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[Page 90]
men who turned up late & drunk & whose places were filled, caused other alterations. They come & go & are forgotten a day later except when after "Lights Out," in conversations nocturnal [indecipherable] we recall the old faces and often try to recall names, & wonder what has become of the old faces. Even here we are not exempt, for amongst our NCOs only, one sergeant gone to hospital with a bad ear, another with a poisoned hand, another with a broken arm, have caused vacancies. Another in Egypt gone to take a commission in the British Army, and so on. There will be other vacancies no doubt, in a few days, but day after day slips by & we are still here, still in suspense as to what lies before us, and at this time comes a mail, letters from home, and hundreds of men retire into corners to read from mothers & sweethearts, things which make one very homesick. It is I hope it will be better later, because though one doesn't let on much the suspense makes one very susceptible to sentimental influences & makes the heart ache a bit at times. I notice there is very little shame or shyness amongst soldiers