10 Piastre coin of 1916
Monday 13th March 1916: Sapper W H James of the Royal
Engineers is the son of Company Sergeant Major James of the 1st Field Company
East Anglian Royal Engineers. The son is now in Egypt at Sidi Bishr Camp just
outside Alexandria. He has been telling us of his experiences and giving us his
observations.
“By dint of
tram and route march we arrived at Sidi Bishr. The camp is a fine one, right on
the sea-shore, so we get the chance of a dip in the sea two or three times a
day if we feel inclined. Of course it is very hot here. After only two days I
am a picture. My nose is a nice brick red colour while my neck, so my pals say, is black. It
is a glorious life here , I have been walking about all day in a pair of white
sand shoes and in my shirt sleeves. It seems funny to think of you all at home
enjoying (perhaps) the capricious moods of an English March, while we out here
are divesting ourselves of every rag that we can, of course consistent with
decency”.
“It is
curious to notice how the women here undertake all sorts of work, while the men
sit about and drink cooling drinks. Of course if a man has half a dozen wives
and they all work there should be no necessity for him to do so”.
“The money
here causes some consternation among the new-comers and they regard with great
suspicion the change given them. The piastre is the chief coin here, but Tommy
is not a bit particular and “pianos” and “disasters” are alternatives in the
current use. One fellow in the same tent as myself bought a cake at the
canteen, for which he was charged ½ a piastre and in payment for which he
presented a florin and was paid the change in nickel piastres and ¼ piastres.
He shot back to the tent like a thunderbolt and nearly exploded with the
information that he’d got a pocketful of shillings and six pence change out of
two shillings!”
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