Journey to hospital
– Delights of Cape Town – Return to Durban – Embarkation for Kilwa – The enemy
falls back – Fever strikes – Leaving German East Africa
January 23rd. 1917
|
I |
am rather worse if anything. Last night the MO came down to see
me, after which he had an interview with the OC. Later, the OC came to my banda and told me that the doctor had
decided to send me to the base, with a recommendation that I be sent out of the
country. I was suffering from several complaints brought about by continual
attacks of fever, and until I was in a better climate, it was impossible to do
me any good.
This morning the OC brought
his Ford car to take me back to the first hospital. He was extremely kind, and
told me that if I was well enough to come back to the country, I had to wire
him and he would immediately have me back to the battery. The praise he gave me
was very flattering, but still I was very pleased to think that he spoke to me
like it because usually he was very sparing with praise.
I arrived at the hospital
during the afternoon, but what the name of the place was I don’t know.
January 24th. 1917
I arrived at Baku Baku after
dark. There is no hospital here, so I have to lie down on the ground. I have
been unable to eat anything for some time, but a sergeant of the South African
ASC gave me a big tot of rum, and this kept a bit of life in me.
January 25th. 1917
I arrive at the old place,
the Ruvu River.
January 26th. 1917
Reach Makessa, the
rail-head, after four days travelling in light cars. We have an English sister
here, the first Englishwoman I have seen since last June.
I have seen a GRO informing
all troops that General Smuts is going to England, and that he hands over all
troops to the charge of General Hoskins.
See endnote 1.
January 27th. 1917
I reach Morogoro by rail and
I am taken to the Kaiseroff Hotel, which has been made into a hospital. I am
now taking a little milk and bread. By the way, this is the first bread (baked
by bakers) that I have tasted since the 17th. June last. I thought
it was a great delicacy.
February 4th. 1917
After 14 hours in the train
I arrive at Dar-es-Salaam. I am placed in a building on the sea front that had
been a fine hotel.
February 6th. 1917
I was examined by the MO yesterday.
He at once put me on a draft for the south. I see he filled my sheet stating
that I was suffering from a weak heart and anaemia, caused through intermittent
malaria.
Today I am sent aboard the
hospital ship Delta. We leave Dar-es-Salaam. The German ship Konig is
stranded on the beach near the mouth of the harbour, a battered wreck. The
Germans intended to sink this boat across the harbour entrance, but our
cruisers found her a splendid target with the result that she is now a heap of
scrap iron.
We called at Zanzibar for
water, then continued our voyage down south.
February 12th. 1917
We arrive at Durban to put
ashore a number of South African patients, after which we at once put to sea
again.
We are having a real good
time on this boat. I am now eating well, and the food is very tempting after
what we have been having. At breakfast, I have fish or an egg during the
morning, fruit and a bottle of mineral water. For dinner I have chicken and milk
pudding and at tea I have fish or an egg, (the opposite from what I had at
breakfast), bread and butter and tea.
I am feeling much better and
able to get about on deck, but I am so very weak. The least exertion seems to
beat me altogether, but I expect I shall soon be fit again.
February 15th. 1917
We arrive at Cape Town and
entrain for Wynberg Hospital. Wynberg is a suburb of Cape Town, about eight
miles from the docks. Ladies meet us at the station with tea, biscuits and
cigarettes. We are then put into motors and taken a short distance to the hospital.
March 15th. 1917
A month has passed and I am
still in hospital here. I have been at the MO several times about getting back
to duty, but he won’t send me for a ‘board’. Anyhow, I am feeling a lot better
than I was, but if I do any hill climbing I am soon out of breath.
I have had a rare good time
here since I have been able to get out. After the MO’s visit, (he comes round
the ward every morning), we can spend the rest of the day as we please. Three
days a week, we can travel into Cape Town by rail without charge and the city
is very interesting. One can pay a visit to the Railway and Harbour Institute
where a good feed may be had. When the bill is brought, you only pay half of it
as the local Red Cross pays the other half. Of course this only applies to men
in hospital blues. Also, one may go to the Feather Market where a very good tea
is provided free every afternoon. I have never cared to go there but I expect
there is plenty of everything to eat.
There is a beautiful pier
also, which is free to our chaps, where one may sit in a chair and listen to an
orchestra playing two or three times a week. Then there is the Government
Building, a fine museum, an art gallery or the Botanic Gardens, where almost
every tropical or semi-tropical plant or tree grows.
If one cares for a ride, one
can board an electric car in Adderley Street and go to Camps Bay for a
shilling. The route takes you over a shoulder of Table Mountain, where one gets
a view which has the reputation of being one of the finest views in the world,
and it certainly is wonderful.
