WITH OUR TROOPS IN EGYPT

New Zealand Tablet, 27 May 1915, Page 17

WITH OUR TROOPS IN EGYPT

' 'v.. LETTERS FROM A GORE MAN. - . ."■ ■■ .•• '• ~---■- ---.-- ;■;.-■ ---■ - _. 3 - .. ■ „- .._.. ~ - , ,j.-, . .__^-■ -:;-.-r ,>■ ■'■■■■-. -•--'-■:;.'.-. - ---■ ■-•"•■ -,■■-. • . We take the >: following extracts - from letters re-•. ceived by ■;' a relative , in Gore from Sergeant P. Ford,.? of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces in Egypt. \ The letters were written at Zeitoun Camp, Cairo, and| the first, which is in part as follows, is dated February 14: - "■'>:'. ■ .:-;; I'^v£|^:f ; 'I take advantage of a quiet Sundav in camp to writ.i» r you a few lines. I say quiet, .for quiet it really is." All the reinforcements have landed and 'been drafted off into the regiments which required filling; up. The trouble on trie Canal"", has quietened down somewhat ; the Turks are retreating, after having had a taste of our rifle and shell fire. Their losses—killed, ■ wounded, and prisoners—were very heavy, but I am pleased to say ours were very light in comparison. Some of our men, about 4000, are still .out, but are expected back in a few days. We are not allowed-to" write anything about our movements or doings in the military line, so, therefore, I 7 cannot give any further particulars of the engagement. Before this reaches you I will-be on my way to meet a sterner foe than the Turks. The date of our departure I cannot give at present, although 1 have no doubt it will be published in the New Zealand papers soon after our leaving. The boys are very anxious to move. The excitement of the last few weeks has made them keen to get to the front, and I am sure they will give a good account of them-' selves. '■■',- '• Enclosed you will find two small -photos. The" one with the native wood-choppers wag taken in a corner of our depot. The wood is taken into camp in logs, and a large number of natives are employed in cutting it into suitable lengths for burning. They work from 6 in the morning till 6 at night for five piastres (about one shilling in English money). Can you imagine our men doing the same work for that wage. Labor is very cheap here, so cheap that it makes a white man lazy. When living in the main camp we never do any washing or boot-cleaning. Washing costs us li- piastres a week (about 2£d in English money). The same in New Zealand would cost .at least 3s. Boot-cleaning costs half a piastre. Hundreds of blacks make their living by cleaning boots. The greatest curse of this country are the native hawkers. You find them everywhere —out in the desert, in the trains, and in the cities. In Cairo they are a source of great annoyance. You sit down to a meal, and before you get up at least a hundred will have tormented you/ The other photo is of an every-day scene in the desert, or, in fact, anywhere round the camp. Away out in' the sands you find native women guarding small flocks of donkeys, goats, and sheep. What they find to eat it is very difficult to understand. The women are clad from head to foot in a dirty black gown of any old shape; their faces are covered, with the exception of their eyes and forehead. Shoes and stockings, of course, they never wear. They carry their babies astride on their shoulders—dirty, filthy things they are too, their eyes covered with flies. 'I must soon close this letter, as I have to take charge, as the rest of the non-coms are out. During the busiest of the work, three week ago, I was acting company sergeant-maor, No. 1 Company. Our sergeantmajor was in hospital, and I, as senior sergeant, had to 'take his* placed I had quite a lively time of it. Strange arc the happenings of a few short months. When I enlisted as a motor driver little did I think that within a few months T should take a sergeant-majors position in the divisional train, but such are the fortunes of war We have a fine company here—the original company which left Auckland;, and recognised to be the best in the divisional train in the New Zealand and Australian forces. The men are- a really fine lot. AH the 'wasters' were, on our landing m Egypt either sent back to-New Zealand or to other regiments, leaving us with only the best. ' , ' r

' I shall send you a letter. before we leave here, and perhaps by then 1 may be able to let you know where 1 we are bound for. In closing-, I sincerely hope you are all enjoying the same state of "health as it is my good fortune to'en joy since coming here. I have never felt better in my; life. Give my love to all at home, and ask them all to remember me in their prayers.' ' The same correspondent, in a letter from Egypt, under date March 21, writes: Your letter to hand last Sunday, and of course it is needless to say how it was received. * If you only knew the pleasure felt by me on my receiving your letters, you would write every day. Letters are the one thing we look forward to, and we are continually chasing the post orderly, making inquiries about the mail. As you see by the heading, lam still in Egypt, our sailing orders having been put off for a short time, but yesterday the General informed our officers that inside three weeks we will be engaged side by side with our brothers-at-arms in the thickest of the fighting; We hope this will be the case, as all are getting tired of this waiting for sailing orders. News came to hand last night of the loss of three of our large battleships in the Dardanelles, a few hours' sail from here. Our forces are determined to make their way through at all costs, and once through thousands of troops are in readiness for a. land attack on Turkey. This is Sunday night in camp, and everything is dull and quiet, most of our boys are out in Cairo, Heliopolis, and Zeitoun. As it is my night on duty, I am killing time writing for to-morrow's mail. Sunday is always a quiet day when we are in the main camp, and just for the sake of something to write, I will give you an account of my doings since 5.30 a.m. I turned out at the time mentioned, and, after detailing the men required for duty in my section, I went to Communion at the convent chapel at Zeitoun at 6 o'clock. I did not wait for Mass, as I had to be back on duty at 6.30. Breakfast at 7.30; after that the company had to be turned out for church parade at 9.30. The Church of England service is held on the sand, while our men are marched in a body to Mass and Benediction at the Basilica in Heliopolis, about a mile from the camp. It is a lovely sight to see the boys turning out —upwards of 1000 men attend. Of course it is our own priests who celebrate Mass. After Mass, I returned to camp for lunch. At 2 p.m. I took my hack and went off for a ride round through the quaint old native town. Before returning I visited some of our boys in hospital, and found them all cheerful and doing well. Talking of hospitals, we are at present using four; two of them are field ones, for receiving the patients. If they are serious cases they are sent to the two general hospitals. One of these is the hospital used by the Egyptian Army, the other is the Palace Hotel in Heliopolis, the largest hotel of its kind in the world, containing over 800 suites of rooms. It would take you "a whole day to look through it. Before the war it was used by the wealthy tourists visiting these parts, but since our coming it has been taken over by the New Zealand and Australian Forces, and turned into a hospital. Words cannot describe the beauty of the building. The interior is finished in alabaster, marble, and granite,- and when lighted up at night, it is magnificent. The two hospitals are staffed by Servian, French, and Italian nurses, assisted by the Australian sisters, all of whom are worthy of the highest praise. It is certain that ere this letter reaches you, I shall be engaged with sterner fighters than those we met here, but I am ready and anxious to do my best for King and country, as are all our boys. The fight will be long and hard, and we only pray for strength and health to carry it through. I must close now as time is limited. I trust, all are in as good health as lamin at present. Give my fondest love to all at home. Say a short prayer for my safety, and may God bless you all.'