On the evening of April 11th we arrived at Port Tuefic, Suez and the transport was moored at one of the wharfs and the troops were all ordered to disembark next morning.

In the meantime until it got dark, the troops on board amused themselves by pelting the natives on the wharf with potatoes and stale loaves of bread and inducing the native boys to dive for silver coins, at which they are very expert. At 10 a.m. next morning, the troops began to disembark, the infantry being last. We were all very impatient to go ashore, as we had been five weeks on the transport and were just dying to stretch our legs and see the land of Egypt of which we had all heard such wondrous stories before leaving Australia. An hour later, our turn came and we were formed up on deck with our equipment on and carrying our black kit bags and were then filed down the gangway and reformed up on the wharf. We were then marched to a railway siding where a troop train was waiting and presently we entrained with eight men and an N.C.O. to a compartment. After about an hour spent in making final preparations for the start, the train steamed out and we were soon out in the open country, going northward towards Cairo and passing native villages, British troops, engineers dumps and other interesting sights until after about five hours travelling, we reached Tel-el-Keber which was to be our future camp at 8 p.m. Here we disentrained and were led by our guides to our new quarters, about 500 yards from the station, where we were fed and then allotted to tents, my particular group of friends all keeping together as per usual. Next morning we were not required to do any parades, so that we took the opportunity of investigating our new home.

Tel-el-Keber is the scene of the battle of Tel-el-Keber of the Sudan Wargand is situated in the desert about 20 miles from Ishmalia and about 70 miles south east of Cairo, and nothing much to look at any time, being only a collection of mud built, flat roofed, squalid huts occupied by a few thousand filthy native Egyptians who scratch a frugal livelihood from the soil along the banks of a fresh water irrigation canal. During this stage of the war, when Egypt and Gallipoli were the scene of operations in the near East, Tel-el-Keber like many other similar Egyptian towns was used as a base camp for British and Australasian troops and for miles to the south and north of the town was one long succession of encampments containing some 200,000 troops belonging to the British Army occupying Egypt at the time. The Australian portion contained about 30,000 troops of all branches of the service, including infantry, light horsemen, artillery, flying corps, A.M.C., H.S.C., and camel corps, and in describing Tel-el-Keber, I only intend to refer to the Australian portion of the camp.

We were sent to the 5th training battalion and were situated near the railway station in about the centre of the camp, and occupied rows of bell tents similar to those we had used in Liverpool camp before leaving Australia. The camp was kept spotlessly clean by fatigue parties and generally speaking was fairly comfortable from a soldiers point of view. We were well fed upon the usual army food and in addition we had mess huts with tables in them wherein we ate our meals. These were built of matting or of reeds so that they were cool and afforded protection from the blazing-sun at midday. Water was laid on so that we could obtain a bath after the days work, to freshen us up, whilst there were plenty of Y.M.C.A. huts and canteens where we could amuse ourselves and write letters etc. Most of the time we were at Tel-el-Keber base camp, for some reason or other, we were not required to drill very frequently, but were employed most of our time in doing various kinds of fatigue work such as digging cesspits, latrines, hauling water carts about, guarding dumps, unloading supply trains, and collecting firewood, etc. until at last we were inclined to regard ourselves more in the light of beasts of burden than soldiers. This kind of thing went on for about a fortnight and nothing interesting happened, when suddenly one night, the Australian troops discovered that the native shop keepers were using the forbidden water in the Canal nearby (which was supposed to contain a dangerous insect) to mix with the cool drinks which they sold to the men. This incensed the troops greatly, and they thereupon set about taking their revenge.

Some of the shops they rushed and tore down and others they set alight and very soon an immense conflagration was begun, which very few shops escaped. The punishment may been just or otherwise but when one pauses to think that the natives were allowed to charge extortionate prices for their wares by the authorities who did not do their duty by the troops in this respect, and that the troops were also forbidden to use canal water on account of its dangerous reputation, I think the men could not be blamed for their high handed action in destroying the shops of the offenders. However, the deed was done and the episode resulted in a system of piqueting which really meant that one half of the troops were guarding the other half on each alternate night. With the protection proffered them, the natives very soon built new reed huts, and erected other marquees, etc. and replenished their stocks again until very soon business was carried on as usual. It did not take the troops long to become used to the Egyptian money system, as we were always paid in local currency and used it wherever we purchased our cool drinks, silks, postcards and oranges etc.

