The first breakfast that I got in Egypt was oh, we arrived at the top of the Red Sea and we boarded the train there up to a camp called Maina Camp and it was dark when we got in there, and the darkness came down 20/25 minuets after the sunset and there was no light after, not like what you get here after the sunset. So we were led into a big mini marquee, which was maybe the size of this hall here and we were put before the Captain and then we were led to the cook and we got a mug of tea and two big biscuits, they were 3 1/2, 4” square were thick and the and a slice of corn beef between us. So being dark everyone drank and ate their biscuit and the consensus was that if that’s the worse that we ever get then we’ll be alright.

Ah well, breakfast time came and I was a bit slower getting up and I was about last to going to the cook, we were all seated here and there - you couldn’t sit in a big bunch in case there was a “Gerry” along with a machine gun and then em, some of walked down to the cook who was, there was a lad there throwing away his biscuits and another over there throwing away his biscuits and I thought what the devil is going on here, so I went to the cook and he handed out two biscuits and a slice of bullie beef and a mug of tea. I got a hassock and sat down by myself and I had bite, I had another bite and then I spotted it a weevil’s tail – laughter – was wavering.” You this I was that hungry that I shut my eyes and ate it worms and all. We never saw these biscuits again until we were preparing for the battle and we were storing up in “no mans land”. Every night we were up with loads of stuff. This biscuits were all parcelled up and they were put into flimsy petrol cans along with tins of corned beef and they were sealed up and buried in” no mans land” so that if the British forces in the front line ran short of food they were standing on it. It was underneath their feet and I’ll bet that some of the armies might still be digging up an odd bunch today.