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Nothing much doing today. We hear from Kantara today that the Essex Battery have got over fifty men in hospital. There are rumours of leprosy, but we’ve not heard what it is yet. The rest of the Battery have been put in quarantine.

An agent who has just returned from the Turkish lines reports that he visited Shellal, Bir Saba, and Hassana; that the Turks are about twenty thousand strong, inclusive of Germans, Austrians, Afghans, Syrians, and Arab horsemen, and intend attacking down the Northern Route in the late summer.

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.

A very thick wet fog this morning, so I couldn’t dismiss the detachments till 6:30. Bathed this morning.

General Casson has taken command up here in place of General Koe. Our water ration has now been increased to 1.5 gallons a day per man, as a lot comes up on the railway now it is finished.

The intelligence report tonight reports a considerable increase of enemy troops at all their advanced posts, and the R.F.C. think it is quite probable we shall be attacked in about four days time.

Digging this morning. After breakfast Badcock and I rode along the shore to the ruins of the Roman fort and on about a mile to where a gang of natives are cutting a channel through from the sea to try and flood the gypsum. It doesn’t look as if it will be a success. Found a big turtle on the shore, but he was dead; he was about two ft long and one and a half across. Bathed when we got back.

Intelligence report this evening reports a good deal of activity at Hassana where there are now about three thousand mixed Germans, Austrian, Turks and Syrians, also guns. Agents report that El Arish, El Anja, and Bir El Saba have about three to five thousand men at each place, and nine aeroplanes at the latter place. Up in the O.Pip tonight.

Out early this morning digging an observing station.

About nine o’clock the same Boche plane as yesterday flew over, but one of our battle planes, which had been waiting about on the chance of his turning up was soon after him, and we saw a thrilling air fight over the camp. The Boche was about five thousand feet up and our battle plane was a bit above him, and chased him over the camp. Both machines blazing away with their machine guns and they disappeared in the direction of El Arish. Our machine came back about an hour later, flying very badly and made a very bad landing on the shore near the sea – but they managed to right her alright and got off with just a shaking.

The plane had sixty bullet holes in her, and the oil tank shot through, but neither the pilot or observer were touched. They told us they had chased the Boche for 30 miles but his machine was an Aviatik with a machine gun mounted so as to be able to shoot astern, and our plane was so badly hit about they had to give up the chase.

One of the Scottish Horse came into the mess tonight; he brought a rumour that on the Western Front we’ve advanced and broken the German line in nine places.

But we’ve heard so many rumours before.