Sergeant-Major Gilfred Abbott, of Shaw, who is with the 6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, in Cairo writes to say that Lieutenant G.E.J. Marriott (who is a master at the Oldham Grammar School) commands a platoon in his company. "We have a splendid little church here in the garrison. It is most elaborate, having been a portion of the Khedive's Palace at one time. We have a choir, and I am actiong choirmaster. We have also formed a branch of the C.E.M.S. and our cards are signed and were presented to us by the Bishop of Jeruslaem. Sergeant Lawson Thornley (another Shaw man, who was formerly a teacher at East Crompton School) is our organist, and we are a happy family , , , . There are a great many interesting Biblical places within walking distance of the barracks. Just behind us there is the Dead City. It is a most weird place to visit. There are tombs and corpses, bones etc., all over the place. It is a dstrict which at one time was stricken with plague. Then there are Moses' Well, where the Israelites were in the wilderness - and it is a wilderness too! - and the Virgin's resting place, the Pyramids, Sphinx, etc."