MESOPOTAMIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 October 1917, Page 1

MESOPOTAMIA.

A NEW ZEALANDER’S EXPERIENCES.

Private Victor Lawn of the Wireless Troop, , a brother of Mr A. Lawn of Revell Street, writing to a brother in Dunedin from Mesopotamia on July 12th says Could you but feel the heat we are now experiencing you would understand that letter writing^was a tough problem. Up to the last fortnight we have had passable weather, the glass keeping in the region of 115 in the daytime, and the nights were lovely and cool. All at once up went the temperature to 122 in the shade at noon, and for the past week hot winds have been blowing night and day. To walk against the breeze is only comparable to walking up to a large furnace with the fire door open. Ryes, ears, and every exposed portion of the body sting with the burning rays of the sun and hot wind. As many as 70 men have .been bowled over in a day, and one poor chap in the ranks (not our troop) went right out in two hours. Even the Indians are knocked up, and my boy in the cookhouse is fit for nothing. Our chaps lie in their bunks and perspire till their clothes absolutely soaked, and when their' clothes dry you would think they had been whitewashed, for all the salt in the body, seems to come through the pores of the skin. The burning sensation one feels iu the head is enough to send a chap crazy, We expect to move on at any time now. I hope ,we go bj r boat, as a trek would be more than many of us could stand. Of course, we would only move early in the morning, but the protection during the day would be 'a problem, as even in double tents of great thickness one has to wear a covering for the head. On trek nothing in the ' shape of large tents can be taken. The parcel" you .sent was just lovely. Although the tin was smashed into an unrecognisable shape the biscuits and lollies were prime. Unfortunately, the envelopes were soaked with grease from the biscuits, and won’t stick down. If you’re sending any mpre,- wrap them in some special cloth so that the grease cannot get to them. It is great to feel everything one touches quite warm. We can get nice cold water, . -\vTiicli is kept in earthenware vessels. One gets a : shock when raising an enamel mug to the lips to find that the rim is too hot to bear. Everything about one’s clothing (buckles on braces, buttons, etc.) gets quite hot, so you can, perhaps, imagine _ what the heat must be like out in the sun. One thing the hot winds do for us is to stamp out most of the insects, which were a pest.