate to you the proceedings in my next.
13/11/14 Well we have crossed the line at last, & Neptune came aboard with all the pomp & grandeur of a king. The procession started up to time by Neptune & his court parading the boat, starting at bow, marching along the main deck to the stern, then back along the port side, up on to the boat deck & halted underneath the bridge; where he delivered his declaration to the masters of the ship. This part lasted about five minutes, & it was really funny, old Neptune standing there with his court, of about a dozen, dressed in all manners of dress, standing around him while he welcomed the Capt of the ship, Colonel Bauchast & Lieut Cooper, to these tropical climes. He also expressed himself as being high pleased that this ship was carrying so many, who had never been welcomed to these parts. These of course were the ones that all the fun was going to be over, those who had crossed before making up the court & Neptune himself.
[Page 12]
After this part was over the court retired to a raised platform on the port side of the boat, which overlooked a canvas bath all of which had been built for the occassion. On this platform the assembled court drank the health of Neptune in a glass of rum; then the fun commenced. In this bath three men wer wallowing dressed up as bears, their particular job being to duck the victims as they were toppled into the bath. They first of all call on a man & if he does not come quietly they bring him by force, place him on a chair with his back to the bath, then they lather him with a mixture of soft soap & syrup, & soft soap & washing blue. While this is going on they pester him with questions, endeavouring to get him to open his mouth, to insert a pill composed of soft-soap, mustard & engine grease; then they shave him with a great razor made out of a 3 x 1 batten rounded of on one side, for a blad, & two other pieces of batten bolted together for a handle. when they have finished shaving him they turn him head-over heels into the bath there to be soused by the bears; from there he climbs out & scurries off to fix himself up & come back & enjoy the fun, of seeing the rest going through. Of course everybody is dressed in his worst all ready prepared, & today it just poured down all the time, everybody was wet nobody cared & altogether we had a real jolly time. It is really an old time honoured custom, & is to those at sea as father christmas is to us on land. Now you should have a faint idea of the ripping time we had today.
[Page 13]
14/11/14 This morn we woke up to the fact that the fleet had formed itself into a fast & a slow squadron. fortunately for us we were in the fast squad, & heading out for Colombo at the increased pace of about 12 1/2 knots. Of course that made things interesting & we expect to arrive in port early in the morning, but do not think we can manage it now.
15/11/14 Woke up & found land in sight, finally arriving in port about 9.30 AM. From the harbour the town & surroundings are simply glorious. The palms are quite green & set the many coloured house tops off to perfection. Orders came out that no man no matter of what rank was to go ashore, then you shoudl have heard the talk, everybody was keenly dissappointed. However at dinner a wireless message arrived from the Manganui telling us that 200 men & a proportionate number of officers could go ashore as soon as they liked, but to be back at 5. o’clock P.M. The officers that went ashore were made responsible for twenty men that is they had to see that these men all came on board again. Fortunately for me, as it turned out I did not get out with that lot, but go ashore in the evening with nobody to look after but myself. I think it is the most interesting place we will strike, all kinds & conditions of people talking the greatest lingo you ever heard. When we landed on the wharf, for they do not go alongside here, the first men we struck were some of the men off the Sydney, & we got a very plain straight forward account of the engagement. the engagement lasted two hours, & the casualties on the Sydney
[Page 14]
amounted to 4 killed 13 wounded while on the Emden the list was 200 killed & 30 wounded, out of a crew of 345 all told. From there we passed on to the first hotel we cam to, went in & had some port wine to the success of the Sydney, & the place was simply magnificent, all Singalees waiting on the tables. We came out & had a run round in rickshaw as far as you can go in a hour for 1/4, or one rupaee. Well just where we went it is impossible for me to describe, but was just a perfect run. One place they stopped was at the temple of Buddah, & we sailed inside, of course you have to pay everywhere you turn, but it was worth it, for inside was some of the most beautiful engraving & sculpture I think you will find anywhere. The first place we went into we had to remove our hats before we went in, just inside the door was a small counter all strewn with flowers, the offerings of those who worship Buddah, immediately behind these were a number marble images of various sizes representing goodness only knows who & supposed to be 2000 years old. all the time this is going on you have about half a dozen attendants running after you, carrying your things for you. However to proceed, form these images you turn to their bible or their letters of worship, this is written out on a palm leaf of some kind, in Singalees, one of these they hand you, with a copy of the English of it. These I am going to send home & hope they will reach you all right; I forget now how much I had to pay for them, 1 ruapee 1/4. I think. However from there you turn to the visitors book & enter your name, & if by any chance you should forget the charity box you are very soon reminded of it, of course all donation thankfully received. Next your are marched into the temple of Buddah, but before entering you must take
