Tel-el. Kebir
23/5/16
Dear Everybody,
A few more lines, & I am pleased to be able to say with all certainty that they will be the last you will receive from me from Egypt. I know perfectly well that I have written this before, & perhaps on more than one occassion. However orders have just come down from Bde Headquarters, & we are informed there-in that all units must be ready to proceed overseas by the 27th. So there you are, & if you only knew how downright pleased we all are at the opportunity of getting away from here, I believe it would give you a new lease of life, it does us at any rate. Had we had to put in another month of such weather as we had last week, I think our
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ranks would have been sadly thinned. Never mind we are for off & somewhere in England is to be our destination, it really does not much matter where, so long as it is out of this country. Had Kates latest letters sent on to me today, I mean those she received from N.Z. They were quite good the latest being dated April 9th. When I am going to get some of my own goodness only knows, a lot of those in camp received an N.Z. mail today but so far none for me. I must frankly admit now that I am not surprised to hear that Charl. has enlisted, I have kind of felt it coming for a long time. Several times I have been on the point of writing & telling him not to come unless it was absolutely
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necessary that he should do so. However now that he has cast in his lot, we can only hope for the best, but I am still of the opinion that there are hundreds still in N.Z. who should be out here before it was necessary for him to hand in his name. I am now very keen to know what branch he is coming out with. There is no use him coming with the mounted, for there is practically no mounted to come to. I am confident, & from what I have seen & know what is going on here now, there are only two branches worth thinking about & they are the Artillery & the A.S.C. Personally I should strongly advise him to work hard for a commission, this he could not get in the Artillery, but is a
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hundred times more suited & more capable for one in the A.S.C. than any of the officers I have seen out here for some time. Failing a commission for heaven’s sake do not let him come out without at least Sgts. stripes. He may think he knows nothing about A.S.C. work or artillery either, but if you could only see some of the N.C.O. who are here, why good heavens he could run rings round them with his eyes shut. Artillery is the best branch of the service, but it requires a great deal of technical knowledge which can not be obtained in a very short period of time, this practically applies as much to an N.C.O. as it does to an officer. On the other hand, our daily work practically fits us for the A.S.C. work. If he can
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not get a commission he should came as an N.C.O. in the mechanical transport, & don’t think of anything else. I understand he had Corporals stripes in the territorials, & that ought to give him a big lift, he will not loose those no matter where he goes, or at least he ought not to. Perhaps I have got a bit of a cheek trying to advise all this, but it is only my idea for the best keeping clearly in mind all that I have seen this last 20 months. Infantry would have no attraction for him & they are not such a good class of fellow as are in the Artillery or A.S.C. If he comes out mounted he will be planted here in Egypt & that is no good to anyone. For real downright interesting work Artillery
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is head & ears over anything else, their organisation is usually much better. If he should have to come as a private the artillery is the place, but again I emphasise the points that he should work for a commission, & at least come as an N.C.O. One thing about an N.C.O. is this, all N.C.O. appointments in N.Z. are only temporary, & granting that a man is appointed say Sgt Major there, he may have to revert to the rank of private immediately on joining with the main body. At least those are the standing orders, & everything depends upon the strength of the unit in N.C.O.s when the reinforcements reach it. Will you send this letter on to Charl. I do not know what his address is or I would write to
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the camp. Am thinking of sending a cable in case this does not reach home before he is timed to leave N.Z. I guess you will have received the cable informing you of Kate & I meeting again. Our good fortune seems to be holding out pretty well. She is looking so well, much better than when I saw her the last time she was in Alex. As a matter of fact all on board were looking much better. They did not know when I saw them, where they were going next, but I have since heard that they are going back to England, & are moving the N.Z. General Hospital from Egypt. It looks very like as if they will be put on the channel run.
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Now that we are moving the weather sees fit to cool down a little. Only hope it will stay so until we get away. They tell us that the Medit. is as full of submarines (tin fish) as the sea is full of fish, but never mind we are quite willing to take the risk. Heard last night that it is possible that we may be encamped on Salisbury Plain. Hope not, for it is not a very nice spot. However anything in England in summer is better than this. Au Rêvoir just now. Oh! how is old Hector getting on. you never by any chance mention him. Tell him I was asking for him,
Your
Affect. Brother
E.S.McI.
