LIFE IN THE CAMPS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16942, 2 March 1917, Page 3

LIFE IN THE CAMPS

HAPPY SOLDIERS; The following , extracts havo been taken from letters received from Mr Frank H Wilkinson, who is with tho Y.M.CJL in •kgypt .—

"Ac 6.50 wo had a, fino little prayer meetmg bcitore tho suieviee, with about lo present. It was u. great kelp just boloro ttu> aeorvico. I'ho Jmt wja crowded out lor this—l supposo botweuu 4i>o' and £60 men present iwtsrytking went well, and tho singing was magnilicent. Wo starUjd with, "jtiold tho Fort" (by special request), then "At even ere tho sun was set," "Jesus, Lovqr of My Soul," ".Load Kindly Light," "O Lovo that Will Not Let Me Go" .to finish with. I spoko on a text m Daniel—"O man, greatly beloved, fear not; pcaco bo unto theo; bo strong, yea bo strong." Then, at the close wo had a communion service, conducted by Padro Wallace (a Scotch, minister lrom Edinburgh), and Paclro Grigg was also present, and assisted. Bcjtweon 40 and 50 men waited—from New Zealand, Australia, England, and Scotland. It was a very happy, precious time, and, though there were Presbyterians, Methodiehs, Anglicans, and at least, ono iSalvation Army man, there- was a wonderful spirit of unitv right throughout. „_ , , "December 28. We had a great timo on Boxing Night with games and competitions. One special item that would have appealed to you was tho singing competition. To save us from monotony, each competitor had a different song, and to save time tkey all sang at the same time. The result was magnificent— like a young cannonade; Three judges were pkcs«i at too other end of tho hut 'Was there' a man singing 'Who's Your Lady Friend,' one asked after they had consulted together. 'Wo think ho's the best' But no ono had sung that song, and eo they eang again—and each man gave full force toxins song. It was exceeded only by the volley of applause. • t' Another competition that excited mtich amusement was the porridge competition. Each man was given a saaicerful of porridge, boiling hot, and the competition was to soo who could oat it quickest, with tho aid 61 one finger only, and no spoon. Tho treacled biscuit left a dozen men in a tit state to give anyone a sweet kiss that would leave a lasting and an abiding fragrance. The treacle stretched from nose— sometimes forehead—to chin. At 9 o'clock there was tho distribution of prizes won at tho openrair sports during the day, and afterwards the prizes for our competitions were given out by the same officer. "On Wednesday night wo had a song service, which was, very well attended, and at which one of tho troopers took the address. To-night we had draughts and chess competitions, and all the tablo spaco was reserved- for. men to write, while the piano was kept quiet. To-morrow night we have a concert from three English regiments in camp. "To-night I had a boy along to tea who had been helping mo on the niffht of the competitions. He had just received a letter from the girl he had been going with stating that slio was to be married to another chap. "It -was the one thing I was looking forward to when this business was over," he said. But his greatest thought was lest slio should have made, a wrong choice. "Last night I had a boy to tea who does not know who his father and mother are. Ho has been brought up in four or' five different families. 'Two of them were liko heaven,' he said, 'and Wo were like .' There's no one he can call his own in all the world. It's rather awful, isn't it And yet he is a very brig-lit, cheerful sort of chap, at present very much absorbed in photography.

"December 31 (Sunday). "It hag been a .fairly busy day. First, there waa a Roman Cbtholio service in tho hut at 7 with, a parade service, followed by Anglican <oorrramnion at 9.15. Right through.tho morning I had a series of interruptions—witii different chaps dropping in for a chat. At mid-day I went back into I for lunclj and got bock shortly after 2. Then we began to get readv for the 'Home , tea for 4.30. Bible class at 3 o'clock was the next meeting, and we had a most interesting and helpful time. The tea found four tables well packed with men, and everything went oil very w.eU. One rather amusing incident was the behaviour of the men when the methylated spirit lamp went wrong and flared up. Tho hut was clear of iften before you could turn round. About half a dozen jumped out of tho window. But they came back in again. "January 12. "The last week has been a particularly busy time. Men have been moving in by the thousands—tens of thousands^—and this hut is tho only ono in the camp. The place is packed out of a night—men everywhere. There has Ijeen a tremendous increase in the demand for cocoa and cakes, and our accommodation was'far too cramped. By a 6fcroke of good luck I was able to borrow a marquee frorii one of tho regiments that have just moved in. We were getting it up yesterday afternoon, about 3.30, when one of the poles broke. This delayed 113 for nearly an. hour until wo could get another. The marquee was etUl lying on the ground at 4 bat with plenty of help we were selling strongly by 6. The men form up in queues out.of each of the side doors, which lead right to tho counter, and when they- are served they pass down tho centre to the tables, and thence outisde by another door._ We get through the work in half tbo time. At one part of the proceedings there were about 200 men waiting to be served, and new men came up as the others were dealt witfh. Wo sold 8000 cakes yesterday, but I expect we shall beat that today. 1 "I hare just discovered that the caterer who suppb'es us with cakes has been robb/ng us fairly well. I have him recounting the jKikes which he brought to-day, with two orderlies watching, and ho'is to refund fivefold for all shortages. \ So far ho is 10 percent out, eo we shall Jiavo a fairly big haul of cake to-morrow. 1 There aro some points about this work that need, watching. "I was over at Brigade Headquarters, and was speaking to General — '■ —. T>o you sell whisky over.there?' he , asked. 'I sent my orderly over for a bottle yesterday, and ho said ho got it at tho Y.M.C.A.' I explained that the beer canteen adjoins our hut, just 10 yards away, and that probably the orderly had made a mistake. I J m not sure yet that tho General believes me. But ho has put mo on the track of a good concert party."