Item 01: Fred Harold Tomlins war diary, 21 August 1914 - 20 March 1915 - Page 58
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[Page 58]
Dec 2nd
half of them now, but we have just passed the 7th Ghurkas also the 9th besides the 9th Manchester rifles. some of the native troops are like a lot of school nippers as we go past them they throw their hats in the air & turn somersaults & race each other up the sand banks the same as a lot of school children would do;
We have seen dozens of camels & donkeys since we entered the canal; nearly any of the troops can read semaphore, black as well as white.
We have 3 or 4 natives on board & one of their boats.
one of the natives wanted a pipe at dinner time, so one of the lads gave him an old one & asked him if he wanted tobacco & offered him a [indecipherable] tin of Cobra boot polish, the darky did not tumble to the joke till he got the lid off & seemed to enjoy the joke as much as we did;
at 5.30 we