A DESERT CANTEEN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2948, 7 December 1916, Page 11

A DESERT CANTEEN

Y.M.CA. ENTERPRISE ii . ■ PROVIDING COMFORTS FOR A BIG CAMP _ The good service which is being rendered 1 by tho Y.M.C.A. canteens in tho British camps in Egypt is referred to in a letter written by Mr. F. A. Parry, a New Zealand field secretary in that country, to Mr. E. C. Brownell, national secretary for New Zealand. "The work at Bir-et-Maler introduced mo fully to the position of Y.M.C.A. secretary at the front," writes Mr. Parry. "The thing tnat struck me was the large place taken up by canteen work, and I was not long in realising that tho canteen opens the door to many other activities, and. that it is one of the -best methods adopted by the association for meeting the noeds ol tho men. What the men positively need out here in the desert is just those comforts and luxuries supplied by our canteens. Colonel Onslow, the officer commanding the 7th Australian light' Horse Regiment, now wounded and in hospital, said to me a. few days before the battle of llomani:. 'Parry, I want you to know how much we have a PP r 6ciated your work among the boys.' 'Thank you, sir,' I said, 'I am glad to hear,you say that!' 'Well, I mean it,' he continued, 'and, further, the men could hot possibly have stood, in i-bis desert, all tliey have,stood, had it not been for the Y.M.C.A. The things you'supply are just what they needed.' Major Windeycr, second in command, ;also severely wounded and returned to Australia, added, 'And if you. want evidence of the men's appreciation, all you have to do is to read theso letters..' Almost, every letter I have censored contains, some appreciative reference to the Y.M.C.A.' "My work at Bir-et-Maler was carried on-beneath the shelter of a largo marquee, One end of this huge tent was fenced off by a canvas partition for canteen purposes, and the other part was furnished wivft tables, chairs, games, writing materials, and other equipment, and was used as a reading and \yrlting room, and recreation and lecture liall,, as occasion required. It is, however, of the canteen work I wish to write to-day. "WheD I arrivecJ at Bir-et-Maler the stook of supplies was at a very low ebb. _ For two or three days we had practically nothing to sell, while there were constant inquines as to wheti the new stock would arrive. It was not till after the arrival of the Australian Brigade that .things -got properly going with us.

' "On tlio morning of opening, a Monday morning, I was amazed) to see the crowd of men that thronged the canteen for goods.'? TlisTwnole day we were Tvept busy in tlio scorching heat of a desert summer any and until well after 10 that niglfc. Hie next day brought a similar experience, and the third day was busy too. On the fovirth day our stock had run low. During those three days we scarcely had timo to eat, and three men did the work of Eve, working eighteen hours a day. Sometimes the rush was so great as to 1 threaten the safety of the counter. Finally we.: had'to place a barrier along at a short'distance from it, and make the men pass between the barrier and the counter one by one. Thus we saved ourselves from being overwhelmed. "In the • canteens we "endeavour to supply as many of the needs of the men a.s is possible. Weok by. week the st-ores arrive., and it is interesting to see the long line ,of loade3 camels come slowly and noiselessly, save for the regular thud, thud, of the cases as the ugly,, ungainly, yet supremely useful, beasts movo along. My weekly order required ■ about ■50 camels to transport it from the railhead to the camp, a distance of about three miles. "Arranging for this transport is quite a business. The first thing to do was to get horses. In case I failed to get some in one part of the camp, I tried each regiment in turn, and always succeeded in getting them somewhere. Then. au orderly and myself set off for the railhead, where the administrative commandant had to sanction tho sending out of such camels as were required. A .'chit' or slip of paper bearing his written consent was then taken to the O.C. Camels, arid, if available, these were ordered by him, and I then proceeded to the camel lines and counted out the camels as they filed jiast. Another, gallop round to tho native camp, and a polite request would usually have the effect of bringing along at a trot a native fatigue party to unload the truck. On one occasion I went to the O.C. of the R.E.'s for a native draft from a crowd of seventy or eighty men, and he said, with impatient good humour: "Take the whole cl lot;' they aro of no use to mo!'-

"The next moment, to tho accompanimont of the hoarse shouts of tho rais (native bosses) and the crack of whips, they swarmed all over tho trucks, and in a few minutes three hundred cases were stacked ready for loading on tho camels. Tho Egyptian Labour Corps man is not usually overindustrious, unless followed up by rais and whip. But with a good rais, who knows how to handle his men, thoy will do a great deal of work in a short time. -

, "I well remember one night's experience in connection with our transport work. After a tiring day in the canteen I was awakened at 11.15 p.m. by tho thud, thud, of cases on camels. We had received no word of tho arrival of stores. Jumping out of, bed I saw approaching tho cautecu the first of a long line of camels, led by one of our secretaries carrying a lantern. That night tho brigade had left the camp to go oilt oil a long stunt into tho desert, and the place was almost deserted. But Major. Windeycr came galloping along to see if we had been surprised by the enemy. When he realised tho position ho sot to work, and with his own hands assisted us to unload and stack the goods. "My canteen is the largest, from tho point of view of weekly takings, in the camel zone'. One day's takings (a record day) amounted to over £290, while from July 3 to July 27 I have receipts to show that I took nearly £3000 in tho canteen. This represents, in tho desert, a tremendous amount of work, as wo are 40 miles away from tho Canal. If we could have got as much stuff as was required, 1 think wo could have sold at least £1000 worth more in tho time mentioned. At the time of the groat engagement it was practically impossible to get any stuff through. Camels could not be obtained, and we were reduced to eartigg goods through on pieces of roofing iron drawn by mules.

"During that time, each night we supplied tlio- men with fresh cakes, inado by Armenian refugees, and hot cocoa, at nominal charges. This was a boon, especially to those going on night patrol. Expressions of gratitude and appreciation have poured in on ■every side. The most frequent one that has been used by the mcn ; in my hearing has been: 'Tho Y .M.C.A. is a God-send to us out in tho desert.'"