Pte Donald Fergus Scott (Mt Evelyn), 6th Battalion: At Mena Camp, Cairo. In a letter to his parents – ‘We disembarked at Alexandria and went by train to Cairo and then marched out to the present camp (about 10 miles) in full marching order – rather a long way after being seven weeks in the boat. We are right under the Pyramids and Sphinx almost – only a hill between us and nothing but the great desert around us. We do not have to do as much drill as at Broadmeadows, four hours a day only, not including marching – and each man gets leave every three days.
We go into Cairo either by electric tram, donkey, carriage, taxi, or even a camel at times. Cairo is not the city it is cracked up to be and everything is frightfully dear. At first glance everybody appears to be in a chronic state of poverty and filth and they speak the vilest of English.
It was wonderful to walk around the Pyramids and the Sphinx and through the temples and tombs, which have been dug out of the same by Egyptologists, Napoleon, Gordon and Kitcheners all fought battles round about where we are camped. The English soldiers are not in any way nearly as big as the Australians. The New Zealanders are all right but they are not as well equipped as our men’.