Letter from Roy Bruce to Maud Bruce

Events have been
moving for me lately with almost
startling rapidity. Ever since
I left Cairo I have been running
round in circles

I left Cairo and
joined the brigade at Salhieh
arriving one night to find I had
to leave next morning for
Ismailia to take over the training
squadron I told you about.
Arrived at Ismailia took over
the squadon and two days
afterwards moved with it to
Tel el Kebir . Three days after
that heard the Brigade were
moving away on a stunt, wept
many tears to know I was not
to go with them so thought I

would go up to Salhieh to say
good bye; arrived in Salhia Salhieh
last night to find the Colonel
was shaking up Brigades
Divisions & Army Corps to get me
back in the regiment before
they moved. The chief difficulty
lay in the fact that I was
seconded from the regiment
and put on an instructional
staff for a tour of duty of from
6 to 8 months; however just
as I had given up hope a
wire came through for me to
rejoin. It was worth getting.
Nearly all the men in the
Squadron took an opportunity
to tell me how glad they were
I was coming with them, the
offices gave me a great reception,
and happening to pass the
general he stopped and said
he was pleased to have been
able to do it. Really I shall soon bein to think that I
am going to be of some use
somewhere after all. Just
after all that splutter orders
came to move in an hour:
so now I am sitting in the
train going back to Tel el
Kebir to get my horse & kit &
pick the others up sometimes
tomorrow. Here commences
another compaign. This
time what we have trained
for so long, mounted work.
Let us hope we do as well as
we are told we did at Anzac .

I did not mind com-
manding the training squad-
ron so long as the regiment
was not going after the wily
Turk or some other elusive
enermy, but to feel they were
going and I was not with
them, after nearly two years
was very hard to bear. But

everyone is happy now. I
cannot give you any details
as to how far etc we are going,
principally because I don't
know, but probably before you
get this you will know all
about it.

Have an idea where the
infantry are - remous says
anywhere in the world.

Had an isolated letter
from you the other day, but
there is no regularity at all
now, sometimes I am several
weeks without news. I don't
worry now it is impossible
to help it. A man said to
me the other day "I envy
you your damnable calm
nothing ever seems to disturb
it" You will say I must
have changed a lot, but he
did not see very far below
the surface.

I am very sorry to hear
that Helen 's ringworm is so
slow in curing. When is she
going to school?

Think I forgot to tell
you that the boy who did
the Anzac Christmas card I
sent Helen was killed a few
days afterwards by a shell.
I was on the spot a few
seconds after he was hit. He
died in about half an hour.

Expect letters will be
skiwer than ever reaching
you, now that we are on
the move again, but I will
send as many postcards as
possible.

Sometime soon I hope
to be able to increase your
allowance. I get 57-p day
more now. There are many
things that are essential I

should have, and which up
to the present I have done
without. Things are very
expensive and are now
nearly double what they
were when we arrived in
Egypt . I hope you will
understand I will do my
best. My Cairo holiday was
expensive, but it was that
or the hospital. Perhaps
you can't quite realise what
that fortnight meant. This
war game as we play it is
a rather strenuous game.

I am feeling very well
but not absolutely up to the
marke yet. Am a little soft
but a few days hike will
soon harden me up again.

Yet another small adventure
has overtaken me. Arriving at
a small town where I have to
change trains, called Abou Kebir Abu Kabir , I

find to my constenation that
I cannot get through to Tel el
Kebir tonight, can only go
as far as Zazazig which is a large
town but entirely Egyptian. Here
I shall have to pass the night
probably in some appalling
Egypitian hotel. At the present
time I have to wait an hour
here at Abou Kebir Abu Kabir , and I am
sitting at a table outside a
dirty Egyptian Cafe drinking
Egyptian coffee which is always
very good. There is just a
chance I may find a goods or
troop train at Zazazig which
will drop me at Tel el Kebir ,
but it is doubtful. I spent
5 hours in Zazazig once and
discovered a small zoo, with
two of the most magnificent
peacocks I have ever seen and
a splendid specimen of a lion,
but one cannot go reveling peacocks & lions in the middle
of the night and it is now
9.15.

There is nothing more to
tell you just now! Tomorrow
I shall only have two hours
at Tel el Kebir to get my kit
together, send some back to
Cairo and arrange for a truck
for my hope which is there.

Good night old girl,
will relate my adventures
in Zazazig in my next.

All my love to you
both my dears. God bless you
Roy .