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[Page 6]
then we laid amid stream all day and we cleared the heads between 4 & 5 P.M. and headed South. Well we had a good trip exept the two days we were crossing the Australian bite we lost site of land on the 5 till the 11th then on the 12th we went up the Swan River at Fremantle W.A. where we were to take aboard the 11th Re of the 11th Battalion. Well we arrived about 7 a.m. and they said that as the ship was not staying long there was no shore leave to be granted. We tied up to the wharf at 8 a.m. and we found out the W A Troops was not leaving Black boy camp till 3:30 P.M. So we wanted to go ashore and told the heads that we were going. Well they got all the Military Police they could and posted them around the wharf and shut all the gates and put the Light Horse on the wharf 4 feet apart with fixed baynetts. There is an enmity between the L. Horse and Infantry but I must say that as soon as the Infantry took the gang way the L. Horse piled there arms and joined us and up the town we went and the place that was looked for first was the Post office and the wires were touched to all parts of N.S. Wales the boys sending wires to there relations and friends in N.S. Wales. We had a good day there some even went to Perth by train and the Officers were flying about in motor cars. It was very funny to see those troops getting back to that boat. Well they all got back to time except 5 which caught up to us in a launch. We left there about 8 P.M. on the 12/10/15 and where we were bound for we did not know. The next day we were all lined up and got a repremand over the way we carried on the day before the three officers in charge of the 11/1st told the C.O. of Troops that none of there men was in it. But I know it is a lie for the first man off the boat was a boy named Lacky of the 11/1 and Car and I was third or 4th. Well all that over we had to settle down to soldiers life we were out of site of our native land and God only knew which ones of us would ever see it again.
Well for the next three week we had to settle down to drill we had two days short crossing the line. It was very funny one day the Submarine Gaurd reported submarine sited well the sterns where manned and the course was altered and when it was found out that it was only two birds sitting on a log what a releif there was none us to brave. The first land we seen was around hells gate. Then we followed the coast of Africa to Port Suez Egype where we landed on Tuesday 2/11/15 then we went from there to Hilliopolis [Heliopolis] by train and it was some ride and the Egipos amused us very much. We lived on bully and biscuits that day our first day real army rations then we got out of the train we had to march 3 miles through sand and we began to find out what soldiering was. We arrived at Airisbrome [?] Camp and they put us in a hut no floor and told us that they were sorry that they had no tea for us as they did not expect us till tomorrow then some of the boys went up to the town of Hilliopolis but the Terrible four was to tired on the morning of the 3/11/15 at 6.30 we was fell in and told the rules of the camp and that no matter what Re [Reinforcement] we were if we done our work well and learnt our drill we would be sent to join our respective battalions and I can assure you it was drill too no joke getting about on the desert sand in the heat. We stayed in that camp till the end of November then we shifted camp to Abbersici [Abbassia?] about 9 miles from Cairo. The camp was not to bad