SETTLING DOWN IN EGYPT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2725, 21 March 1916, Page 6

SETTLING DOWN IN EGYPT

. *—r- ; AN INCIDENT FOLLOWING THE | ; ' . EVACUATION

RED

CROSS SOCIETY

i /ocompanying letter, dated February 3, from the Sergeants'-Mess-room, Moascar Camp is of particular interest as indicating first of all tho excellent of . our men in Egypt , after the evacuation of Gallipoli, and, secondlv their .high appreciation of the efforts of itne lled Cross Society in New , Zealand /.Mi. Assisting. to minister to the needs of fho men at the front:— The Sergeants' Mess-room, oascar Camp; February 3, 10161 After the streßs and strain of very .active service at Gallipoli,. with' its plain' living and quick, high-thinking, . came very natural 'for those of us enough to get back .to Egypt to expect and enjoy a-.mea-. pure of relaxation and comfort. With- . out; any undue departure from discip- • line, it was evident that tho returned men fully appreciated the opportunity to once , again; participate in a few of : . necessary luxuries of iivilfan life, from clean olothes and a bath to a dinner; ' Very little time was - lost in -slackness. ; The re-establisliment of ' tamp for the accommodation \of thoiiTl ;sa.nds of. men who had perforce to leave #he'_ wherewithals -of..camp-- habitation' 'befiihd them to. the flames and. Turks, •Taxed'to the, utmost tlie resources of .-all' departments, and incidentally' afforded another opportunity for the Red ' ■Cross, and other sooieties to meet cir T .cumstances unforseen and urgent; If She .various, sections of "the.'Red Cross 'Society of New Zealand, and especially .Tie lady workers, could have seen how ' jikeenly appreciated were all "the little comforts .that awaited,the oailioand toil-worn men who returnißd from Gallipoli to Egypt, it . would undoubtedly have afforded intense gratitisation arid inspiration for -further efforts. . Each; branch of the returned itrmy were; soon busy vieing with' each 'other in the fixing lip of camp, the sergeants m ess-r'ooms being not the least /important item. On Saturday, ,January 29, was celebrated the opening of mess-room of the. sergeants of the iSledical Corps, and under the circumstances a most auspicious occasion it nva?.: v £ 'Far. away from any town of: any sine, t ln'a'roughly-built structure, with no. taHes: or forms; available, the ambulance sergeants got busy , improvising .'Three, tables, each accommodating fourteen men, soon occupied half tho room, the other half being off for pantry purposes.Serrgeant M'Gusk, of Hastings, was responsible for' the decorations, and it was simply' surprising how'fine an effect .was produced' from a. large. Union Jack, a Kew Zealand, anil' Red Cross' flag, some green, foliage, and two large bunches of roses snt in : from Ismailia by a', civilian friend. .Stands were oreoted on each table, and streamers of maroon .ribbon (Medical Corps oolours), and red, phite, and blue ribbon were hung from phom, . roses - being »intertwined, in the (stands and ribbons. Old ! "first-aid" provided the gauze to drape /with, and when the light comedian, Sergeant Henry, turned up the lamps it was a little peep; into fairyland for us. . Covers were set for forty, and jthe tables were taxed to their, utmost • '•capacity.; One: big feature of the tab'es were'.'.the menus—all • works of N . artr"dinkum" and humorous—executed by Private.Chiadwick.r .

>. Corporal, Goss, :who had charge, of .the cooking, had prepared an elaborate menu, a full-course dinner. , . '.■• •

:_■ Menu;— : Martini; hors 'a' ■ ouvre, olive' sardines - .soup, coil-, isomme' brurinoise; fish,'- boiled : turboi, Hollandaise sauoo; entrees, - braised steak, i stuffed tomatoes; releves, roast beef,, lorse radish, boiled leg of, mutton, oaper ; sauce, . cold, boiled mutton and salad, roast 1 turkey and seasoning, .'mashed '-turnips',vegetable cambia, roast ,and.' boiled, potatoes;, entremets; asparagas a la beurre, plum pudding, brandy-sauce, baked - vanilla custard, ■ oornpofe,"apricots, .whipped.cream, mar-! ;asohin'o'jelly, Blanc mange, anchovies; :dessert, 'fruit: in. season; Cafe Noir, Oafe j-Royale. ''Musio "Last Post.". Aeroplanes, 11 p.m. • ' (, There was not- a-man "missed" after (the attack on' the courses, arid 'the, coffee was reached without a casualty. • (Warrant r Officer Moov ' proposed the ,'jfirst toast, "The King!" "Our Guests" ■ . was proposed by the president of the moss, 'who welcomed the visitors arid "drew attention'to the fact that all (branches of' fhe..: service. were . represontcd, and the Australians, by a niemiber of-their forcos; ' Many associations jwliich had begun on Gallipoli were renewed and strengthened, and : some good, .active' service yarns wero soon Igoing round. ! Most of the * sergeants. \present were Main' Body men; and 1 Ithink .the sergeant from the "Trents" lirather envied .the "veterans" some of '•their experiences. Warrant Officers Eckhoff, ( of the artillery, and Badde■ley-, of Auckland Infantry, responded, /and said.' how proud, all branches of tho service felt of tho men of the Field Ambulance. They had : won the highest ad-! miration and respect of all by their. (keen enthusiasm for their work, and the skill and attention they had -de-. voted to tlie sick and wounded. Many t a/life had been saved by them, arid very many more had been spared their (faculties and limbs through their uri-jtii-ing devotion, and he also took this [opportunity to compliment tho medical '.sergeants on the smartness with which 'they had got their mess-rOom ready before : the other units, and' the. courte'sy shown to tho sergeants of the various units. Sorgt. F. Campbell proposed ("The Folks at Home," and spoke in •high praise of the splendid manner in (which the peoplo of New Zealand had jth'rough the Red Cross and other Societies helped to make' the lot of thesoldiers comfortable. 'Warrant Officers ,Webb and Ballinger responded—both testifying to the, pleasure it would give /to. all at home to know that we were. : safe that day, and- were enjtiyiiig'' suchi a magnificent ."spread"' after.;so: much' bully beef and biscuits; -."Corporal Goss; arid his Helpers," formed- the topic of another toast, and. right loyally was; it' ,'ro'sponded to. The toasts, Were interspersed with songs and recitations. "Lights out" had been extended to : 11.30 p.m., and as the hour drew near, "Auld Lang Syne" and "God Save the King" were heartily sung, bringing to a close what one sergeant aptly described as "the brightest incident yet -experienced in our soldiering days.'.