Deaconess
Hospital
Alexandria
2/5/1915
Dear Everybody,
I suspect you will be somewhat surprised when you read the heading of this, but do not fly to conclusions, the sum total of the thing is that I am again in hospital this time with what is supposed to be scarlet fever. The last time I wrote you I sent a post card saying that I was out of the Helisples hospital & ordered to join the Regiment at Alexandria. Well I left the other hospital on Thurs 22nd came on to Alex on the 23rd & went into camp with the rest at _____. On the Sat. morn I woke up with a very sore throat, & this lingered on until Tuesday morn when it was decidedly better. What was my consternation however when I looked at my skin & saw I was out in a rash. I reported to the doctor straight away, & he immediately pronounced, a relapse of measles, & ordered me to hospital forthwith. Arrived here all right but sister in charge reckoned it was not measles, & when the doctor arrived on the seen he upheld her view & said it was scarlet fever. Well I had been put into a ward with another officer of one of the Home regiments, he had been feeling it pretty lonely & welcomed somebody to keep him company, however our company was short lived for they immediately shifted me into a ward by
[Page 2]
myself so that now there re two instead of one feeling it pretty quiet. After spending 48 hours on boiled milk & two more days on very little more the doctor finally came to the conclusion yesterday that I did not have scarlet fever either. The result now is that after so much starving & lying in bed I am pretty weak on my pins, & I suppose it will take a few days to restore my old strength again. He does not intend to let me out of bed until tomorrow but has in the mean time increased the ration considerably, so given fair weather & a stout heart I will be all right in a few days. I only hope he will not keep me long after I get up, for the regiment is expecting to be off any time & i do not want to be left at the post the 2nd time. this is a German hospital, & is right up-to-date in everything, quite new. I think I wrote & told eithe the children or Mr Diack that the nurses were French, well you can correct them if you hear it mentioned. The whole bally crowd of them are Germans, but have come from Syria or different places like that. I got quite a surprise when I heard it, but nevertheless they are very good, & are very obliging. I suppose lone before this reaches you you will have heard of ht brave doings of our gallant fellows at the Dardanells. The first batch of wounded, som five hospital ships bringing 2000 odd arrived here on Saturday.
[Page 3]
There also arrived a big doze of Turkish prisoners so 11,000 odd. They have them quartered in the large sheds on the wharves, & of course have a strong guard over them. Not a bad haul for the first few days is it. I do not know what sort of accounts you will receive of the landing of the troops, but frome some of those that have come back we heard that it was simply h-. What with concealed trenches barb wire entanglements right down to the waters edge, & shrapnell bursting over the beach all the time one can easily imagine what it was like. They say the bearing of the troops was splendid, despite the heavy casualties they could not get off the boats & at them quick enough. There was no firing from our men simply a bayonet charge, & it was more than sufficient. The Turks held their ground for a bit but finally turned & ran for their lives. One wounded officer that came back, said the last he saw of them they were fleeing over the hills in shoals, & our fellows following hard on their heels. When I wrote you about the luggage I was leaving at Cook’s I think I said I would post you the receipt that I would get for it. Well instead of getting two as I thought I would, I only get one & I am going to keep that one myself.
[Page 4]
I do not know whether I have mentioned it before or not, but I meant to, how surprised I was to see so many of the same flowers we have in NZ growing here. At the present time I heave along side me a beautiful vase of mixed sweet peas, they are not however any better than the ones we can grow at home. Roses too are very much alike, I had some in here the other day & they were exactly the same. Their life here is very short, they pick them as a bud in the morning & by night it is well nigh in full bloom. Then we never see any trees the same, not that I can call to mind at anyrate. One thing in regard to the flowers they get a much deeper & richer colour than we ever see in N.Z. Alexandria so far as I know it is a much more pleasant place to live in that Cairo is, at this time of year at any rate. They say it is not nearly as hot now as it is in Aug & Sept, but if it is much worse then than it is now I hope we will be over the hills & far away by then, on the Hungarian plains what think you. I don’t think there is anything more fore me to scribble about, one does not see much on a Sund, when inside the foru walls of a room. How is old Hector I had nearly forgotten him, remember me to him.
Yours Sincerely E.S.McI.
[Written at top of Page 1]
I wrote this in pencil because it has to be fumigated, & if I wrote it in ink it would run, see. Tell Hector I am well aware of the Nigger’s doings, he will understand. Jack Johnston you know.
[Written on the back of Page 4]
Send on to Lottie
Pretty cold here this morn with snow on ground hope all are well as we are
Mary
