Pte Felix Hargrave (Lilydale), 7^th Battalion: In a letter to his sister in Lilydale – ‘There are a lot of French and Greeks here in Cairo which is a big place about twice as big as Melbourne but not half as well laid out, most of the streets are narrow, choked and smell somewhat. There are thousands of black faces thronging the streets, the men and women dressing alike. One is reminded much of the Bible here, by the markets and the people riding about on asses, men carting water on their backs in goat skins and camels and hump back oxen doing all the heavy work.

This is a remount depot for the Light Horse. There are about 5000 horses here so you may imagine the work they make. This is what we have been doing since we landed – trucking and shifting them about, up all night unloading chaff and fodder. There are a lot of English soldiers here but they don’t compare with our chaps, some of them being mere schoolboys.

We have received word that all our company except 50 have to move to Mena. I am one of the 50 left – just my rotten luck if there is any fighting. I am just longing to have a cut in at some of them. I often think of the quiet little town of Lilydale. You ought to be thankful it is peaceful over there. By the time you receive these letters I hope to be nearer the fighting and get a crack at some of those big ugly Germans’.