AT PONT-DE-KOUBBEH

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2582, 2 October 1915, Page 6

AT PONT-DE-KOUBBEH

STREAMS OF WOUNDED STRENUOUS HOSPITAL WORK , Sergeant Walter Hopkirk, son. of Mr. J. B. Hopkirk, of Wellington," who is an orderly at the N<). 2 Now, Zealand Stationary Hospital at Pont-do-Koubbeh, near Cairo, in a: letter dated August 10,'.. throws some interesting, sidelight's on the - strain 'that is being put 'upon those working in the hospitals in Egypt during the present orisiß, After describing the hospital as a very fine one, Sergeant, Hopkirk wrote: —"Wo aro very shgrt-handed, 'and when we applied for more-men they asked us if wo had any orderlies to go to the front at once. All except a few . "passengers" do their fourteen or sixteen hours per day, and you may be sure we aro some tired. / I could sleep two weeks on end easily just now', but there is only seven hours "due to mo each day, and that only seems to tantalise7us. , Our tuckeiv is- good. ;; Wo • are eating the British Amy allowance, which consists of lib. each of meat 'and. bread, Jib. vegetables, Jib.. potatoes, (iud a pinch each of tea,: sugar,. popper, salt, and rice Tien every man is, allowed BJd. per day, and that' buys all sorts of stuff. It is one of my duties to spend 1)ho; 8-Jds. of all our men and also to requisition their bread, etc.. The BJd. allows us to eat butter,-; bacon, and eggs, tomatoes, sago, • tinned, or dried fruits, plumduff, 1 and jam. Not so bad, ehP The eggs are small, and cost 6d. per dozen. Tomatoes are id. per lb., aid that explains ! why •we go in for them. The; weather here' is very trying.' We are wearing .light khaki uniforms and helmets, but it is real hot. The sand is everywhere, and it is ; blazing hot. Everybody is losing weight, and we wilLneed plenty of New Zealand dairy feeding to . fix us when we get home.' Our quarters are good, but' for one thing—they. swarm with bugs and mosquitos. It's simply awful to' see some of the ■ fellows—they will he eaten alive yet; if they don't watch it.' It's quite a simple and uninteresting spoTt to catch a dozen big black, beetly bugs in the morning. They dbn't worry "me,, but t'ho mosquitos 'have .got a down' on me, and 'I lobo some/of my good points each night.

"All Cobbers!" ".We are a New Zealand HospitalNeiv Zealand sisters and doctors and orderlies. ; The patients, too, are all New Zealanders, so wo .are all "cobbers." ■. Sister .Wilson, who was a'fa; .vour'ite at Samoa, is here. There are 520 beds, and we have about 400 patients at present. _ It is a big job-when the patients arrive. Then, we all have to move some, for we all must do our best work for those chaps who are straight from the tranches. • To-niglit we got a batch of 167 wounded. '.• At 9. p.m. I thought' I would rest, so lay down in the corridor. When, consciousness dawned again,,, it was roll call (6 a.m.)—what a lovely sleep it was though I did.have my boots on! We are not at the front, but wo are at a front, and I think all will agree that wo do our litt'la.share. We have 600 in hospital now, arid each day wo send about 100 patients to the convalescent camps, land then receive 100 more from ; the front. Wo have several of the Fifth Reinforcement men in hospital, and tliey left here only eight days ago. They all bring bad news of the Fifth. Many of the best men seem to have been killed. '. Major Savage's Funeral. "To-day wo attended.the funeral of our lato Major Savage. He had been on the point of,death' since' we arrived, and fast night, at (midnight, he passed away. What a loss to our company j and New Zealand!, Ho as surely gave his life for his _ country as any man | killed by a. Turkish bullet!','. .