Egypt - February/March 1916

On Wednesday 23rd February 1916, Thomas and his battalion were based at Serapeum when they were ordered to decamp.  Thomas and his battalion spent many hours dismantling their tents and packing equipment.  This continued throughout the night and into the early hours of the following morning.  At 4am the following day, Thomas marched to the rail siding and boarded a train that transported him to Tel el Kebir. They arrived at Tel el Kebir later that afternoon and set up camp.

 


Picture of the 29th Battalion's tents (Egyptian location is unknown)

 

On Saturday 26th February 1916, the 29th Battalion's commander, Colonel Tivey (later promoted to Brigadier General), inspected the battalion at Tel el Kebir. Whilst at Tel el Kebir, the 29th Battalion continued to strengthen military defences (there was still the threat that the Turks would attack the Canal) until they were relieved from duty on Sunday 4th March. 

On Wednesday 22nd March, General McCay arrived in Egypt to take command of the 5th Division. His appointment as commander of the 5th Division was contentious within the AIF as it was commonly thought that his political influence (he was once Federal Defence Minister) and high society connections scored him the role.  It is unlikely that Thomas would have liked or respected McCay, who, as you will soon read, demonstrated a poor regard for the troops.  

On Thursday 23rd March 1916, the 5th Division was ordered to relocate from Tel-el-Kebir to the canal at a base camp called Ferry Post (see map).   The 29th Battalion (along with the other three battalions of the 8th Brigade) were assign the role of advance party for the Division and were transported to Ferry Post  by a 'train' (see picture below).  The remaining brigades of the 5th Division were ordered on a 3 day march from Tel el Kebir to Ferry Post in temperatures that exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.  Incredibly, McCay gave full marching orders, which meant soldiers had to carry full packs (42kg), and wear their full uniform, including helmet.  Hundreds of soldiers dropped out of the march and there were unconfirmed rumours that some soldiers died of heat stress.  When these soldiers eventually arrived at their destination exhausted and obviously not in any fit state, McCay gave them a tirade and told them their poor performance was "no excuse". 

As luck would have it, Thomas and his battalion were spared this 3 day march.  For the troops that endured this cruelty, it was a demoralising experience and contributed to tensions among the brigades. A perception had crystalised that the 8th Brigade, which included Thomas' 29th Battalion, was receiving special treatment.   The 8th Brigade became known as the "Tivey Chocs" (Austin 1997), or "chocolate soldiers", a derogative term for that era. 

"They received this nickname because they were the most complete equipped unit that every left Australia. They were commanded by a well known public mad (Tivey), and the woman folk had seen that lacked nothing in sweaters or bed socks.  They had a band for every battalion..." (RH Knyvett, ‘Over there with the Australians’, cited in Cornfield, R., Don't Forget Me, Cobber!, Melbourne University Publishing Ltd., Melbourne, 2009)

 Tel el Kebir, Egypt. c. 1916. This troop 'train' is likely to be the train Thomas boarded for Suez Canal Zone. (Donor Mrs C. Chapman) [Australian War Memorial: H12866] In late March 1916, the I ANZAC Corp departed for France.  The II ANZAC Corp, which included Thomas' 29th Battalion remained in Egypt and continued military training and defending the Suez Canal.  During this period, the 5th Division's artillery was being reorganised with speed in readiness for the Western Front.  This included four hours of lectures followed by eight hours of practice each day. (Lindsay, P., Fromelles, Hardy Grant Books, Victoria, 2007).  Though the artillery units were well trained they lacked one crucial ingredient: battlefield experience.   A report on the 5th Division's artillery on page 294 of the official history of the II ANZAC Corp in Egypt 1916 has an eerie prescience about it :  "The artillery is not coming on as fast as General Godley had anticipated, and I do not think it will be ready for service in France until the end of June. . . . "  (Australian War Memorial, Arrival Of ANZAC II, p.294).  The artillery's lack of battlefield experience would result in many bombs falling short, killing and injuring many soldiers from Thomas 29th Battalion just prior to and during the Battle of Fromelles. 

Egypt - January 1916

Thomas was stationed at a dry, sandy Egyptian outpost called Serepeum when he saw in 1916.  In early 1916, the ANZACs from the Gallipoli campaign were being evacuated to Egypt to join the Australian Infantry Force (AIF).  To manage the swell in ranks, a major re-organisation of the AIF army occurred.  Thomas and his battalion, which had already been assigned to the Victorian 8th Brigade, became part of a new 5th Division, which fell under the command of General McCay. The reorganisation of the Australian and New Zealand armies blended the seasoned soldiers from the Gallipoli campaign with soldiers like Thomas who had yet to fight in a battle.  As you will soon read, the 5th AIF Division would go to France and fight the Germans on the Western Front in a battle that has become known as the Battle of Fromelles. 

