During the summer of 1917 our battalion--the 1/5th Buffs--formed part
of General Thompson's flying column operating between the Tigris and
the Shatt Al-'Adhaim.
One morning we discovered that the native camel drivers had deserted to
the enemy's lines, taking with them the camels that were carrying our
water.
No man had more than a small cup of water in his bottle yet we waited
orders until dawn the next day, when a 'plane dropped a message for us
to return to the Tigris.
I shall not dwell on that 20-mile march back to the river over the
burning sand--I cannot remember the last few miles of it myself. None
of us could speak. Our lips and tongues were bursting.
When we reached the Tigris we drank and drank again--then lay exhausted.
The first man I heard speak was "Busty" Johnson, who, with great effort
hoarsely muttered: "Lumme, if I can only keep this blinkin' first till
I goes on furlough!"--_J. W. Harvey (late 1/5th Buffs, M.E.F.), 25
Queen's Avenue, Greenford Park, Middlesex._