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[Page 12]
the British game of "House". Gambling was practically the only means of enjoyment in the camp during the troops spare time for Picture Shows concerts were never though of. The following day the 29th things became very busy for orders were issued to strike camp & get ready to move this meaning a lot of work for tents had to be rolled up & stacked all gear being carried to the railway siding about five hundred yards away. I was detailed on bagage guard having to supervise the loading of the camp gear into trucks & before moving off the troops were issued with 150 rounds of ammunition each which had to be carried at all times from then on. When the battalion was already aboard the train at 10.30 AM the train started off back along the line towards Suez. On reaching Serapeum the train branched off on to a side line & after going about a mile the battalion disentrained at East Serapeum near the Suez Canal. On disentraining waggons met us which were used to carry the camp gear etc & when they were loaded we set on the march towards the canal. Before reaching the canal our way lay through some very deep sand which made the walking & pulling for the horses very heavy. When we arrived at the canal we found that it was crossed by means of a punt & a pontoon bridge. The pontoon was constructed of empty barrels & rafts built in sections each section consisting of four barrels & one raft held together by hardwood planks proving a very strong bridge & capable of carrying the heaviest of military traffic. This bridge was only laid across the canal for certain hours of the day on account of ships moving up & down the canal & when not in use would be disconnected in the centre each half being towed to the bank to which it was attached & tied up. When the pontoon was not across the punt would have to be used which was capable of carrying two double military limbers & was worked by the hand. Both these were worked & controlled by the First Australian bridging Team a separate branch of the Field Engineers who appeared to have a very decent time. The battalion crossed the Canal by means of the pontoon & on reaching the Arabian side found that a properly metalled road had been made. The march along this road lasted about a mile & a half when we were halted opposite a big camp which we afterwards occupied, the camp being founded in fairly deep sand. During our stay here the troops were issued with a pint of water per day it very often having to last for thirty six hours & had to be used for washing, drinking shaving purposes. On the 1st of March 1916 I had my first swim since leaving Sydney it being in the Suez Canal & was very acceptable. The canal at his point is about 110 yards wide & very deep. Dredges are constantly at work day & night cleaning it out for strong winds are very frequent which blow the sand about & the canal would soon fill up if this procedure was not adopted. Small Man-o-Wars & naval craft could be seen on patrol work & also stationed at different points along the canal. On the 2nd March the battalion was taken out in to he desert for a four hours route march with full gear up it proving very hard work for the sand in these parts is of a very loose nature & you go down of the tops of your boots each time you put your foot down. The 3rd of March being my Nineteenth Birthday it was celebrated with another long route march during which a sand storm started it lasting for a week. This storm made things most uncomfortable for everything inside our tents including our food became smothered in sand but of course that sort of thing had to be put up with. next day the 4th we were taken a short distance out into the desert for rifle shooting which was conducted on a thirty yards range each man firing five rounds.