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affair: ‘We feel Miss B has been badly treated but it will be a happier unit without her.’ 6

    Shortly after arriving in Cairo, and amidst the conflict between Bell and Ramsay Smith, Alice was among twenty nurses who volunteered to set up a clearing hospital at Suez, five hours away by train. Thousands of Turkish troops were already massed not far from the Canal. The nurses were just ten kilometres from the firing line, where Indian troops were stationed with orders to hold the Canal. It was not safe to go out in Suez unless under escort, with locals throwing stones and spitting at the nurses. ‘Sometimes I feel just a little bit nervous—not for myself though. I seem to think that the dear old mater’s prayers will help me along, ’ Alice noted. 7
    Alice was appointed theatre sister at the hospital, which was set up in a vacant French convent orphanage. The nurses unpacked equipment, prepared the operating theatre, and waited for it to be painted. Everything in the convent was filthy, and her bed was flea-ridden. Alice busied herself scrubbing and cleaning with strong phenol until she could scarcely bear the pain in her hands, and spent a morning sterilising the theatre. That afternoon, the first of the 2nd AIF Contingent came off the Canal, and Alice and several other sisters went to greet them. ‘How the men cheered and cheered us. They were delighted to see some of their own women again.’ 8 Another troopship arrived two days later. ‘As soon as the Boys saw us in the street they hailed us loudly. So we went over and had a talk to them. They are the nicest crowd we have struck yet.’ 9
    Heavy fighting erupted at the Canal, with the Turks preparing to cross the waterway before they were driven back. They suffered heavy casualties, some of whom were taken to Alice’s hospital for treatment. It was her first contact with enemy wounded. The nurses also treated wounded Indians, who were ‘delighted to be dressed by Australian ladies and some who had already been dressed presented themselves for dressing again’. One soldier had had the fingers of his left hand blown off. ‘The stumps were in very bad condition and the dressings badly stuck as they had not been dressed since first aid on the field.’ 10 The operating theatre opened with an appendicectomy. ‘The theatre was crowded with onlookers. I was very nervous but everything went without a hitch.’ 11 But the nurses’ stay at Suez was brief. Without warning, Alice and her colleagues were recalled to their hospital at the Heliopolis Hotel, arriving back in Cairo in mid-February.
    In Suez, Alice had lamented the difficulty in finding books, noting that she was ‘missing my books more than anything’. But there was little time for reading. The nurses’ company was frequently sought by the AIF officers. While they were free of many of the moral constraints of home, the sisters still kept an eye on each other. Alice was rather flattered when a convalescing officer felt well enough to single her out for a chat. But the conversation of only a few minutes sparked ‘some scathing remark’ from another sister, stirring Alice’s wrath. ‘He seemed rather a nice boy and invited me over to the camp. I said I would go then wondered if I did right.’ 12 She thought he might have misunderstood her.
    Alice found herself the focus of quite some attention from the officers. Among them was Lieutenant Frank Smith. ‘Saw F.S. this a.m. The Lieut. off the 2nd Contingent boats. Can’t quite make him out.’ 13 Frank sent flowers that looked ‘as though they might have been picked out too—not just ordered from the florist . . . I got them just as I was going on duty. It cheered me up. I’m beginning to think a good lot about that young man. Expect I shall wake up soon.’ But she enjoyed the attention.
    The workload began to pick up during February, with actions that included an Allied attack on the forts at the entrance of the Dardanelles. The wounded were shipped