[11/12/1915]
Saturday Dec.
Dear May,
Posted last letter this morning. There is no sign of land but I believe we are heading [censored]. Slightly rough today. Sunday On guard today. It is a 24 hour job & not much sought after. Six of us are on & work it in two hour shifts, 2 hours on & 4 off. As there are no detention men we haven’t much to do through the day but have to guard the life belts all night. I will not go on till 10 pm. Went to hear the old captain of the boat preaching today. He holds a service every Sunday night & morning & is real good – speaks well & the singing is very hearty. All the boats officers are fine chaps & do all they can for us. Hargest came out of Hosp today. Monday Passed two ships last night while on guard. Also saw numerous peculiar phosphorus lights in the water. There is almost a stream of them continually running past below the ship – some of them just bright specs others large splashes 18 ins or so across. At midnight we worked our way down to the kitchen & had a rattling good supper – the best meal I have had on board – toast, hot rolls, buns & a lovely cup of coffee.
[page 2]
Although over the Equator we can still see the Southern Cross in the mornings & about 5 o’clock this morning a few of us were talking about it & another chap who was standing near called out to his mate to come & have a look at the “last little bit of New Zealand”. He seemed quite unconscious of any humour in it. We have been sailing in sight of land, on the West, all morning but have lost it again. Have passed five ships today. This morning we saw an interesting & somewhat amusing sight. A school of porpoises out for a splash. There were thousands & thousands of them & they jumped along as if they were playing leap frog, they seemed to be half the time in the air. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen on the trip. They kept a fairly straight line & stretched as far as we could see out each side of the ship & for quite a long time they kept level with us. I have a couple of snaps of them & hope they develop out alright. This afternoon we paraded for gift stuff from the Otago Ladies’ Assn. We each got 2 pr sox, 2 hankies, 1 ea balaclava, mittens, housewife, cholera belt & a bag to hold them. They are all good articles & useful but I don’t know how I’ll get them into my kit. Printed about 100 photos during the day.
[Page 3]
I don’t know how we would get on without our photogy. It always gives us something to do & makes us take more notice of what we see. You’d be surprised at the number of cameras on board but few if any of them have arranged to do their own work. A steward on board has been doing a little work at very cheap rates but the results so far as I have seen are very variable. We could make a fortune here if we had the means for finishing large batches of prints. As it is we can hardly supply our own requirements. Tue Finished our longest run today & proceed up the Red Sea, another 4 or 5 days will do it. We sighted land again this morning slightly to the left front & by dinner time we anchored in Aden harbour. Sorry to say we didn’t go right in but were close enough to see the forts & barracks. The wharf & native settlement is just around the corner, out of sight. The rocks on the coast are high & very rugged but in-land it appears to be a yellow sandy desert. We only stayed a short time, put off the mail & pulled out again early in the afternoon. We saw a few boats with natives in them & a few little sailing vessels evidently doing a bit of fishing.
[Page 4]
This afternoon we have been in sight of the Asiatic coast all the way but expect to lose sight of it again until we get to Suez, about Sat night. Canteen closes tomorrow but as it was just about cleaned out of eatables over a week ago it won’t make much difference to us. Wed 15th Mail closes tomorrow afternoon so had better wind up. Out of sight of land all day but passed 12 islands varying considerably in size & known as the 12 Apostles. They appear to be the tops of a submerged mountain chain. It is a great place for light houses & last night we passed some lovely bright ones. The Red Sea is much bigger than I used to think. We sail for 4 days out of sight of the main land. We passed a small steamer laden with troops today & exchanged cheers but don’t know where they were going to. After dinner we finished another batch of prints which I will probably send with this mail. We use Tabloid toning & it doesn’t make a great job of them. We received another, & I think the last, batch of Gift goods today consisting of a soap bag made out of towel & containing 1 cake soap, 1 Keating’s Powder, & 1 tin ointment, also a linen bag with a stick of liquorice & some cinnamon bark, & a dish towel.
[Page 5]
There is absolutely nothing I can think of now that I could do with. In fact I have enough to keep me going for a twelve month but of course the difficulty is to have it when we want it. I went over all my togs today & put everything in perfect order & what is more I am feeling very fit myself so am ready to step into the trenches as soon as they like; however the general opinion is that we’ll get at least a fortnight’s training first. You’ll probably know all about that before this reaches you. Our men are all in great heart. It is really amazing to see the way the merriment keeps up. A crowd of chaps going for a week’s camping at the seaside couldn’t be livelier, & I am certain the same feeling will be carried right through, & I can easily see how trench life will be very enjoyable under almost any circumstances & in many ways I am looking forward to getting a taste of it. The Wellington people used to us the “Merry Eigth” & I think we have just about earned the title. Hope to tell you something about Egypt next letter. I just write as I get a chance & probably you’ll get two or 3 letters by the same mail as I think it only goes fortnightly. Will have to keep photos till next mail.
Love to All
Len.
[Written on back of Page 5]
They arrived at Suez on the 18th Dec 1915
