Read Made in Myrtle Street (Prequel) for Free Online Page B

waves lapped gently on to the distant shoreline. Dramatic, almost white, mountains covered in splashes of green vegetation rose up from golden glowing beaches and communities of dazzling white buildings were scattered around the hillsides. Suddenly the journey seemed more tolerable.
    They were especially lifted when, just after passing Malta, they saw a large fleet of ships sailing to the West. The Lancashire soldiers discovered that the vessels were carrying the Lahore Division bound for Marseilles. These troops were war-hardened Sikhs, Ghurkhas, Dogras, Punjabis, Pathans and Rajputs all anxious to take on the might of the German army. Edward and his mates, lifted by the thought of these famous warriors fighting on their side, cheered and shouted as the ships passed. Liam told them that there was an old soldier who drank in the Railway and that he had served in India. He had said that these fellas were great when they were on your side but, if they weren’t, they would chop you into bits and leave you drying out in the sun for the birds to pick at. They then felt even more comforted to know that these fearsome soldiers were their allies.
    A few days later, early on the morning of the 25 September, land was again spotted and everybody rushed to the ship’s rail to watch as Egypt slowly emerged out of the mist. Edward was amazed to see this thin strip of surf-lined sand with occasional clumps of palm trees clinging to it. It was just like the pictures that he had seen in the books at school. The ‘Neuralia’ pushed effortlessly through the still, blue water and, slowly, more features of this North African landscape began to emerge. Eventually, they managed to pick out some gleaming white buildings scattered like a child’s toy blocks along the thin strip of land. Soon they could see plumes of white smoke rising from the funnels of ships moored in the bay.
    As the troopships slowly entered the harbour at Alexandria they passed an American battle cruiser on which the military band stood and played ‘God Save the King’. The band of the 8th Manchesters responded with a rendering of ‘Marching Through Georgia’ which, they later realised, depending on the make-up of the cruiser’s complement, might have been a slightly insensitive choice. However, everybody involved appeared delighted by the musical exchange and the Salford lads were buoyed by this unexpected reception.
    Edward’s battalion was one of the first to disembark on to the dusty, bustling dockside. They were given no time, however, to wonder at this alien land as they helped to unload their equipment. Along with the Yeomanry, the Signal Company and the Transport and Supply column, they quickly boarded the train to Cairo then headed for the main barracks at Abbasia.
    The heat in Cairo during the day was stifling and the British soldiers found it difficult to acclimatise. Although they were soon issued with khaki helmets for protection they still had to wear, initially, the heavy serge uniforms that they had been issued with in England. All the tropical gear had been put into the hold of just one ship in Southampton and it took some days before the lightweight uniforms finally arrived in Egypt.
    Perhaps the most serious setback that they had, however, was the loss of many of the horses. The ships that had transported them were not designed for carrying large animals, nor were there enough trained men to look after them, and many of the horses had died during the trip from England. As they were the main way of moving men and equipment around, the death of so many was a severe hindrance to their operations.
     
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    He remembered how they had met as young teenagers when her family had moved into a house further down the street from where he lived. She had rebuked him for chasing a ball over her newly cleaned front steps. Her Irish born father had been a cloth fuller in Morley in Yorkshire but had lost his job. He had then made the fortuitous move to Salford