The standard coin was the piastre which was worth 21/2 d. Other silver and nickel coins included the 5 piastre piece, 2 piastre piece, 10 piastre piece. Five piastres was worth 1/01/2 d in English money so that we lost ½ d every time we changed 1/-. In addition, there were other coins worth less than a piastre including a half piastre and some coins called milliemes, which however were scarcely ever used by the troops but were confined to the natives themselves.

The heat of Egypt in April was not over trying and was similar to our Australian meat about February, except that the small hours of the morning were quite chilly and there was a very heavy dew at night. Midday was the hottest time and about dinner time we did nothing but rest in the shade of our tents until after 2 p.m. when it became cooler. The natives themselves did not bother us much as we scarcely ever had anything to do with them. Occasionally they would come about the camp to pick up whatever they could in the shape of old clothing, scraps of food, etc. but they were not allowed to go near the lines as they were too u filthy and their reputation as thieves was too great. A privileged few were allowed to go amongst the troops quarters to sell the “Egyptian Mail” newspaper, or fruit, cooked eggs, oranges etc. and one particular chap who was a conjurer was often allowed to exhibit his tricks. Other scallywag natives were evicted by our camp police in a very forcible manner. Our chief objection to the majority of the natives was that they were generally crawling alive with lice, and it was from them that we first became infected with the little pests. Our lot had not been three weeks at Tel-el-Keber before we began to search our clothing and very rarely failed to discover a few “boarders” much to our disgust at first. However we soon found out the uselessness in trying to keep free from then and from then onwards, we came to recognise their pres- ence as something which was part and parcel of a soldiers existence and therefore contented ourselves with keeping as free from them as possible, without worrying too much about them.

Altogether, during our sojourn at Tel-el-Keber we only per- formed about a dozen parades, most of which were for inspectional purposes and only did two route marches, for short distances into the desert to get us used to carrying our packs, so that it cannot be said that we benefited much at Tel-el-Keber in the matter of training. The training we had was more in the matter of getting us used to guards and piquets and performing all kinds of labouring work. We were not granted leave in our company until we had been in Tel-el-Keber for three weeks. Then a certain proportion of the company were given weekend leave to Cairo. Both Bert Allen and Billy Hookham and also Carberry were amongst the fortunate ones to obtain the first leave to Cairo and when they arrived back with glowing stories of the wonders of that celebrated city and the glories of the pyramids and sphinx etc. it made the rest of us make up our minds to go and see the sights also at the first opportunity. During the ensuing week, I came across two of my cousins in the light horse and we made up between us to catch an early morning goods train which left Tel-el-Keber at 6 a.m. every morning to proceed to Cairo and have a day out.

This was arranged for the following Thursday when I knew there would not be much chance of my being found out and since the arrangement suited my two cousins also. However, I was not fated to see anything of the wonders of Egypt as on the following Wednesday, in accordance with numerous rumours which had been going around, we were all informed that we were to entrain that night en route for France, whither all the Australians were even then being sent, therefore our trip was declared off. The next two days we spent in preparing to leave Egypt. We were all paraded to the medical tent and there were inoculated against cholera and were given another overhaul to see whether we were still fit, then we were paid again, and each man received his 100 piastres, a sum equivalent to 30/9d. The rest of the following day and a half was filled in by cleaning up camp and in doing other work found to be necessary and in lounging on the banks of the canal near by, watching the natives as they sailed along in their peculiar looking sailing boats rigged with two huge pointed sails and steered by an enormous rudder arrangement. All along the banks of this canal, the soil was very fertile and the natives grew lucerne, rye, wheat and vegetables, etc. and get very fair crops. They plough their plots with a wooden plough drawn by two hump-backed bullocks, or even use an ass and a cow, or a cow and a horse. They really only scratch the land and it is marvellous how they obtain any crops at all. The natives also own donkeys and camels and generally seem to treat them rather harshly. We saw one poor old “donk” with sore eyes which was pestered with clouds of flies and mosquitos, and had worn off the skin round the forehead in its efforts to constantly rid itself of the noxious pests by brushing its head on its knees, while for the sake of a little consideration on the part of the owner, the “donk” would never have got into such a state.

