LIVING ON THE SUEZ.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5377, 21 January 1929, Page 1

LIVING ON THE SUEZ.

PAGEANT OF WAR TIME. | I .wish that I had been on tihe bank of Suez Canal the other, day to see the Singapore dock pass, writes W.R.B. in the Melbourne “Argus,” I would have stood on tlhe high, sandy slope at the old military camp of Serapeum, in the shade of that welcome belt of trees, to conjure up afresh the memories of wonderful war years, the passing ships, scarcely moving, the; activity all roundl, tlhe great desert yonder, a blazing, sun above, and happy-go-lucky soldiers in thousands. I wish that I had seen the doc,k, just as, 13 or, years ago, we watched the; liners, tlhe warphips, and the sprightly launches steam, by. to Ahe accompaniment of cheers and coo-ees, the “Marseillaise,” or the National Anthem, and the inevitable banter.

Of the wartime; preparations those on the Canal were unique in the pi c -

turesqueneSs and strangeness of their setting; in tlhe variety of happenings, in the mingling of races, in the; transformation of a peaceful and quiet waterway into a series of strong, de-< fence posts witji advance lims being thrust quickly into the desert. Toussoum, Gabql Miriam, El Kantara (rapidly developing into; an immense dump), Deversoir, Ferry post, and pretty Ismailia —they bring, back memories. In the earlier months, of 1916 there werq many thousands of Australians camped in or, near the banks of the

Canal, spane had arrived, from. Aus-

tralia and others from Gallipoli, seasoned warriors, brown and muscular, with wondrous stories of fighting to unfold to the latecomers. Battalions had come down from Tel-el-.Kebir to thq little railway station of Ain Gosheim, at the back of Serapeum, full

of tales of Gallipoli, and unforgettable Cairo. Others had travelled by rail to Abd el Rahman, and ethers again reached the Canal zone by Ship, including thq Ceramic. Sometimes crowdted troopships, strangely camouflaged, passed, with

khaki-dressed Tommies packed at the railings and in the rigging, chatter-i ing incessantly. They wqre bound fbr India of the Persian Gulf, or returning, As the ship moved by there was much arm sigpalling, much cheering, to be repeated as other camps were passed. Hurriedly a band would be brought to the Canal bank if a warship appeared, as they often did, cruisers, monitors, destroyers, British and French. -The; Canal, was a

lightful pjace’fbr bathiifg, and. 1 always 7 round the ships there would be seen th© black heads of Australian swimmers, most of them exchanging ngws with those on board, olr endeavouring to catch gifts hurled from the deck.

Not only Australians, were there. For a while Serapeum sheltered uugi getty Ghurkas and Hyderabad lAncers, tall, good-lopking men, content in leisure hours to squat in their tents and endeavour to converse with the soldiers from Southern, Seas, sealing their friendship with) presents pf brpwn, crisp, distasteful cigarettes, or even, a cooked preparation somewhat resembling flour pals,te.

“Johnnie,” they called us. “JohnnieHyderabad Lancers —Brothers,” some had learped to say.

I Every day swarmg of “Gdppos” arrived to assist in the Canal works, a motley crowd, burrowing in the sand like so many ants,though, not so industrially. These hordes! of noisy workers- wheelbarrows, using hundreds of buckets instead, so that they looked like' chidren oq the seashore building mighty cqstlas. iWhat joy it gave thqm to receive our ciffi arettes, and what fj-tt to see ppe of their foremen descending upon them pell-mell, While hq did the begging himself.

Camel-meh came, sometimes a long line of them; with water for the troops. This was carried in containers strapped on qither side of the camel’s hump. How precious the water was! Behind the camp., stood a well-equipped canteen, with tlhe dusky “George” as bine of its, most; popular attendants, an expert in the provision of “eggs-arcook.” The ahnouqc.ement of refreshments on sale included “Limonade,” “Sonde Watqr/’ and “Bacop. Eggs,” with the assurance that all were of the “bested, qualite." Many will remember the comiuiotion on the arrival of a draft of meja from Tel-el-Kebir, and how in their, wrath at a supposed injustice they almost wrecked the canteen, sending the native attendants scurrying in dismay over the waste of sand.. Across the Canal the heavy, handworked punt mCjved almost continu-j ously, to and fro, always crowded with men, hordes, camels, and l war material,

“Get to it, Achmed!” ordqrs a tall Australian.

The Australian menacingly advanced; and Achmed took his position at the punt handle with his fallow countrymen, toi go through the task more or less graciously, chanting with the others meanwhile. Down the stream again went the trim little launch, Alouetta, a fainiliar friend. Moored to the bank w pr® native craft, with long curved mas its, up which the members of the crew were induced to climb and Jhang pr* 3 " c,ariously from the extremity for a reward of a half-piastre. All is changed. Serapeum. mo longer, shows activity; the high, sandy bankjs are practically desertejd. Th e Sihgar pore dock probably passed that way without a single encouraging} cheer.