[Page 15]
off your boots, which performance is very willing performed for you, by the lad who happens to be carrying you stick & hat. Immediately inside the door you see painted on the walls also carved the various personages connected with Buddah, & it shows the form of marriage which they have to go through. From here you pass into the temple & presence of Buddah proper, this is a long narrow room with a counter as in the first & on it are scattered flowers; the offerings of those who go there to worship him. Here you find him an enormous man reclining in different positions, a very fine piece of work, showing him as their conception of him in the past, the present & as they expect to see him in the next life. As they show you round here they tell you the meaning of everything, but I can not remember it all, however they present you with a flower, some of the offerings of those who worship. The man who shows you round here is a Singalees, but can speak English very plainly, & he takes care when you are leaving that he gets a shilling for all his information. From here we cantered back to the town proper, & started barganing for articles, the business folk are great on making bargins, they as you an outlandish price for an article, but if you hold out you will invariably get it for half of what they asked for it. I got a number of things & I want to post them home as Christmas gifts, but am afraid that owing toe censorship they will not reach you in time, however they will get there sometime & as the saying is, “better late than never.” From this we wended our way back tot he boat, carrying with us the news of Lord Roberts death. It was great the reverend look that would come over the faces of the natives when we would mention his or Kitchener’s names.
[Page 16]
16/11/14 We had orders to go ashore again this morning at 8.30, but through the night some time a message came from G.O.C. saying that he wanted all the O.C. on board the Maunganui at nine o’clock & that no men were to go ashore until further orders. However at 11. the Colonel returned & we were allowed ashore for 2 1/2 hours. Of course the men were all ready waiting & we did not loose much time getting away. We had quite a good time in trying to get bargains from the native clothiers; they keep some very fine material & do mot forget to ask very fine prices for it. I managed to get a few fine clothes to finish up the hot weather with, for they tell us that we have quite the hottest part to go through yet. In buying the articles, to get them at a fair price it is just like Dutch auction they start at the outside price & you promptly of them the hlf of it, & you will just about get it if you hang out long enough. We have six of the crew of the Emden on board now, five men & one Officer. I have not seen much of them yet but they are all between the ages of 20 & 30, & most of them can speak English. We came out of the harbour into the open about 5.30, so it looks as if we are off in the morning.
17/11/14 Moved off at about 6 o’clock this morn, heading for Aden. We went into Colombo chiefly for water, put 300 tons on board, & at the time of sailing we were only twenty tons better off than when we went in. We are all sailing along together now, with the Aust. leading the van. The Emden crowd are very decent & sociable fellows, & not a bit reticent regarding their doings. In the engagement they were the first to fire & their first show took away the Sydney’s range finding apparatus making it very difficult for the gunners to get the range. However the Sydney’s firing was much superior
[Page 17]
as evidence of the fact, that the Emden fired half as many rounds again as the Sydney. The Emden’s crew that are here, tell us that they never knew we were on the water, & that they did not know the Sydney was our convoy or that she was in touch with any other boats whatever. They tell us that we will never reach England, because we will all be sunk & that they will have to go to the bottom with us; very cheery news is’nt it. There is no doubt but what they are kept in the dark, for they tell us that our fleet is all bottled up & that their fleet has command of the seas. Their Capt. told them that he was master of the Pacific & that he was good enough for any boat that was in those waters; but he must have forgotten to count the Sydney, Melbourne, Minator & the number of others that are flying about those waters. There were 36 boats sailed from Colombo in half an hour after they received word that the Emden was down. In & around the harbour there were 50 boats all frightened to go out because of her. The head Officers must think we are pretty safe now for we are allowed to let our lights blaze away. we received the news of the fate of the Hoensberg all right, so that there is absolutely nothing to trouble us now.