Well on May 9th we were informed that we were to proceed to France to re-inforce our Battalion, and as we had already completed our arrangements during the two previous days, we did not fall in until about 5.30 p.m. Then we were marched down to the railway station and entrained in big open iron goods trucks, a band playing lively music during the operation. Each truck was loaded with 25 men with equipment and after about half an hour spent in jolting about all over the place, whilst the rear trucks were loaded, we finally drew out of the railway station, and jolted our way towards Cairo amidst much singing and cheering oh the part of the troops who were mighty pleased with the idea of leaving dry and barren Egypt where a blade of grass is a novelty, for prospects of the green fields and the towns and villages of France.

The journey through the night was a cold and cramped one and as the hours went by, most of us, being tired out, slept or dozed at intervals until at last, far into the night we were roused at Zag-a-Zig by the familiar cry of “eggs-a-cook” by the “gyppos” who even at that early hour were ready to sell their goods at a good profit to the “Rich Australians.” Practically the whole train load of troops bought eggs or cakes or oranges etc. here, as there was no knowing when we would be able to get anything else to eat, and then the train rattled and rumbled on and on, until finally at about 6 o’clock in the morning we looked over the side of our trucks and found we were at the water’s edge in Alexandria and could see the stately transports at anchor in the harbour.

Once arrived, we had not long to wait before we disentrained and were filing up the gangway of the troopship “Scotian” and then on down below to our allotted quarters between decks. Our sleeping accommodation on the “Scotian” consisted of cabins containing four occupants each and as usual Harold Mitchell, Bert Allen, Bill Hookham and I all managed to keep together whilst the others were nearby, and we all had a bunk with two blankets apiece. As soon as our sleeping quarters were allotted to us we were sitting down to breakfast. Then we went on deck and found the sun shining brightly, making the harbour view of Alexandria a very fine one indeed. Altogether we counted about 30 big liners mostly converted into transports, whilst about 40 other smaller vessels were also anchored within sight. We remained on board all that day and until 11 am next day before the “Scotian” hauled up the anchor and drew out of the harbour and turned towards France. Owing to the ever present danger of submarines in the Mediterranean at the time, all kinds of precautions were taken by the troopship. We were all issued with a life belt and it was made an offense against discipline to be found without it when on deck, consequently, during the journey we had to constantly keep our life belt with us wherever we went. The ship steered a zig zag course the whole time and a “submarine” guard was mounted fore and aft, night and day, whose duty it was to watch out for periscopes and to fire at them if possible, with their rifles.

In addition, a 4.5 quick firing gun was mounted aft, in charge of a crew of naval gunners, one of whom was constantly on duty. About two days out we received our first scare, but the submarine turned out to be a whale or something similar, and next day we were suddenly amazed to see a submarine rise about 500 yards in front of the ship on the port side. Most of the troops expected the ship to be blown out of the water, but as the seconds flew by and nothing happened, we thought perhaps the submarine was going to wait for us and make a certainty of the job. Then the truth dawned on the troops and on looking on the other side of the ship, they saw a destroyer flying the Union Jack and instantly saw that there was no reason to be alarmed as it was only one of our submarines, being escorted by a destroyer to Alexandria and our ship had passed between the two boats. Little scares like this were frequent but we proceeded as far as Malta without any untoward incident, when the ship suddenly received a wireless message ordering the troopship into the harbour of Malta with full speed. The ship instantly raced off at about seventeen knots, and in about an hour and a half, we found ourselves entering Malta Harbour, escorted fore and aft by torpedo boats.

After being in the well fortified harbour of Malta for about two hours, during which time we shouted greetings to everybody we saw and made as much noise as possible, we turned round and steamed out to sea again, as we were informed that the offending submarine was only a false alarm. We did not mind the scare at all as it gave us an opportunity of obtaining a glimpse of the famous Malta Fortress which helped to break the monotony of the voyage. Once out to sea again, we continued zig zagging as before towards France and the voyage continued as before. During the journey between Egypt and France, we were very badly fed as we were on what is known as Admiralty Rations, which as far as I can see were just about sufficient to keep one alive without filling the stomach, and consequently we had to spend all our surplus cash in buying eatables from the Canteen and from the ships crew who “profiteered” with a vengeance, as illustrated by the fact that on one occasion we paid 1/6 for a small plate of chip potatoes. The practice of selling food to the troops by the crew of the ship of course was-not allowed but nevertheless a good deal of it went on, as when a man is hungry, he will obtain food from whence he can regardless of the consequences.