There are several rest rooms
scattered about the city where one may sit and read or write. Fruit is very
plentiful here, grapes in particular. One may buy a pound of beautiful black
grapes for one and a half pence or yellow grapes for one penny. There is a
theatre and a music hall which hold a matinee every week. They send invitations
to the hospital and I am generally lucky enough to get one. So long as we
report back to the hospital by 8.00pm. we are OK. Occasionally, gentlemen will
drive up to the hospital in cars and ask permission to take a few patients for
a drive. Away you go for a long drive through the beautiful country. You are
given a good tea and then brought back to the hospital.
Last Sunday morning a lady
came into the hospital and wanted four patients, but they must be ‘Imperials’.
I was one of the fortunate four. She lived at Kalk’s Bay, eight or ten miles
away. We all walked down to the station where the lady bought return tickets
for us. When we reached her house, we had a cup of tea and cake. She then took
us for a stroll on the beach, where we met her husband. Then we all went back
for a splendid lunch. The husband suggested a trip to Muizenberg, another
sea-side resort about a quarter of an hour’s train ride away. We all went
together. This place is famous for its surf bathing, and I was very interested
in watching the cleverness of the bathers. They swim well out with a plank.
Then they mount the plank and come back on the top of a ‘roller’, which lands
them high on the beach.
We arrived back at Kalk’s
Bay about 5.00pm. We then had a glorious dinner, after which this good lady
gave each of us a great bag full of fruit and cakes to take back to the
hospital with us, where we arrive back at about 8.00pm.
What can one say about such
generous people as these? I was quite unable to thank them as I ought to have
done, but I shall always remember that day as one of the brightest I have ever
spent.
This lady told me how she
longed to see ‘home’ again. She was a Nottingham lady and her husband hailed
from Glasgow. They had been in South Africa for about 20 years. May they be as
happy and prosperous as they deserve.
April 11th.
1917
Three weeks ago I was before
a medical board, but they turned me down for further treatment. For what reason,
I don’t know, because I felt quite all right, and told them so. I have been at
the MO several times since, with the result that today I have to report to
Simon’s Town for garrison duty.
Last week, about 500
patients from the Wynburg and Maitlands Hospitals were the guests of the Cape
Town railwaymen. There were special trains to take us to Fish Hoek, a seaside
resort near here. When we arrived there we were at liberty to wander where we
liked. There were stalls on the beach with refreshments for us. After spending
an enjoyable time there, we were again entertained, and taken to Salt River, a
suburb of Cape Town, where we were met by a brass band and marched through
cheering crowds to a large hall which belonged to the railwaymen. We had a
splendid dinner, followed by an enjoyable smoking concert. We had the pleasure
of listening to a short address by Mr. Burton, one of the leading members of
the South African Government and Minister for Railways. I am given to understand
that this gentleman is a Boer (although the name doesn’t give that impression)
but I have never heard a more patriotic speech yet. He roused us all to the
highest enthusiasm. I was sorry when he had to leave us to attend to his duties
in the ‘House’.
This outing and dinner were
provided, managed, cooked and served by the railwaymen and their wives and once
more showed the kindness and generosity of the people out here.
This afternoon I reach
Simon’s Town and am quartered in the Palace Barracks.
April 13th.
1917
Yesterday I was before a
Medical Board and I was put on light duty to recuperate.
April 20th.
1917
I have certainly struck a
cushy job here. One day last week, there was a court martial. The sergeant
major of the barracks was in difficulties about a sergeant to act as Court
Orderly. He asked me if I could undertake the job. Having had a little
experience at Woolwich, I take it on. Apparently everything went smoothly, so I
was struck off other duties and now I am Court Orderly for courts martial,
courts of enquiry, etc. Some job!
April 30th.
1917
My good job continues, but I
am rather restless. I am feeling well so I would like to get back to my battery
again if possible. The rainy season is now on in East Africa and it is reported
in the press that when the rains cease, General van Deventer is going back
again to take over from General Hoskins. I am rather sorry for Hoskins because
he has had no real chance. Shortly after taking over from Smuts, the rains
started. The troops he had were more or less worn out with the fever and
disease. All this has prevented him from organising any move of importance. Now
when the rains cease, van Deventer goes to take charge, just when Hoskins may
have had his first real chance. I think that it must be a political move. I am
not saying a word against the Boer general, because he has done some fine work
in East Africa. Still, I think the whole job is a bit of toffee for the South
African Boer to suck on.
If
I stay here much longer I think I shall know the Cape of Good Hope as well as
any native. I have been able to draw a little money since I have been in
Simon’s Town, so very often I have a tour in the surrounding district. I have
paid a visit to Groote Schuur, one of the residences of the late Cecil Rhodes.
