Item 03: Joseph George Burgess war diary, 1 January 1916-4 February 1917 - Page 179
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[Page 179]
13 Sept, 1916
Ber El Hassaniya
The section have got fixed up with a "bivvie" made of bags & palm branches, we are all fairly comfortable. The mob have been warned for out Post to night but I have to go on Brigade Gaurd. Its pretty hot & the flyes are enthuseastic €“ My new horse has given up eating & drinking; He's too bally flash to come at compressed fodder & brackish water. Guess he'll take a tumble to him self before long. Johno has been told that he has a chance to get a comision as a tooth yanker.
We have a rumour that we might get some stouch soon here. It strikes me that this desert is very rotten place to fight in. Nearly all the boys here have "bivvies" made out of Turkish "bivvie" sheets they are superior to ours. The dates are pretty ripe in places & they taste real good, much better than I thought they would. Its dangerous to sit beneath a date palm just now as there is always some blamed fool aiming rocks up trying to knock down some ripe dates down. The horses eat them & look for more.