Letter - 13 April 2015 - from Mena Camp to Isle of Lemnos

Athol leaves the Mena Camp in Cairo and travels with the 5th Battalion to Alexandra by train. They board troopships which take them across choppy seas to Lemnos harbour in Greece. Conditions on board are cramped. On arrival they find a harbour busy with battleships, submarines, cruisers and troopships. Rumours circulate about where and when they will be sent to fight.

Dear Mater,

Many thanks for your letter of ... Also please thank Pater for 2 'Referees' and an 'Australiasian'. 

We left Mena on Sunday 4th and marched to Cairo about 6:30pm reaching the latter about 10am. We then waited in the station yard until about 1:30am when we left for Alexandria which we reached about 7:30am. We got out of the train at the dock and after a very little wait, in which tea was served out to be taken with a meal carried in the haversack, we came aboard this boat. She is a cargo boat of 6,338 tons gross, of the Leyland Line. There are 1,208 men and 319 horses so our accommodation isn't up to 'Orvieto' standard.
Only about 15 of our officers have cabins so the rest of us, about 16, either sleep on the little bridge deck or in a part of the hospital which is screened off from the rest which is rather stuffy. I sleep on deck. It was a bit choppy coming over and that and the close quarters and horsey smell caused a lot of sickness. 

We left Alexandria about 6pm on Tuesday. All Thursday we passed through the Grecian Islands, some of them quite close, and on Friday at daylight we came in here. There were several troopers and about a dozen war boats including the 'Queen Elizabeth', the 'Royal Ark' an aeroplane tender and both French and English battleships and cruisers, also a Russian cruiser, the same one that was in Colombo the 'Asvold', or something, besides a lot of torpedo destroyers, torpedo boats and some submarines. All these war boats go in and out everyday so that no days are the same. 

Yesterday the 'Queen Elizabeth' took our Brigadier and the Colonels of the different battalions to the Dardanelles. I don't know what they did or saw but I believe that all the likely landing places have barbed wire entanglements so it looks as if we're going to have a bit of a scrap to get ashore. There are about 30 troopers in now with English, Indian, French as well as Australian troops. I believe there are to be about 60. I also hear we have sealed orders on board to be opened on the 15th so I expect we will be moving then. This place is only 45 miles from the entrance to the Dardanelles. 

I left a suit case with a few clothes and things in value of 15 pounds at Thomas Cook & Son, Cairo, to be forwarded on demand.
Eldridge and ...... sergeants of old 'F' Company took Imperial Commissions the day before we left Mena. In the A.S.C. I believe. I wouldn't look at them as they were only for the duration of the war and you couldn't choose which branch you wanted. Also it will probably be months before they get near the fighting. Also if I get through this I'll probably be able to get a decent commission if I still feel that way. 

I'm getting this posted so as to avoid censorship so it will probably take some time in transit. 

Love to all enquiring friends. 

Yours lovingly,

Athol

Unit diary excerpt - 4 April 1915 - departing Egypt

"The Battalion left Mena Camp on 4th April.... ...proceeded to Alexandria and embarked on Transport A12 'Novian' at that port on 5th April 1915."

AWM, 5th Battalion Unit Diary 23/22/1

Letter - 29 March 1914 - training for attack and defence - Sir Ian Hamilton

A.G. Adams writes to his mother about the continuing training which seems to be relentless. The unit was inspected by Sir Ian Hamilton. He meets a family friend, Keith Officer, who was serving in the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. The desert climate means that it is cold at night and hot and dusty with flies in the day.

The transcript appears below.

Dear Mater,

I've got a small bundle of letters here. I don't know whether I've acknowledged them all or not. Dated Jan 17, 24, 31 and Feb 14.

I seem to lose count of the days here. We meander on as from one day to another with very little to remember as different.

Last week we were out all Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights on Divisional Training. Tuesday in defence and the other two nights in attack. On Thursday I was orderly officer so I had a pretty strenuous time.

This morning we were inspected by Sir Ian Hamilton and marched past him afterwards.

Please tell Pater I've got two or three 'Referees' and a couple of 'Bulletins' and thank him for me.

I had mess the other evening with Keith Officer. He has one star imp in the Brigade ... Res of the 3rd Light Horse Bde. They have been hereabout a month now.

I believe we have two night stints this week. We're absolutely fed up with them. It's beastly cold and when we try to get some sleep the flies, dust and heat of the day are not conclusive to slumber.

I really can't think of anything else so please excuse this scrawl. Please remember me to Pater and all enquiring friends.

Yours lovingly
Athol

Postcard - 28 March 1915 - Sand and Sphinx

Another postcard about the ancient wonders next to the Mena Camp.

Text as follows:

'The sand is higher than in the picture. It's up to the mark, about.'
AGA

The 'mark' refers to the little inked-in line above and to the right of the campers; at the base of the Sphinx.

Post card - 25 March 1915 - Visit to the Pyramids

A.G. Adams explains how the site of their trenches is nearby the ancient pyramids.

The text of the postcard reads as follows:

This view is taken from a place where we have done a lot of our work especially digging trenches. Looking to the right of the pyramids and past them lies Cairo. Cheops is marked 1. Chephren 2. and the small one 3. Its blowing all the Sahara past today.
Love
A.G.A.

Perhaps he has got the pyramids mixed up. The small one appears to be marked 1.

Letter - 7 March 1915 - field exercises with Light Horse, ASC and Field Ambulance

A letter from Lieut A. G. Adams to his mother (which was sent to Melbourne, then New Zealand and finally caught up with her in Sydney). A.G. Adams describes an army field day in which a number of units exercised with the Field Ambulance, Light Horse and ASC (Army Service Corps - which provided logistics support). After attending the races he meets a girl, Una McKellar, at a dance held at the Continental Hotel. His thoughts turn to what lies ahead - perhaps Turkey.

No mention is made of his 4-day stint his hospital (26 Feb to 2 March).

The text of the letter appears below the images.

Dear Mater, 

Many thanks for your cable and also a letter. Nothing much has happened here lately. 

We had a big field day last Friday and Saturday. We started at 2:30pm and attacked a position about 3 miles away. The 1st Brigade was on our flank and the Light Horse were out in front acting as a screen. The whole thing was really to give the Ammunition Column and A.S.C. and Field Ambulance practice. We worked until 6:30pm then rested until 8:30pm and worked until about 1:30am, then started again at 5am and finished up about 7:15pm and returned to camp. 

I was on a regular court martial for instruction on Saturday morning. It was from 10am and lasted until about 12:30. I had a nice little sleep during the proceedings. 

I went to the races in the afternoon. It is a nice little course and the racing was pretty good though none of the horses here are very fast and the times are no good. They have the 'tote' here so I didn't lose all my money and in the evening I had dinner at the Continental with some of the other officers from here. They have a dance there every Saturday but I only knew one girl Una McKellar and I met one other. As there are about 10 men to every girl it was not very exciting so I cleared out early. 

It has been getting pretty hot here lately, though the nights are still very cold. The 3rd Brigade went away about a week ago and we'll be moving soon though exactly when nobody knows or where, though it is somewhere by sea, probably to Turkey, which will be a good place to make our debut. 

There isn't anything else so I'll ring off.  

Love to Pater and all enquiring friends. 

Yours lovingly
Athol

26 February 1915 - illness

On 26 February 1915, A. G. Adams was admitted to hospital with an un-diagnosed illness. He was discharged to duty on 2 March 1915.

AWM service records