It is a great rambling house, beautifully situated on the lower slopes of Table
Mountain. It is a gift to the colony from Rhodes, on the condition that it is
used as the official residence of the Prime Minister. It is at present occupied
by General Botha. In the grounds is a fine zoo where all the birds and animals
are kept as near to their natural condition as possible. This was also a gift
to the colony. Higher up the mountain stands the Rhodes Memorial. This is a
magnificent structure of white marble and can be seen from miles away.
The scenery of this part of South
Africa is wonderfully pretty. Every turn of the road gives one a more striking
picture than the last. The air is so clear that one can distinctly see a town nestling
on the shore of the bay 18 or 20 miles away. There is a remarkable tree that
grows here in such numbers that it is very common. It is named the Silver Leaf
Tree. As its name indicates, the leaves are the colour of silver and shine so
in the sun that one could be excused for thinking that they were polished every
morning. But more remarkable still, the settlers say that these leaves will
last for years without dying or fading. I am sending some home to see if their
words are correct. I am also told that the tree has been taken to various parts
of the world to be cultivated, but without success. Yet it grows here wild!
May 7th. 1917
I hear that there is a
medical board next week. If so, I expect that I shall go back east. I don’t
mind that at all. I would sooner be back with my old ‘boys’ than anywhere else.
May 14th. 1917
At last I am declared fit
and well, and tonight I leave Simon’s Town for Durban by rail. We had a few
kind souls to see us off. I am in charge of 49 details consisting of RGA, RAMC,
ASC Mechanical transport, ASC Supplies, RE and AOC. We are supplied with three
days rations of bully beef, biscuits, milk, sugar, tea and butter. All the
crowd are in good spirits. They could not be merrier if the war was over, and
we were going home again. We left Adderley Street Station, Cape Town, at
8.30pm.
May 17th. 1917
We arrive at Durban at 8
o’clock tonight, after being in the train for three days and three nights. I
found the ride very interesting as we passed through a lot of towns which were
very prominent during the Boer War. We had several breaks for an hour or so at
some of these, which just gave us time for a glimpse, before we travelled
further on. Perhaps the most notable of these were De Aar, the Orange River,
Bloemfontein, Harrismith, then over the Drakenburg Mountains into Ladysmith (we
had three and a half hours there), Tugela River, Colonso, Pietermaritzburg and
then into Durban. A great number of the stations had the altitude in feet of
that particular station on the name boards and I found that at several of the places,
we were over 5,000 feet above sea level.
When I called the roll at
Durban, I was highly satisfied to find that all were present. Some of he chaps
had drunk well, if not wisely, during our stoppages, but I was more than
pleased that I had an ‘All Correct’ report to give in.
A Sergeant Major from the
camp was at the station to meet us, and he marched us down to the Ocean Beach camp.
After I had got all detailed off to their tents, we had a good supper provided
by the YMCA people in their hut.
May 20th. 1917
I am down with the fever
this morning. This is the first relapse I have had since I left East Africa, so
apparently it is still in my system. I don’t report sick, but grease around the
hospital orderly for some quinine.
May 25th. 1917
I am quite all right again.
We are to stop here until we get a transport to take us further up. There are a
great number of troops here at present. The greater part of them are bound for
India and like us, are awaiting ships.
We have our old friends, the
25th. Fusiliers here, who have been down south for three months,
recuperating.
I wonder how my poor old
battery is getting on? They have had to stick it right through, or at least,
what there is left of them. There is another big camp on the other side of the
town, at a place called Congella. This camp is for South African troops only.
As there are only two or
three battalions of Boer troops (infantry) there, we don’t bother them much. We
are not hard worked. We have guards, fatigues, etc. and what are left have a
bathing parade and an hour’s route march each day. The rest of the time is our
own, so we are seeing a good deal of Durban.
We are living very well. Our
rations are both good and plentiful. I spend a few hours in the town every day.
There are plenty of places of interest: parks, art gallery, zoological gardens
and botanical gardens that I have already paid a flying visit to, but I intend
to see more of them if I am able. I was taken up with the town in the short
time I was here before, but the more I see of it, the more I like it.
June 1st. 1917
I am still waiting, but the
time does not hang on my hands. Only one thing worries me: I have had no news
from home since the 14th. of last February. Our home is one which is
continually suffering from German air raids, and I can only think and wonder,
wonder, wonder! Perhaps I may hear when I rejoin my battery.
June 9th. 1917
We have embarked on HMT
Ingoma. As usual with these ships, it is crowded to excess. We expect to sail
tomorrow.
June 10th. 1917
Again we bid goodbye to
Durban and civilisation. I wonder for how long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. See the Commendation for the Mention in Despatches.