Some rioting had occurred a few months previously in Cairo, and overseas soldiers were said to have been concerned in it. A further outbreak was reported during the last week of July, followed on the next evening by a disturbance in Heliopolis. Whatever were the causes of the first two outbreaks, the third was directly traceable to the fact that Cairo was suddenly placed out of bounds when leave men were waiting for trams at the Heliopolis terminus with a view to securing passage to the city. The military police, in attempting to deal with the situation, behaved rather tactlessly, and incurred the resentment of the men, who indulged in some stone-throwing and roughly handled a few individuals. Charges of wholesale looting were laid against the troops, but a court of inquiry, of which the commanding officer was a member, found on close investigation that £50 would cover the whole of the damage done. The claims submitted by the native shopkeepers totalled up to some £3,000. During the early months of the A.I.F's. stay in Egypt, the Military Police, a newly constituted force, incurred the dislike of the bulk of the troops. This dislike engendered an antipathy which endured until the end of the war. In the first instance there appears to have been some reason for it. The police were not selected with sufficient care, and included a number of men whose actions, to say the least, were shady. On several occasions decent and well-behaved members of the Battalion were received from the police cells, bereft of their money, much bruised and battered, and accompanied by a charge sheet accusing them of crimes which one moment's consideration would show they could not have committed. Strong representations on these matters had no immediate effect, but ultimately the Provost Corps was purged of the bad element and became a body of experienced men of great value in the prevention or detection of crime and the regulation of military traffic.
So far as could be learned, the men of the 28th had no part in either of the disturbances. In fact, so uniformly high had been their standard of behaviour that it had come under the notice of Sir John Maxwell, who sent and asked the Battalion to supply picquets for duty in the disturbed area. This action rather raised the resentment of some units and created a certain amount of ill-feeling. So acute did this become that on one occasion the Battalion of its own volition was on the point of "standing to" with entrenching tool handles to repel a threatened raid. However, common sense prevailed and good feeling with the men of the Eastern States was soon re-established, but not before the title "J——'s Own" had been conferred upon the Western Australians.
With the complete mobilisation of the Brigade the number of chaplains in the camp was brought up to four. Services were held in the huts every Sunday morning, attendance at which was compulsory. Dean Brennan identified himself with his flock. The Rev. J. H. Neild, so long as his health endured, was assiduous in his desire to help all who sought his aid. The Presbyterian chaplain, the Rev. W. J. Stevens, had served in the ranks in the South African War. He was very earnest and direct in his addresses. He inclined towards mysticism, and spoke much of the "Angel of Mons." Otherwise he knew men well and was later noted for his activities during the Brigade's stay on Gallipoli. The Anglican chaplain was inclined to dogma. Very early he gave an address, "Why I believe in the Church of England." As no one was interested in the subject he rated his audience for its inattention, and thereafter ceased to exercise any influence amongst its members. In France he recovered some ground and did good work, amongst other things, in the organisation of institutes and coffee stalls behind the lines.
FOOTNOTES:
[E] These troops were commanded by Major-General Sir Alexander Wilson, K.C.B., who was Military Commandant in W.A., 1895-98.
[F] Composition of 7th Australian Infantry Brigade—
Headquarters.
25th Battalion.
26th Battalion.
27th Battalion.
28th Battalion.
2nd Signal Company (No. 3 Section).
Brigade Train (No. 17 Coy., A.A.S.C.).
7th Field Ambulance.
Strength:—149 officers, 4,403 other ranks, 529 horses, 8 machine guns, 52 bicycles, 7 carts, and 94 wagons.