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[Page 103]
Decr 1915
24th – Allan's Birthday. Received two letters from Molly. Nothing but drought & bush fires in Q'land. Caught 2.43 pm train to Cairo. Went out to Heliopolis, passing 4th Artillery who were en route to Maadi. Inquired at hospital for Standring – not there. Slight drizzling rain for hour or so & Maadi streets slippy. Returned by 7.30pm on train. Hospital decorated by Capt Wornarski & Sister Proctor. Looked well. Unable to locate 6/25th battalion Xmas Eve celebrated in kitchen
25th – Xmas Day, all busy. Good dinner for patents. Soup Turkey ham, roast spuds, tomatoes pies, onions, & Xmas puddings. Beer & claret also plentiful. Large number of men in camp screwed. Xmas Billies distributed in early morning, also another little tin box. My Billy contained, Pudding two tins tin tobacco, cream, sardines, Zam Buk [a herbal balm], soap, cheese chocolate, writing paper & pencils, also a letter from Miss Gladys Lukin, West Guildford W.A. Box had tobacco, 50 cigarettes, Envelopes
25th – pencil cards & chocolate. One man in hospital got a safety razor & spare blades one of 5th L.H. got 1 £ note. Amusing the expressions on faces on opening billies etc. Goldstein & a couple of others full at night.
26th – Very little doing. Chaps had been for dinner otherwise nothing doing. Advance party of some of our Bde Regts arrived, gave details of evacuation 30 pf each regt & battn left also M.G. section. M.G.S. of 6th L.H. last of our b'de to leave, all got away quietly, & no casualties.
[Note in margin:] Monday
27th – 5th 6th & 7th L.H. returned. Our units whereabouts unk. Saw Bolstadt of 7th also several others. All looked better than when I left. Sister Proctor left & Sisters Crosby White returned.
28th – Major Croll, Capt Fraser & our unit or its remnants returned at 7.30 AM. Looking a little the worse for wear. Major Croll & Goldstein had a tongue scrap. Major soon asserted his authority.