line. And so it goes on hour after hour till
at long last there is a spurt or two of fire and the crackling of blank,
a lumbering charge, and then much gathering together of platoons and
companies, and we have learnt our lesson and may go to bed.

On January 10th tents sufficient for half the battalion were sent up and
pitched. They were a most welcome shelter from sand-storms and other
rigours of the Sinai winter. The order to camouflage them caused some
difficulty. A party went down to the wadi and with infinite labour
brought up some semi-liquid mud in waterproof sheets, but it was
impossible to secure enough in this way. Finally the work was done by
mixing cocoa, which could not be used for its legitimate purpose owing
to lack of fresh water, with sea water and daubing the tents with the
product.

On the same day 900 men reported to the A.P.M. to escort the Turkish
prisoners taken at Rafa down to Cairo. These numbered some 1400,
including thirty Turkish officers, a German officer and some German
gunners. The trip was a strictly business one and no one had much
chance of enjoying Cairo. The party returned on the 16th.

The broad, dry bed of the wadi gave a fairly hard surface and all the
morning would be dotted with manoeuvring infantry and cavalry, while
even guns and camelry were not uncommon. In the afternoon it was usual
to find several games of football in progress. Ever since the worst heat
of summer had departed, football had been played in the Battalion
wherever a flat bit of Sabkhet could be found--while the men were always
glad to kick a ball about even in the heavy sand. Now with better
opportunities the Battalion played several matches, defeating among
others a battalion of the 42nd Division, while company and platoon
matches were common. The Brigade even produced a rugger side and played
some strenuous games with Australians and others.

On the whole, most of us have pleasant memories of el Arish and its fig
trees--on which, true to the traditions of extreme solicitude for other
people's interest which distinguish the British army, we were not
allowed to hang up our clothes to dry, for fear of breaking the
branches--just as we might not cut down palm boughs for bivouac poles in
forgotten desert hods for fear of injuring the trees. Our moves were
frequent but we always found a proportion of tents, and after a wet
night in the outpost line there would usually be enough sun to dry our
clothes during th