Volume 2: Letters written on active service, M-W, 1914-1919 - Page 341
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[Page 341]
and Charlie Felton, whom I carried with, used to wonder whether we would get through safely, and made arrangements about some of our things in case of accidents, I would have liked to carry with Marshall, but they put Charlie and myself in C. Section. There were a number of Aeroplanes about, and at one time I saw four British Planes together.
It was at Quinn's Post we were asked to volunteer to stay till the last, and the six of us stepped out together, but when we arrived at Rest Gully we found the whole of the 5th had volunteered, so you see that the 5th are not so bad after all. Well to cut a long story short Stacky's name did not come out of the hat, and had to be among the few that went off as a sort of advance party, which was on December 16th, a couple of days before the last lot left. Before we left thousands had already gone away, and although we were not the last, we were among them. We went aboard the "Princess Eva", and arrived at Lemnos the next day. I have told you in previous letters of our doings at Lemnos also of my stay in the Hospital. On January 1st, 1916, I was in hospital and on January 3rd, we embarked on "Maniton" for Egypt. left Mudros Bay on January 6th, with two cruisers as escorts owing to the presence of submarines. When we arrived at Alexandria on Jan 8th I saw an Englishman's yacht, and she reminded me of the "Mawhiti". We disembarked on Sunday Jan 9th, and arrived at Tel-el-Kebir at 9 p.m. Marsh was another of the volunteers whose name did not come out of the hat.
[Private Roy Charles Felton, No 5502, embarked from Sydney on HMAT A8 Argyllshire on 30 September 1915 with the 5th Field Ambulance, 4th Reinforcements.]