Pte David Davies (Wandin), 21st Machine Gun Company: Is wounded in action, gas poisoning, and is evacuated to hospital in England.
Trp Bert Hutchinson (Lilydale), 4th Light Horse Regiment: In camp in Palestine. In a letter to his future wife, Jessie Mackenzie of Yalca, Vic – ‘Did I mention that I visited the Armenian Camp while I was on holiday. Well I was rather disappointed with the refugee camp as I had heard so much about it. Everything was nice and clean and all the “bints” (girls) were very busy. Some of the work by men (unfit for the army) was very good. They were making spoons, forks and fine combs out of wood. A large number of the bints were doing fancy work and others were making cakes for the army. While we are back from the front line these cakes are available at the canteens.
After I joined our squadron I had a ride through several villages and was surprised to see the improvement. The orchards were all ploughed and the trees look very healthy. In some orchards barley is growing between the trees. The natives have ploughed the valleys also most of the flats are under crop. In one field I noticed the family hard at work, Father was directing operations and his two wives were having a spell. Two bints were ploughing, one driving a donkey and the other a cow. Also three boys were ploughing as well only they had camels. Three other children were minding a few sheep and several donks. This work is usually done by bints whose ages vary from three years to ten years. Some of the women have to work very hard but of course the men do not work unless it suits them. They are a lazy lot.
I visited the Camel Corps Sports a few days ago and some of the events were very exciting. The camel races trotting and galloping were exciting and I would not care to ride a camel in a race as it appeared to be a very rough passage. Wrestling on camels is not as fast as wrestling on horseback as it is easy to get a good grip on a camel. One chap had his arms around the camel’s neck and another chap was trying to pull him off. The camel put his head on the ground and then lifted the chap back again with a swing. This chap did not get pulled off. The first battalion won after a good half-hours’ fun. Musical chairs was another good race. All the competitors rode a camel outside a ring and when the music ceased they had to get a seat but the camels refused to hurry when the chaps jumped off and were rushing for a sea’.
Pte Francis O’Hara (Olinda), 58th Battalion: Leaves Australia bound for Europe on board the RMS Ormonde.
Pte Walter Gladstone Clegg (Wandin), 28th Battalion: Leaves Australia bound for Europe on the RMS Ormonde.
Pte Albert Round (Kilsyth), Camel Ambulance Corps: Leaves Australia bound for Egypt on the RMS Ormonde. His sister Doris Baldwin (nee Round) of Kilsyth, in an interview in 1994 – ‘We went and saw him off and there were bottom, second, third – right up to the tip top, nothing else but soldiers on that ship. I was sad, parting with anyone is sad but parting with your dear ones is an ordeal’.