12. Soldiers' Clubs.—Reference has been made in the chapter on Venereal Diseases to the damage done to Australian troops in Egypt by venereal disease. Reference has also been made to the establishment of soldiers' clubs and recreation huts in various places to provide a counter-attraction to those entertainments furnished by the prostitute and her degraded male attendants. After the various repressive steps already referred to had been taken, an earnest attempt was made to organise this constructive work. The valuable assistance of Mr. Jessop and the Y.M.C.A. was again invited. The Y.M.C.A. proposed to build in Alexandria on the sea front a large building to be used as a central soldiers' club, and to be available for convalescents and the healthy. The Y.M.C.A. had only £250 available and required £1,000. The British Red Cross Society was appealed to and hesitated. A cable was dispatched to London, and an expenditure of £250 authorised. Surgeon-General Williams, after consultation with His Excellency Sir Henry MacMahon, the G.O.C.-in-Chief, Sir John Maxwell, and the D.M.S. Egypt, General Ford, decided to make a grant of £500 in addition for the purpose. The club was opened on September 12, and from its opening was a pronounced success. The soldier on leave, tramping about the streets of Alexandria, gets leg-weary and falls an easy victim to the wiles of the various agents abroad. He now can visit his own club, where the entry is free to all men in uniform. He there receives war telegrams, stationery, cheap and excellent meals, and enjoys various forms of entertainment. He meets his friends, and can spend the time under the most pleasant conditions. The building already requires extension, as the pressure on the accommodation is so great. Similar action was taken in Cairo, where after many unsuccessful attempts the Rink Theatre in the beautiful Esbekieh gardens was obtained, owing to the sympathetic help given by His Excellency Sir Henry MacMahon and other authorities. This open-air theatre is a little over an acre in extent, and is a valuable property. It had been leased to a restaurant keeper in the vicinity. Arrangements were made for the supply of light refreshments at bed-rock prices in the theatre, and other meals at low prices at the restaurant which is about fifty yards away. In addition a soldiers' club, managed by ladies, is equidistant, and at this comfortable resort refreshments are supplied in quiet rooms at low rates. Naturally the club has become a resort for all the soldiers in Cairo. Major Harvey, Commissioner of Police, has cleared the surrounding gardens of undesirable characters. The club was placed under the management of a joint committee of which Her Excellency Lady MacMahon is Patroness, and Lady Maxwell is President. The executive committee consists of three members of the Y.M.C.A., and the expenses of managing the club were provided by the British Red Cross Society, Australian Branch, for the first three months. It was soon found that in order to make the club successful the athletic element must be developed, and splendid programmes were arranged—boxing, fencing, skating contests, and the like. The club provides writing-paper, games, war telegrams, Australian and other newspapers, shower baths, and other conveniences. As many as 1,500 soldiers are present on some of these occasions, and the club is visited by officers who periodically drop in amongst the men. Altogether the success has exceeded even the sanguine expectations of those who founded it.
The British Red Cross Society, Australian Branch, was most fortunate in securing such a site, as any one acquainted with the conditions of Cairo is fully aware.
The exact extent to which these clubs have contributed to the limitation of venereal disease cannot be accurately measured, but there is no doubt whatever in the minds of any one acquainted with the facts respecting their salutary and healthy influence. Under the new constitution of the Australian Red Cross money cannot be devoted to their maintenance, because it is not being used exclusively for the sick and wounded. Such is the ruling, although many convalescents use the clubs. It is regrettable that such a rigid ruling should have been established. It is absurd to permit men to become infected and then to assist them by doles of chocolate and tobacco, and yet to refuse to provide the necessary funds which assist so materially in preventing infection.
13. Nurses' Rest Homes.—The nurses in the hospitals had done excellent work under trying conditions, and it became obvious that many of them would break down unless holidays and rest were provided.
The British and Australian Red Cross Branches combined under the Presidency of Her Excellency Lady MacMahon, and opened two rest homes—one in Ramleh near the beach, and the other at Aboukir Bay, the site of Nelson's victory.
They were furnished by the Red Cross Societies and have been maintained by the Commonwealth Government so far as the Australian nurses are concerned. They have met a great want and have proved a boon and a blessing.