Item 01: R. T. Vowles diary, 22 August 1915-23 February 1916 - Page 122
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[Page 122]
poop is now blocked to the troops, it is a case of come below & hang about as there is no cover over the decks now open. The deck is horribly cramped now & one cannot even find a place in which to lie down, so the alternative is to come below where it is also stifling & for this one gets fatigue work.
17/1/16
More trouble as breakfast goes bad leaving bread & butter to eat only. At 4 pm a general hooray went up so we all rushed up to see Cocos Island away in the distance on the port side, only visible from ( 25 miles off) the rigging. To see this Holmes & I climbed the mizzen mast & through a pair of glasses could just be seen the palms.
Later on another hooray this time the capture of a brown sea bird with beautiful eyes & a large beak. The first cry was to give it a biscuit & a drink of water, which the bird angrily refused & was then set loose.
The weather is unbearably hot & humid like a turkish bath, The troops cannot