Here is the 8th Brigade Insigma.  Thomas's 29th Battalion was assigned to the 8th Brigade.  The commander of the 8th Brigade was Colonel Tivey (later Brigadier General), a well-liked and caring leader who promoted strong mateship amongst his troops. Colonel Tivey would have personally selected Thomas to the 29th Battalion when he enlisted in July 1915.

On New Years day 1916, Thomas watched on as his section's Corporal Spooner tore off his stripes and threw them at the company commander, Major Murdoch.  Murdoch had earlier admonished Spooner for dropping his rifle.   Thomas and members of no.8 Section would have been dismay by their corporal's actions as Spooner had effectively demoted himself to the rank of private.
 

On Monday 3rd January, Thomas and the 29th Battalion were relieved from their Serepeum duty.  Two days later he marched to the remote dessert post of Gebel Habeta, 9 miles east of Serapeum (see map here). The photo of Thomas and his No. 8 Section was taken at this location. 

According to Austin (1997), several incidents occurred whilst Thomas' was on duty at Gebel Habeta.   Two men from his battalion were caught sleeping on sentry duty and were tried by Court martial.  In a separate incident the popular Sergeant Dixon was tragically struck by a train at Gebel Habeta on 22nd January 1916, killing him instantly. 

On the 27th January 1916, the 29th Battalion at Gebel Habeita was relieved of their duty and returned to Serapeum.  Whilst at Serapeum, Thomas worked along the banks of the Suez Canal and occasionally swam in the canal to escape the heat of the day.  One day in mid February, while Thomas and other members of his battalion were working along the canal, two British ships past and “sneered and jeered at us telling us we were in our right place... not much love lost between us and the tommies".(Letter written by the George Spooner to his family, cited in Austin 1997, p 23)


Austin, R (1997) Black and Gold:  The History of the 29th Battalion, 1915-18. Slouch Hat Publications.

Egypt - December 1915

Thomas arrived at Port Suez (1) on Tuesday 7th December 1915 on the troopship Ascanius (codenane A11).  He went ashore with the 29^th Battalion and boarded a train to the Aerodrome Camp at Heliopolis (2), just outside Cairo.  In Heliopolis, The Palace Hotel (see photo) became a large military hospital for injured ANZACs from the Gallipoli campaign who required medical treatment. 

After arriving at Heliopolis, Thomas was given a few days recreational leave. Thomas visited Cairo, which was only 9kms from Heliopolis. Thomas and other members of his section visited many famous sights in and around Cairo and for a young working class man from Melbourne, some of the attractions would have been confronting.    Thomas' Section Corporal, George Spooner wrote,  "we went to see the dance (Can Can) and this was truly the vilest thing I have ever seen or wish to see".  



From the Australian War Memorial archives  Thomas probably used the opportunity to visit the 4500 year old Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, which are located near the Nile river and only 19kms from Cairo. .     The photo shows members of the 29th Battalion with pyramid and Great Sphinx in background. (Corporal Spooner from No 8 section second from left).  

On Tuesday 13th December 1915, Thomas travelled by train to Ismailia.  From there he boarded a barge with his battalion, which was towed by a steamer along the Suez Canal to Serepeum (3).  

In late 1915, the Australian command was concerned that the Turks would attack the Suez.  The 29th Battalion became responsible for guarding the central sector of the Suez defence line.  Specifically, Thomas' 29th Battalion, 'D' Company was assigned to Serapeum West where he worked to strengthen defence structures and maintained the railway lines.

On Christmas day, Thomas received a special food issue of plum pudding and can of fruit, which was small comfort for the harsh desert conditions he had to endure.  During the day, temperatures were extremely hot whilst at night it was very cold.  Sand permeated every aspect of his living conditions.   Water was scarce in the outer sentry posts and soldiers were only allowed one bottle of water per day.

Thomas in Egypt - Map

Below is a map of Egypt.  The dashlines I have made on the map show us where Thomas travelled in Egypt from late 1915 to mid 1916.  The numbers on the map mark the major locations where he was based with the 29th Battalion.  In number sequence, these Egyptian towns, campsites and outposts are:

1. Suez

2. Heliopolois (Aerodrome camp) near Cairo

3. Serepeum

4. Gebel Habeta, 9 miles east of Serapeum

5. Tel el Kebir

6. Ferry Post
7. Ismailia (Moascar camp)

8. Alexandria

Use the map as a reference guide for when we track Thomas' journey around Egypt. If you want to enlarge the map, just double click on it.  

 

A map of Egypt that highlights the location Thomas was assigned to during his 6 months in Egypt.   (Google 2011)