Item 03: Joseph George Burgess war diary, 1 January 1916-4 February 1917 - Page 160
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[Page 160]
9 Aug, 1916
On the road to El Arish you get bully in your dish
And you'll eat it if you want a ponzer thirst
And the flies they make you cry, but you kid your self its Pie,
Though you own you'd even rather eat some German Wurst.
And you have to guess a range for yer peepers need change,
And you wonder if Jock Burk is one or two
Its "Shove it up from four to six' Raise your head & see his "[indecipherable]"
And yer cobber says "You've got him in the shoe"
On the road to El Arish where the water stinks like fish
The Padre says three Joes have been before,
There was Joseph & his brother & later on two others
But those Joes were out for peace & not for war
Joe Burk's a different brand, he don't feed out yer 'and
And he lurks behind a sand hill for a "pot"
If you get him in a Hod you may send him home to God
That supposing you've the luck to get him first shot
On the road to El Arish, wear Joe's bullets going "Swich"
Through the date palms on the hod where your'e at rest
But we've taught him what he's learnt & he got his fingers burnt
Apullin German Chestnuts comin West
And he's calling out "Ma leish" on the road to El Arish
And the White flags always ready in his hand
Oh he's crossing the Canal but he isnt going to yell
For the Boob is very quiet compared with sound
[Maleesh = Arabic, never mind]
We were the Honey Honey Suckle
Joe Burk was the bee.
He tried to sip the honey
From our Camp at Romani
We've got him "beaten and retreaten"
To his base of course
We gained a victory for the good
Australian Light Horse
[Burk €“ Rhyming slang for Turk]