"Railway communication not being completed, and roads rendered unfit by heavy rains, delayed the passage of canteen stores, and the rations had perforce to consist chiefly of mutton caught, killed and eaten the same day. Shall we ever forget the taste of it? Of course, we did get goat sometimes as a variation. Xmas Day was on the horizon and no hope of any puddings, but most units were able to produce some kind of Xmas dinner, and a pudding concocted from local ingredients. Followed special trains to the 'Palmtrees' Concert Party in Aleppo, and a fox hunt on New Year's Day. Whist drives and 'sing-songs' helped to break the deadly monotony of the long winter evenings, and during the day there was plenty to occupy one; roads to make in the mud, stones to be carted, buildings and shelters erected, and more than all, the attempt to get a little of the dirt off one's animal, and a little more flesh on his bones. After the 130 degrees or so of heat (in the shade) in the Jordan Valley, the cold in Syria, during the winter, seemed intense, and ice had frequently to be broken before the morning wash. The snow on the Taurus Mountains was not reassuring either, and firewood and coal became almost unobtainable.
"Seeing the New Year in.
"The only beverages obtainable at this time were native wines and army rum, and as the former consisted chiefly of sweet Alicante, methylated cognac and Arak, one became quite a connoisseur of the latter and the different methods of making rum punch.
"One Quartermaster-Sergeant in particular made quite a reputation for himself as a punch mixer, and I know that among his favourite ingredients were oranges, lemons, figs, condensed milk, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, ginger, boiling water.
"New Year's Eve saw (and heard) an officers' dinner, and all those from far and near flocked to a small building near the station, and under the able Presidency of popular Lieut.-Col. Wigan, of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, and the direction of a Yorkshire vet. and a Captain of the Deccan Horse, the Old Year (and in some cases two Old Years) was seen out amid a score of toasts, the fumes of aromatic punch, and the strain of a buckshee piano. Personally, I crossed eight sets of Bagdad railway track in three strides.
"The Brigade Race Meeting.
"In February the 14th Cavalry Brigade held a Race Meeting on a short grass track of two and a half furlongs, discovered hiding among the rocks. A 'totalisator' run by an Australian in the interest of the Brigade, was run on sound lines, and if your horse won you got your money back and a little over, which isn't the case with some totalisators that we know of! Several 'scurries' and mule races took place, and everyone enjoyed the fun thoroughly, especially the mules. The machine-gun element sprung a surprise on all by winning the Grand Prix, open to the 5th Cavalry Division, with 'Nobbler,' a horse which was to have run at Gaza in 1918, but was 'scratched' owing to lameness. 'Lion,' a mobilisation horse of the Sherwood Rangers, and a prime favourite, came in second, and both horses were ridden at 11-7.
Aleppo. Squadron camp in the town.