The camp was intended to hold 6,000 men and probably contained an average of more than that, whilst the men’s comfort and amusement was provided for as far as possible. The Y.M.C.A, and Salvation Army and other religious bodies had erected marquees wherein the recruits could obtain reading and writing material free of cost and where concerts and singsongs were held nightly. Canteens and restaurants were established where the men could obtain goods and groceries and meals at city prices and altogether Casula was a surprisingly comfortable and well established camp.

Our training here went on in much the same manner as at Holsworthy but of course we were taught new things and every day and as we now had more room to train, we frequently practised skirmishing and night attacks on woods and imaginary villages etc. Occasionally a draft would be despatched to the front, and on such occasions there was a great to do in camp but so far these departures did not immediately concern myself or my friends, who up till now had remained together as occupants of the one tent and were in the same platoon, and had begun to know and understand one another and were quite a happy family.

Sleeping on the hard ground in tents, feet to feet with ten in a tent did not bother us much as by now we had had some months experience and were generally so tired from the days toil that we did not require any rocking to make us sleep. Of course, things did happen to disturb us at night, chief of which was the arrival of the “drunks” at ‘Tattoo’ who had been on leave in Sydney or elsewhere and who generally managed to let the whole camp know all about the good times they had had, with their singing and horseplay, etc.

Also, fleas became very troublesome, and they were the biggest, fiercest and most lusty fleas I have ever experienced. They seemed to take it as a personal grievance if we went to bed late, thus keeping them late for dinner, and generally made up for lost time by getting to work on our bodies as soon as we got between the blankets. I used to imagine that it was a good idea to be the last one to go to bed, since by so doing all the fleas would thus be dining off the other fellows. Failing this, we considered that it was a good idea to meet their ferocity with strategy and turn the blankets inside out after five minutes or so, thus making the fleas go round the back as it were. By the time they discovered their mistake, we would be asleep, and once asleep would generally sleep on till morning despite the little pests.

The weeks crept on, and we were becoming well advanced in our training and were as hard as nails, and had quite settled down to the regular routine of camp life. Our re-enforcement company began to know one another, and individuals began to chum up together and generally speaking, we began to feel like soldiers. Leave was granted every week end to about two thirds of the men in camp and those not due for leave performed the camp duties for the week end. Every day or two a batch of new recruits arrived and were addressed by the commandant and then allotted to their training battalion, and every few days a draft was despatched to the front amidst much enthusiasm and things went on quite smoothly and contentedly.

Then there was an agitation for leave to be granted every day from 4 p.m. until midnight and was granted, and was taken advantage of by the majority until it became the general rule to make straight for the train for Sydney so soon as the parades were finished in the afternoon, the men boarding the trains at Liverpool and Casula. Suddenly some military ‘big-wig’ took it into his head, that so much leave for the men was detrimental to their training and this, coupled with the fact that the men using the trains to Sydney refused to pay fares led the said ‘big-wig’ to issue an order that leave was only to be granted as before at the week-end and also that the men were to pay their fares at the rate of 1/- return. This order caused rather a sensation throughout the training camps and met with much resentment and from then on there was trouble in the camp. Stump orators arose and agitators got to work and egged the men on until the men began to defy authority and took ‘French leave’ at night and still refused to pay any fares, with the result that a good number used to find themselves doing punishment for their offences.

The camps became so discontented that at last the men in Casula decided to march en-masse to the Commandant at Liverpool and demand a return to the ‘daily leave and no-fares’ ruling, with the result that one morning in February 1916, the men in Casula formed fours and marched in an orderly fashion (in defiance of the protestations of the officers) down the road, through Liverpool itself and thence over the bridge into Liverpool camp. Here they marched all over the parade grounds, broke up the parades and were joined by the majority of the men in Liverpool camp. They then demanded to see the Commandant, Colonel Kirkland, who addressed them and advised them to return to their camp at Casula and he would see what could be done for them in the meantime. Thereupon the majority of the men did return to their respective quarters in camp, but the seed was sown and the more rowdy element soon took charge with the result that the canteens were raided and the hotels in Liverpool were looted and men got drunk by hundreds. Thousands of men taking advantage of the disorder took the day off and went by train to Sydney and there also a percentage of the rowdies soon began to disturb the peace.

