Letters from Wilfred Evans to his family, 1916 - Part 5 (2024)

excellent horse fodder being
used very largely for our
horses. One fact which
seemed to me remarkable
as we rode on this time was
the entire absence of fences,
we rode for miles through
the fields & villages by
small tracks without
once seeing a fence. How
the donkeys & other animals
are kept away is a mystery
to me. The villages of course
have mud walls & probably the
animals are penned in there
for as we passed through we
could see in some places

animals occupying small
mud huts in the villages
apparently in conjunction
with the human inhabitants
We have had no word yet
of moving on, some rumors
say that we will go to the
Suez canal & help to garrison
it but no one knows yet
& for the present we are staying
here. If we do leave I will
send you a cable. Weighed
again recently & am now
12 st 7lbs - disgusting isn’t
it, my dear, I really must
stop eating. Much love
to all the family & a double
share for mother from
Her loving son
Wilf.

9th Light Horse Regiment
Heliopolis,
31. 1. 16.
My dear mother,
The mail this week was rather disappointing
as it brought me no letters but I fancy it was not
a regular one but just a small batch, but on
enquiring one night at the hospital if there were
any letters for me I was presented with your cable
which gave me great distress of mind on account
of the needless anxiety you suffered. I knew that
the illness of any officers from Gallipoli was
immediately sent home but did not think that
such a trifling indisposition as mine would be
dispatched or I should certainly have anticipated
the cable from the military authorities by one of my
own stating the facts. However I sent one the next
day (Saturday) & hope that you received it today
(Monday) & that your anxiety is quite past as it
certainly would be if you could see me now, with
my large waist almost bursting ^^away the top button
of my trousers. We are now settled into the dull
monotony of camp life at the base, each day
very like the former & we do not go about very

much as we have seen most of the interesting
spots of Cairo. But there were one or two very
pleasant spots in this last week. Yesterday
afternoon I went in to see the Bryans of
whom I have previously written, & spent a
Sunday afternoon & evening which reminded
me very forcibly & pleasantly of many that
I have spent at home. I went there about
four oclock in time for afternoon tea. They
live in a flat above the business premises
which is compact & cosy & very nicely
furnished. The building is a tall one of
some six stories, the lower two being occupied
by the business of the Bryans & the upper ones
by several different families in flats which
are reached by a lift. The Bryans live on
the fourth floor & also possess the top roof
which is flat & where they have a small roof
garden & have their breakfast & dinner
in summer as it is almost unbearable in
the hot evenings to sit inside. There was
present at afternoon tea a Methodist Sister of
the Rechabite Order, a woman of about forty
who has been engaged for many years in
work in the London slums & is now working
in connection with the Methodist church here.

She is a very pleasant faced woman of strong
character & very interesting in her conversation
about London & Manchester & their slums. She
has worked a great deal among drunkards
for whom she professes great affection. We
went along to the American Mission at six
oclock & there I saw more people in mufti than
I have seen in Cairo. There was a sprinkling of
soldiery but the civil population predominated
which is unusual here at present, a great many
of them were American woman wh engaged here
in mission work, among the natives. They have schools
I believe where they teach English & try & convert the
natives. I must confess that the pastor did not
appeal to me very strongly, but there was a very
fine ∧^male quartette of Canadians from a hospital
here. They sang one of Alexander's hymns
unaccompanied & sang it well. After church we
went back to dinner (Australian custom reversed) &
we picked up a Welsh officer who is in private life
a Methodist parson. We sat down to a splendid
dinner. soup, roast beef carved in English fashion
& not in the beastly Egyptian way with potatoes
& cauliflower then pudding of different kinds
stewed fruit & blanc mange & steam pudding

followed by nuts fruit & lollies. We then
adjourned to the sitting room & the fire (for
the evenings here are quite cool) & discussed
tea & cigarettes. We had quite a lot more
talking & then I betook myself homewards.
I was thinking quite a lot of you in church
& of your Sunday evening in Candilo & felt
quite sad to think how anxious you would
be as my cable would not reach you until
today & indeed you might not have it
yet as we are some hours ahead of you
as regards time. On Saturday night
Wesley & I went to Choubra Hospital where
some of the nurses we have known, are
stationed. Wesley was particularly friendly
in a Platonic Fashion with a Sister Wield
who has recently become engaged to one
of the soldiers whom she knew well before &
who seems a very nice fellow, & we wished to
congratulate her. She was a Prince Alfred girl
& her example has been followed by another
P.A. girl at the same hospital named Riordan
so that we had double congratulations
to offer. We spent quite a pleasant

evening with them there as a couple of others
who had come over on the ship with us were
also there & it revived old memories of Prince
Alfred & our trip across. One of the girls is
named Corkhill & she comes from Tilba Tilba
& is a fi cousin of the Bates family there &
is well acquainted with the Collins & many Bega
folk. I forgot to mention that the Bryans were
speaking Welsh a little & mentioned many
dreadful & unpronouncable places in Wales & I
wished from all my heart that father could
have been there, he would have been in his element
with Mr. Bryan who is such a fine old chap &
is in the same line of business & very Welsh. He
says "No" just the same as father does. They also
happened to mention Aberaecont Abarystwith
& Miss Bryan was at school at the latter place.
I rode all the way into Cairo on the day that
I sent your cable as it was a glorious day &
I had my horse saddled & thought I would
prefer it to the train. I think my dear this is
just about all the news I have to tell you. The
weather, at present, is glorious - I do not
wonder that English people come here for the
winter, the days are fine sunny & pleasantly

warm & the nights quite cool. I would
like to go down to Luxor if I can manage
it as one's stay in Egypt is not complete
without doing so & our adjutant is
moving in the matter so we may go soon
in small parties, our Brigadier has
just been & returned. Much love
to all the various branches of the
family & with mother's usual share
from
Her loving son
Wilf

as before. I rise at a few minutes to seven
& complete my sick parade before breakfast,
then generally see a few more men afterwards
& do my camp rounds finishing up by
about half past eleven or twelve. This week
however our whole Brigade has been
going out into the desert for training,
leaving about nine oclock & returning
at four or five in the afternoon & I

have been going also. The troops
make a fine picture as they march out
mounted followed by their machine guns
in limbers & the various baggage carts.
I commenced doing their drill with
them but soon found that I was
very much in the way so now I always
betake myself to the shelter of some trees
near by & while away the time with
"Pickwick Papers". I generally take my
one or two of my men with me & the Maltese
cart which carries my medical equipment
when on the march, but under these
circ*mstances takes the officers lunch. I
have been arranging for this in my capacity
of mess secretary & our caterer here puts up