18/11/14 Back the old routine nothing doind & nothing to write about, not even the feeling that we are in perpetual danger. We have gone back to full illumination again there being no restrictions regarding lights, & our convoy is not quite so heavy as it was.
[Page 18]
19/11/14. The hour is 2.45 AM. & I am on this darn’d watch again, from 12 o’c until 4 AM. However it is not so bad tonight the weather is so mild that it is quite a pleasure to be out. It is a great sight on deck, the men are all allowed to sleep out during the hot weather, & no matter where you go you almost fall over them; there is just a narrow gangway left between the side of the ship & their feet for us to walk along. When we left Colombo we left 1 division of the Aust behind & if we look back now we can see them coming up again. We expected to get a mail at Colombo, but it did not come off, should not be surprised if we do not get it until we get home now. I was speaking to the officer on the bridge tonight re being home for Christmas & he says there is every likely hood of us getting there if we can keep going straight ahead. We had to put another horse overboard lat night, making the total of lost 6, not bad considering the conditions. In fact a Colonel of one of the Colombo regiment was astonished to hear that we had lost so few & congratulated us on the condition of the horses. He says that sending horses home from India they always loose about 30 per cent of them.
20/11/14 Nothing special to report, except that four of our boats & ten of the Australians formed a fast squadron & headed off for Aden, at which port the remaining ships will not call, but go straight on to port Said.
21/11/14 We learn today that our water supply will no more than take us to port Said. I think myself that there is a good deal of bluff about it all, however orders are orders now.
22/11/14 Nothing new or fresh & nothing doing, one day is a dull repetition of the one before it. church parade was the only parade to day.
[Page 19]
23/11/14 We woke up to the fact that we were in sight of land & sailing quite close to it. On inquiry it proved to be a small Island shown on the map, off the Northe East coast of Africa. It is only a small Island, about 80 miles long & about 20 miles wide, & has a population of 12000 people. They are all black people, & there are some , I so not think they are all the same, that are cannibals. It is a very barren place, from the sea it looks barren rack & sand, but further inland the only vegetation & food stuff is figs.
24/11/14 Are right out of sight of island & will not see more land till Wed. some time. The sea today was simply perfect quite the best calm we have yet seen, & the night is just glorious so clear & mild that you could go about in clothes of the finest silk & you would never feel cold. We have last two more horses in our squadron, bringing the total for the ship up to 8.
25/11/14 We were in sight of land first thing this morn, but so far away that we could just see a dim out-line of some very high hills. They proved to be some very high hills on the south Arabia. We were in the first place not going to stop at Aden, but an order came through about id-day that we were to anchor outside the harbour proper for the night. When that order came through it was reckoned how long it would take us to reach port, & the time of arrival was put down at 1/2 past 4, & sure enough we were at anchor within 5 minutes of the time. From where we were anchored we could not see the wharf or town, but got a good view of the barracks. It is absolutely the most barren place
[Page 20]
I have ever set eyes on, not a single sign of vegetation anywhere, nothing but bare rocks & sand for as far as the eye can see. From this point across to the African coast is about 80 miles. We also learned today of the reversal of the Anglo Indian forces reversal in German East Africa, also the sinking of the German submarine U 18 by the British patrol boast. We are to be away from here at six o’clock in the morning.
26/11/14 Left Aden this morn about a quarter past six, & heading for port said, with the NZ fleet leading the fleet. The reason for our leading being, that we are so short of water that we have just enough to take us to port, where as if we were last & had to wait at Suez until all the other boats were through we would have no water at all. It was a great sight leaving Aden, nothing but barren rock for as far as the eye could see, except in some gap in the hills you would get a fleeting glance of the desert away in the distance, & its appearance was worse if anything than the hills. Leaving Aden the African coast is not in view at all, & we did not pick it up for about 3 hrs after sailing, at the same time we never lost sight of the Arabian coast. Simultaneously with the sighting of the African coast we sighted Perin Island the key to the red sea from this end. At this point which is the real entrance to the Red Sea it is only 5 mls from the African coat to Perin Island & from Perin to Arabia it is only one. Now the island is very heavily fortified, guns just appearing above the crest of the hills, nearly everywhere you look, & I should say they are disappearing ones, at any rate it would be quite hopless any ship attempting to pass. There are quit a number of buildings on the place, presumably barracks for the soldiers stationed there, & necessary out buildings
[Page 21]
Over & above all these there are a couple of wharf’s & there were a couple of boats in as we passed. There is also a lighthouse on either end of the the place. Altogether the island is not more than miles long by wide, & the only vegetation appears to be a sort of short scrub not unlike the small manuka in N.N.