Things now began to become serious and the police force was mobilized and the garrison at Randwick was held in readiness. However, it soon became evident that the vast majority of the men were not out to make serious trouble and the police soon obtained the upper hand, and made numerous arrests, with the result that towards evening things quietened down and the men, for the most part went back to camp. Those who went back early and those who did not leave the camp at all were formed into piquets and were sent back to Sydney in charge of officers and materially assisted the police in completely restoring order.

In Sydney during the day, although several windows in the Greek fish shops were smashed and a few “scares” occurred, such as threatening of Grace Bros. on the grounds that a German was supposed to be employed there, nothing really serious occurred until late at night when trouble with a regrettable ending took Place. During the evening, piquets of soldiers from the camps had been stationed at the Central Railway station to prevent disturbances there and to assist in getting the soldiers back to camp etc. About midnight, several rioters in conjunction with a mob of larrikins arrived at the station and abused the piquets and tried to disperse them. The commander of the piquet tried to get the mob to go back to camp by reasoning with them but they still persisted in causing trouble and finally turned a fire hose on the piquet with a result that a volley or two was fired above the rioters; one man, a light-horseman named O’Keefe being killed and a few wounded. This quietened the disorderly crowd which dispersed. For a fortnight afterward piquets were stationed about Sydney and the Central Railway station, but as the men in camp seemed to be sorry for the events of that day and since they were allowed their daily leave etc. no further trouble occurred and the training went on as before in the camps at Liverpool and Casula, the only penalty which was imposed being a fine of one days pay to the absentees and various punishments for those who caused the disturbances.

Soon after this ‘walk out‘ took place, my company was sent to Liverpool camp every day for a week to learn elementary musketry and on two or three occasions went into the bush a few miles from Holsworthy and went through field firing practice. Also we were twice despatched to Long Bay Rifle Range to undergo target practice on the rifle ranges there.

Our musketry training being completed and our parade and camp duty training having been judged sufficient, we were deemed fit to proceed on draft for the front and were therefore informed that we were to be the 10th reinforcements to the 20th Battalion of the 5th Infantry Brigade and the necessary service kit was then issued to us. We received our ‘webb’ equipment all in pieces and were instructed in the placing together thereof and spent a couple of days in this practice and in being finally medically examined and were also inoculated and vaccinated.

Then we made out our wills on special forms, allotted our portions of pay to our next of kin, had our identification discs inscribed with our names, number, religion and next of kin’s address, received our sea kit bags and extra clothing and were then given ten days final leave on April 25th, 1916.

We all went to see our nearest and dearest to take a final farewell of course, but as I had had the privilege of seeing my own people frequently during the six months I had spent in camp, I decided to go to Glen Innes with Bert Allen, Billy Hookham, & Thomas Carberry. There I spent my final leave. Before I go any further I may as well describe the various members of our little fraternity which now included ten all told. First there was Harold Mitchell whose acquaintance I had made years before in Glen Innes where he was engaged as a linotype operator in the employ of the Glen Innes Guardian. His age was about 28 and he stood about six feet in his sox and was very strong and altogether a quiet well spoken person, true as steel and a friend to be relied upon. Bert Allen was a native of Glen Innes about 26 years of age, a draper by trade and was in the militia before he joined up and worked in the same business as I did. He was about 5 ft. 10 in. in height, dark in complexion with curly black hair and altogether was another trusty friend and was the leader of a good deal of our fun.

Thomas Thomas also worked in the same business as I did in Glen Innes and was a Welshman by birth and an immigrant to this country about six months or so before war broke out. He was tall and strong also and rather serious minded but could enjoy our fun as well as anyone else. Billy Hookham was an Englishman and came from London, having immigrated more for the experience than for any other reason. He was short of stature, ruddy complexioned, golden hair, laughing blue eyes and was full of fun and was very popular and we were all very fond of him.

Then there was Harry Carberry a son of a publican in Glen Innes. Also small in stature and a rather refined kind of chap who kept himself more to himself than most fellows do. The others included a boy of 19 named Sutherland, and another boy named Wadds both from Walcha. They were half-brothers and usually spent the time arguing between themselves for practice, although inwardly they were both fond of one another.

Altogether, we were a happy bunch of pals who all understood one another, to the extent of backing each other up in any trouble financially or otherwise, took our pleasures and duties together, shared the one tent always together, were in the same platoon right through the training and all got away in the same draft, and in fact were comrades all for better or for worse.