16/5/16 Egypt

Dear Mother,

I know you like receiving letter from me even if they do not contain much news so here goes for another try. If only they would let me have a bit of a look around I should guarantee you some fairly interesting stuff but as it is we are confined to camp for various good reasons. So all I can write about must therefore be a bit dry.

Of course you know I met with Charlie and Norman quite by accident. I have been up to their part of the camp a couple of times to see them since but they must have been on duty so that I have not seen them again yet. They are about one and a quarter miles from here where I am so I think I will let them do the looking for me in the future if they want to see me. I often meet with chaps I know and then we have yarns about the old times and play lots of matches etc. over again among ourselves.

You know the photo of the Glen Innes football team with the big chap next to me (Harold Legge) is in the next company and has been to Gallipoli. He was a sergeant there and was in charge of a post at Quinns Post. He very nearly got blown up with a bomb and has a triangular mark on his leg where he got hit. I wanted to see Charlie but had the hard luck to be detailed for guard. We are beginning to get some drill now and again. Yesterday we had our first experience of digging oneself in with entrenching tools and got covered in sand in the process.

We are to be inoculated again this afternoon. I’m hanged if I know what for this time and I have lost count of the number of times I have already been done. Anyhow if they like doing it I don’t mind much. The operation only makes us feel a bit dopey for an hour. I’m afraid it is up to me to answer Edies letters so you can tell her that when it does arrive it will have something in it for her. There are not enough news to go around so Charlie says Aunt Bell has rather a weird idea of what Australians are like. She fancies they are all tough bullies and spit all over the place and walk on linoleums with hob nail boots etc. At any rate when Charlie arrived at the place she told him he could go into all the rooms and spit anywhere but in the drawing room.

So long Mother. I might be off any day and going soon, by the time you get this you ought to know where I am.

Love your affectionate son

Walter.

1916 in camp Egypt.