Sandflies and Whiskey

[Guest Desmond6]

Joker in the pack ... this letter writer probably had a great deal to complain about but he does manage to do it with a smile. An insight into the average soldier's daily life ... and his biggest enemy. FLIES!

Letter to the Editor

A call from Mesopotamia

Dear Editor – There are a good many of the boys out here from the north of Ireland, and we were wondering if you could spare a few lines in one of your columns, asking the people of Ballymena if there is any lady or gentleman that has got, or could get a melodeon or mouth organ for us.

It certainly would be highly appreciated in this beautiful country of sunshine, sandflies and mosquitos.

Now a few words about the world renowned sandflies; give honour where honour is due, for the boys idolise them absolutely, and I must spell the word FLIES with capitals.

It’s best to leave them alone – but they won’t let you alone and when they make a frontal attack on you it’s worse than a shower of Turks charging a lone commissary wagon for a little chow-chow!

Then you parade in front of the medical adviser and tell him that some poisonous reptile stung you; then he takes your temperature, pulse, heart-beat, asks you if you are regular and whether you are eating regular. You tell him ‘Yes’.

After that, you trot on down to the dispensary where you see the native doc from Bombay with a smile all over his face and half way down his back with a big glass of sparkling medicine awaiting you. He tells you it is ‘Whiskey-Ka-Hai’. Of course, you’re soon cured.

Well Mr. Wier, I hope you will excuse my spelling for I was educated at Harryville University and many a good lick the principal gave me across the bare legs, bless his dear heart.

Yours, faithfully

Stafford Macartney, Rockfield, Ballyloughan.

Ballymena Observer October 26, 1917

[Guest stevenbec]

Funny that you mention other countries doctors.

While in Bosnia I fell ill and happened to be in the Bn HQ of the FFF (Frontier Field Force or something like that) of the Pakistan Army in Eastern Bosnia.

So I had to go the this Paki doctor. This bloke asked me all types of questions about my heath and other things he noticed that I hadn't told him. He fixed me up with a bottle of some thing I didn't understand because of his english wasn't the best. But it worked.

I must admit it was an expirence.

S.B