Letters from Mesopotamia | Page 8

which they all
did.
On the Tuesday morning the crew told the men we should not be
sailing till Wednesday: and accordingly a lot of them went shopping
again. But for once in a way the ship actually sailed at the appointed
time, 11 a.m. on Tuesday, and five of my gallant band were left behind.
However they were collected by the Embarkation Authorities, and

together with their fellow-victims of nautical inaccuracy from the other
drafts were sent up by special train to Karachi, where they rejoined us:
the C.O. according them a most unsympathetic reception, and
sentencing them all (rather superfluously) to Confinement to Barracks
for the remainder of the voyage.
There are no fewer than forty-one units on board this ship. They
include drafts from almost every Territorial Battalion in India,
convalescents rejoining the regular battalions already in Mesopotamia,
and various engineers and gunners. The ship is grossly
overcrowded--1,200 on board an ordinary 6,000 ton liner. The officers
are very well off, though. She is a bran-new boat, built for this very run
(in anticipation of the Baghdad Railway), with big airy cabins and all
the latest improvements in lights, fans and punkahs. There is nobody I
know on board and though they are quite a pleasant lot they don't call
for special comment. The C.O. is a genial major of the Norfolks. He
did some star turns the first two days. There was a heavy monsoon
swell on, and the boat rolled so, you could hardly stand up. However
the Major, undaunted, paraded about a score of men who had squeaked
on to the ship after the roll-call at Bombay. These were solemnly drawn
up in a line as defaulters and magisterially called to attention to receive
judgment. On coming to attention they over-balanced with the
regularity of ninepins in a row: and after three attempts the major had
to harangue them standing (nominally) at ease. Even so, his admonition
was rather impaired by his suddenly sitting down on the deck, and
having to leave rather hurriedly for his cabin before the peroration was
complete.
We are just going through the Straits of Ormuz now: we saw the coast
of Persia on and off all to-day. We spent Thursday, by the bye, at
Karachi, an awful hole it looks--treeless and waterless and very much
the modern port. It reminds one strongly of Port Said, though not quite
so repulsive: and there is a touch of Suez thrown in.
So far it has been quite cool, 84 to 86°: but we shall be beyond the
cloud-zone to-morrow and right inside the Gulf, so I expect it will get
hot now.

We expect to reach Basra on Tuesday evening. After that our
movements are wholly unknown to us.
The casualty lists just before we left were so dreadful that I am rather
dreading the moment when we see the next batch.
* * * * *
"H.M.S. VARSOVA," OFF FARS IS.
August 22, 1915.
To R.K.
It is too warm to be facetious, and I have no letter of yours to answer:
so you will have to put up with a bald narrative of our doings since I
last wrote.
They gave us various binges at Agra before we left. A concerted effort
to make me tight failed completely: in fact of the plotters it could be
said that in the same bet that they made privily were their feet taken.
We left on Saturday, 15th: fifty rank and file and myself. One had a
heat-stroke almost as soon as the train had started (result of marching to
the station at noon in marching order and a temperature of 96°) and we
had an exciting hour in keeping his temperature below 109° till we met
the mail and could get some ice. We succeeded all right and sent him
safely to hospital at Jhansi. The rest of the journey was cooler and
uneventful.
We reached Bombay at 9.15 a.m. on Monday, and went straight on
board. The ship did not sail till next day and when it did they contrived
to leave thirty-two men behind, including five of mine.
This is a new and pleasant boat, almost 6,000 tons and fitted up with
every contrivance for mitigating heat. But there are far too many
persons on board: nearly 1,200: and as they simply can't breathe
between decks, the decks are as crowded as a pilgrim ship's. There are

over forty units represented: including drafts from about twenty-eight
T.F. battalions.
We had the devil of a swell the first two days, though luckily we hit off
a break in the monsoon. Anyway, Mothersibb preserved me from
sea-sickness: but in every other respect I felt extremely unwell. We
reached Karachi on the Thursday morning and stayed there all day. It is
a vile spot,