18.1.16
Dear May
There is not much to write about today but as I have a few minutes I will try to scrape a little news together. Went up to see George Moffitt this morning. By jove he is looking well, but he has been through some pretty strenuous work on the Peninsular. He was near Rob Cameron & saw him after he was wounded. He says he had two bullet wounds in the leg. He asked him what was wrong & Bob said he had got a smack in the leg but was alright. They had arranged that if either of them went down the other would write to his people but just shortly after George was sent with a lot of others to Malta & then on to England & never heard anything definite about Bob until he returned here a week or two ago. He thinks the wounds must have turned septic but of course he can’t say for certain. George himself was run down & had to go for a rest. He has had a good trip all over Scotland & England. There was no truth in the yarn that he had gone to America to buy horses – he was greatly amused at it. We hear great yarns from the
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men who have been on the Peninsular especially those who were in the first lot. The second time they went on it was a much tamer affair & most of the later reinforcements seem to think that they got there too late for the fun. It is doubtful if the force will ever have anything like it again. There is a feeling here that a couple of months will just about see it out & we might not see more than a little skirmishing. Of course we hear all sorts of rumours & get very little definite news. It is a free & easy life, we just take things as they come & worry about nothing. Nothing surprises us & we are disappointed at nothing. There seems to be so much that is new & interesting that we never stop to think about anything but the present. It took a lot of scheming to get the 3 of us away together but it has been the making of the trip. I believe I feel more at home here than I would in Gore, and very often as we enjoy the wonders & beauties of Egypt I wish that you could all be here too. Most of my correspondents seem inclined to sympathise with us. I suppose they mean well but it is very amusing to come in from a delightful trip to the Pyramids or the Citadel & Mosques, & find a letter awaiting us conveying
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expressions of sympathy because we had missed the Gore Show or the last night of the Competitions. Perhaps we shouldn’t laugh but the humour is there all the same. 20th Still here – and still expecting word to leave, but now that we have got the cookshop in going order we have nothing to complain of here. Of course we have got a sort of restless feeling & want to be always moving about & seeing something new so I suppose we will soon begin to find this place monotonous. So far our mail has not come too regularly. I have only got one letter from home (referring to camera & written about Nov 25th) but have received other letters written up to Dec 7th. There is no proper mail day here, they just send a bundle of letters at any old time. Evidently they just send them on as they sort them. I think it is fairly safe to say that we get all the letters that are sent but papers & parcels don’t always get to the right owners. A number of our men had arranged to have the Witness posted regularly but so far not a copy has arrived. Over on the Peninsular they used to tip out bags of papers & anyone who liked could pick up as many as they wanted no matter who they were address to, & all that weren’t “claimed” were destroyed
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of course in actual warfare that is not so bad but here, where we are still a separate body & the whereabouts of every man is known they should be able to deliver them. A few parcels have come into camp, including my camera, but there have been many Xmas parcels sent that have not arrived yet. That reminds me, in Mother’s last letter before we left Trentham she said she was sending a balaclava, I think, well it has not turned up yet although letters addressed Trentham arrived here on Boxing Day. At Suez we spent a whole day unloading Xmas Gift goods for the troops – 100 tons the 1st mate told us – but we have seen nothing more of it. Naturally the earlier reinforcements had first claim to it & we didn’t expect much but after talking to men of the main body, including reinfts up to the 6th, I find that they have received nothing either. Some think it has gone to the hospitals but there were a good many private parcels addressed to individuals, some of them from Gore & Charlton district & so far none of the men I know have received theirs. Possibly they are all lying in store somewhere but that is no good to us we might all be in the firing line soon & they have a poor chance of getting a Xmas hamper to a man there. Of course there is the usual yarn that they are on sale in Cairo
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but you can’t place much reliance on such reports although there is a rumour that one man bought a cake in town & on cutting it open found a slip of paper under it with his mother’s name & address. Of course we have no way of finding out what becomes of goods or why some take so long to reach here but the fact remains that unless anything is in an envelope it is pretty well certain to be delayed for a good long time & many never arrive. The postal service is much better than it was but they seem to be still totally unable to cope with the number of pcls & papers. There appear to be enough “cold footed” officers loafing round Cairo to do the work easily but it is not the sort of pastime they are looking for. Have given photography a sort of spell as our films have just about run out & they are practically unobtainable at Cairo or Heliopolis. I hope they get a supply before we leave. Last week I posted a parcel containing a tin full of negatives & a silver piastre, and a block of alabaster the same as the Citadel mosque is lined with. Hope they arrive safely. I think this is all the news
Love to All
Len
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Sat 21st Jan Have just received your letter of Dec 10th & am glad to hear you are all well & to know that the things posted at Hobart arrived alright. It was interesting news to hear of the wedding – I must send a small present if I can scrape up a few piastes. The 5/- for my “furniture” is decidedly welcome news – it will be a nice little nest egg to come home to. The girl you refer to is May McGrath, a sister of Madge’s. I think you met her in the shop one day. Your mention of Riverton recalls our old trip. I know every inch of it as I biked it against a head wind & was standing up on the pedals all the way. On the way home from Hauroto we came the same road from Thornbury to In’gill. It is a lovely trip right round on a fine day. The only part of the road I have not liked is from Lumsden to a bit above Centre Bush & about 10 miles from Winton to Ryal Bush. Glad the roses have done alright. I will hardly recognize the place when I come back.
