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This story is submitted to the People’s War site by a member of Market Harborough Branch, Royal British Legion on behalf of Reg Tarryand has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Tarry fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Reg Tarry, now a lively 94 year-old, kept a detailed account of his life overseas in the RAF Police from September 1941 until December 1944,

Tum wagging a Ia Egypt!

Sixty six days after leaving Liverpool, Reg reached Egypt on 2nd December 1941. His first posting was to Base Accounts Office (BAO), a unit of Middle East Command HQ. By 14th December he was settling in and wrote the following in his note book.

Sunday, 14th December 1941
Now for the Camp and the job. Helwan is a peacetime camp and so the organisation is not too bad. It stands on a rise above the village and is in visular range of the pyramids. It is not a large camp in itself but the various additions and sections brought into operation as a result of the war have made it cover an enormous amount of land.

Helwan, or Helowan, as the Egyptians’ name it, is in fact, more than a village. It is, or was, a world renowned place for its Sulphur Baths which are one of the most imposing sets of buildings here being of true outstanding in red and cream sandstone.

BAO is housed at present in the Villa Antonio and an adjoining house but two more houses are being prepared as offices and four houses have been procured as billets and when these are taken over BAO will become and function as a separate unit. ´óÏó´«Ã½ is light but uninteresting but we will undoubtedly have more to do. The Flight Sergeant i/c is OK and so are all the Officers I have yet come in contact with.

The weather is now equivalent to England in June; warm days and cool nights and we are still wearing blue.

Yesterday I had a thrill, I was on duty at the gate when a fellow from the Orderly Room came to the window and called me. He handed me 5 airmail postcards and an airmail letter and two cards were for me; the first I have received since I’ve been here and the first card from home since September 26th! Both were from Cherry; one posted on the 13th and the other a week later. I must have read them half a dozen times! The others were for Red and Jeff. I gave them to them at the New Zealand Club when we were having tea and they were just a thrilled as I.

Since Tuesday I have been to Cairo three times. It costs us 5 piasters(akkers) on the train which takes 30 or 40 minutes to reach town and in which natives and whites us the same seats. Some trains are diesel and other steam

Cairo is a city first of smells, some putrid and some sweet and sickly but wherever one goes there are smells, natives eating garlic, hashish, tobacco, etc, etc, ad lib.

Our favourite eating place is the New Zealand Club where one can get a great meal for 5Ps (Piastas) (1 /0½d), there are showers, hairdressers, post office from which I sent a cable home yesterday (12Ps), two restaurants, 4 dining rooms, a stage, information bureau and the whole bag of tricks.

I have visited a cabaret; Whow! Tum wagging a Ia Egypt! There are several, mostly, decent cinemas, however, built to a very temporary standard inside though the frontages are impressive, a number of large modern hotels and thousands of boot blacks who follow one along the Sharias (streets) persistently and try to put a dab of blacking on one’s shows and so get a customer. We have quickly learned the Arabic for
No, **off, etc. -

I think it will take a great many visits in order to know Cairo in the more elementary way

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