Author: Alice Rhodes

Very clear morning, dismissed at four thirty.

A Boche plane came over during breakfast this morning, flying at about 5000 ft. He played about over us for about half an hour despite a very heavy fire from all the machine guns round about, but didn’t drop any bombs. The mountain battery fired one gun at him but the shell burst about a thousand feet below him. Two of our own machines arrived from Kantara about half an hour too late.

Bathed this morning. Small mail in this evening; heard from the Jacker. Pease left this evening. Good news in the official telegram from Flanders tonight, also from the Russian front.

Gen. Murray G.O.C. in C. Egyptian Expeditionary Force came up here today for a day or two and went round the defences this evening. We hear they are going to send up a howitzer battery and two more batteries to Romani shortly.

Pease of the Essex Battery came up here from Kantara this evening to see our position. Mail in the evening. Up in the O.Pip tonight.

Poulteney left about four o’clock this morning. A broiling hot and very monotonous day.

Dismissed at 4:30. The Colonel and Borrit left for Kantara this morning and Garside arrived to take over all the veterinary work for the troops up here. He is going to mess with us.

Poulteney had a wire from the War Office this evening recalling him to England.

I have practically recovered today, but still a bit limp.

Bathed at six this morning. Had a slight touch of dysentery today. Up in the O.Pip tonight.

The Colonel and Borrit arrived this morning to stay till Monday. This evening Col. Robertson, the Major, Franklyn, and I walked along the shore to the ruins and back, and then had a bathe. A very rough sea. Elliott came up from Romani this evening. We’ve got sixteen men sent back to Kantara with dysentery, but only a few of them are bad cases.

At 3:30 am I warned the detachments to stand by and dismissed then at 6:30 as all was well, and came back to camp for breakfast.

At seven o’clock the major, Franklyn, and I rode off on a reconnaissance. We started off along the edge of Lake Bardawil. The bed of the lake is quite dry, it is like gypsum; it looks just like a glacier and is as hard as a rock. We reconnoitred all the ground very carefully to find the best going for the guns if a section has to go out. We rode on past Blair’s Post and up onto Hill 100 where we had a good view of all the country round El So– and Bir Abu Ha– two small oasises on the edge of Sabkhet El Romani, and away to Katia in the distance. We never saw a sign of a Turk or a Bedouin all the time. We saw several jackal tracks, and some large ones which were probably hyenas as there are said to be plenty of them round this district.

At work on the gun emplacements into this evening.

We had half a dozen camels working most of the morning and moved our camp up closer to the guns. I had a bathe this afternoon, there were some splendid breakers today.

This evening I rode out with the major on a small reconnaissance in front of the barb wire entanglements. We were looking for the best going to take the mobile section out, as one section has got to go out if Railhead is attacked, and get in rear of the Turks.

The Anzac division went out on a big reconnaissance today, they took the mountain battery with them and one subsection of the Ayrshire Horse Battery which is attached to them, also eleven hundred camels with forage and rations. They expect to be out about three days, and hope to get some way beyond Bin El Abd.

Just off to the O.Pip as I am on duty there tonight.

Working on the emplacements from six till ten this morning, then went and had a bathe. The colonel went down to Railhead this morning to have lunch with Elliott and Kenning at the wagon line and left for Kantara about four.

This evening, the major has refused to let Kitty leave the battery, so the colonel is baulked for the present, though he offered any horse in brigade headquarters in exchange, though none of them came up to the mare.

Digging hard again from five this evening till eight. A mail came in this evening – I had a good budget of letters from home.

I warned the left section to stand by at three thirty, and dismissed them at six as all was clear. From seven till ten we worked hard on the new emplacements and they are beginning to grow. Too hot to go on digging after ten so we went down and had a glorious bathe. A troop of Anzacs came down and swam their horses.

From five o’clock this evening till ten we were hard at work on our new gun positions. A fatigue party of the Scottish Horse came and filled sandbags for us for an hour or so. It will take several days before the emplacements are properly finished and the men’s dugouts and ammunition pit dug, but the general said it was most important that the guns should be in them tonight, so we had the teams up, twelve horses to a team, and got them in as soon as it was dark and about a hundred rounds of ammunition to each gun.

The colonel is going to stay on with us tonight and go back to Kantara tomorrow.

I am a bit sleepy tonight as I’ve hardly had any at all the last three nights.