Item 01: Eric Susman war diary, 1 January 1915-4 April 1916 - Page 97
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[Page 97]
Sunday 14 March 1915
To-day, I visited Maadi, a little place east of Cairo. You take the train at Bab-el–Louk Station – a kind of branch station in Cairo – and after a short run lasting only fifteen minutes, you find yourself in a very pleasant little spot, plenty of vegetation and no dust. A few minutes walk, brings you right to the banks of the of the Nile, and at this particular point, the river with its graceful bends, and the tall stately palms on the opposite bank, looks very charming and picturesque. After an al-fresco afternoon tea, we paid a visit to the Turkish concentration camp containing about three or four hundred Turkish prisoners captured on the canal. They seem a very contented lot, nothing to do and all day to do it in, better fed than their guards (a detachment of "Terriers") and, I am informed, in receipt of -/6d a day for their trouble. The "guard" is an absolute farce. Why, they wouldn't leave their comfortable quarters for the worlds!
Later in the afternoon we went to the military camps at Maadi – chiefly occupied by the Light Horse and A.S.C. [Army Service Corps] After dusty Heliopolis and Mena, this camp is an ideal spot. Quite a little township has sprung up round the camp which has the appearance of being quite a permanent affair.