LETTERS FROM EGYPT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 1 April 1915, Page 3

LETTERS FROM EGYPT

I'XDEtI KIRK

I Mr. W. D. Thompson has received two letters from his sons, -\vit-h ,the Expeditionary Force'in Egypt. The following are extracts : . Ismailia, Egypt, ' v - : : 13th Feb., 1915.' It is some'time since I have written to you, or received' any correspondence from you, although Stan, got a letter, from' mother, which' .was. . written on. Christmas JBve. Up till the present all the' communication that we haye been allowed to send is a card", on which it is stated whether one is sick, well, wound-, ed-, etc.', and now even this letter has to be censored j so I will have pity on the censor, and be as brief as possible. .We , have been stationed here nearly three weeks now; and on the 3rd we were in an • action against the Turks, who were badly defeated, and lost, ■somewhere, about 500 killed /in front of our position, alone,- besides wounded, and about 200 prisoners and three machine guns. When the battle commenced I was.m charge of a sentry group, and the firing began at 3 a.m., and lasted all through the day up till .9 p.m. So both Stan, and I Lave M our baptism of fire, being under hoth sharpnel and rifle fire. We didn't mihd the rifle fire nearly so much the shell fire, which, burst about us with ear-splitting detonation; "iDuring the engagement Serg^-Major. Williams, of ; my platoon, was hit in the shoulder with a piece of shell, and a 'private named Ham was shot through- the neck, and died three. days later. We ' were on outpost that night, and expected _ a big battle next day ; but when, morning broke there was only a little .sniping from either, side, and we were surprised. A cruiser passed down the Canal in the morning, and shelled their position. The man in the look-out was shot-; but _the i Turk who shot, him received a ten-inch shell full in the face, which would disfigure, him -so that his own mother Wouldn't know him. We were withdrawn at 9.30 a.m.; but were loth to go, as the Indians rushed what Turks were i left in the afternoon. ' We were fighting alongside the Indians all the ' time. There were about 12,000 Turks engaged Jon the whole frontj but the main attack I was where we .were, and we are new the envy of all the chaps who were not in it. It is marvellous there were so few | casualties on our side. ' There has been no fighting since. Theie were' hundreds, of prisoners captured. Stan, will later, "as he is now on duty. , Ismailia is a pretty little place, and borders on Lake Tiinsah, in which we often have a swim. I: don't know how long wo aro going, to be here, and I wiil close with best love to you all fntfm both of us. • Yours, etc., ■ ' "REG.;':-