27/11/14 We are enjoying to the full the almost unbearable heat which is supposed to be characteristic of the Red Sea. There is a wind blowing in the same direction as we are going & about the same rate making a dead clam on board. The whole boat & the horse decks in particular are very stuffy.
28/11/14 Nothing doing & the day is a perfect repetition of yesterday. We exercised horses all day, taking full benifit of what we expect to be the last of the calm seas. The boats officers we will get it pretty rough from port Said right home.
29/11/14 Arose this morn to revel in a very refreshing breeze that sprung up through the night. It seems quite remarkable to us that about the same latitude every trip the officers tell us they can depend on running into a fresh breeze. I thought when I left home that wind was the last thing I would sing out for, but I can asure you when you get into a climate like this you are only to pleased to get a little of it. There were no parades to day other than church parades & stables. The troops were issued with three boxes of reading material, all gifts. My troops was very lucky in the box they go, for on opening it they found on top a biscuit tin containing 6 lbs of fruit cake & 28 lbs of honey, from someone who signed herself Mrs Vree
[Page 22]
There was not enough cake to go round the whole squadron so the four troops leaders decided to cut it in half & toss for which two troops should get it; & low & behold I was lucky for once. In regard to the cake I brought from Well. it had a very peaceful ending a few days ago, & I must say that on parting it left in the mouth a very sweet tooth & a great longing; some jam we still have left.
30/11/14 Sailing along passing an island now & again otherwise out of sight of land until we run into the Gulf of Suez, about three in the afternoon, then we had fairly high hills on either side of us, but a long way off. The weather is much cooler today, in fact the wind that is blowing is bordering on coldness, expect to have it quite cold tomorrow. It is too cold to sleep out on deck tonight. You can hardly believe that it could change so quickly. We expect to be at Suez early in the morn.
1/12/14 Arrived at Suez about 8.30 AM, & anchored in the bay for 5 hrs for some unearthly reason or other. There is not a great deal to see, there, only a small place on the entrance to the canal, which though small is very pretty. The canal itself at the entrance & up to the part where this is being written is just like a huge ditch cut through sandy plains. The monotony along the bank is broken about every 20 mls by a flourishing palm grove in center of which is built a very neat house. Around these places there seems to be quite a little vegetation, & on two occassions there were wind-mills erected, but whether it is salt water or not they pump I could not say. The canal itself is 74 miles long & it takes about 16 hours to do the trip. There is likely to be trouble with the
[Page 23]
Turks on the Arabian side, & because of this there are 40,000 Indian troops & 25,000 British guarding the canal from one end to the other. In fact there are supposed to be 6000 Turks occupying the hills in the distance some 6 miles or so away. Presumably their intention was to have a shot at us as we went through, but they were forestalled. We have a guard lining the starboard side, & issued with ammunition in case of surprise. I suppose it will come as a surprise to you when you hear that we are to disembark at Alexandria enroute for Cario, but it will not surprise you more than it did us, just received the orders before we entered canal, however they are quite authentic & we are making preparations accordingly.
2/12/14 After an uneventful journey we arrived at port Said about 3 o’clock AM. The shipping was all stopped at this end while we were coming through, & now there is such an amount of shipping here that you cannot see anything else. How we are going to get everything ready to go ashore in 24 hours beats me to know. We arrive at Alexandria about 6.30 AM, but whether we will disembark straight away or not we are not yet sure. There is a good deal I could say about port Said but time will not permit of me writing more. Should you get this letter without any more accounts of our doings you will understand that it is owing to pressure of time. Everybody is well & am well myself, any little dissappointment that was felt over disembarking at Alexandria seems to have taken itself off& the troops are as gay as larks. Just a word more to say that we are in Camp at Zeitun Cairo, & that I am writing another letter home which I hope you will be able to exchange for this one.
[Written at top of page 1]
Everything is going off very well & the troops & self in the best of health. We are encamped on the edge of the desert at a suburb of Cairo called Zeitun about six miles out, & about ten from Pyrimads
