T. E. Lawrence to his family

General Staff - Intelligence Section
General Headquarters
The Force in Egypt
Cairo

24.1.16

Tomorrow is mail day, and as that is always a frantically busy one I am going to write to you before going to bed.  Nothing much happening this week. The Medforce are now gone away from Cairo, which is a comfort: one could hardly move about for generals: we had 108 in Egypt! There is no real signs of the Turks' coming on. Of course they can see that it would be lunacy now we are so well prepared: just in the first moments of joy, when the Germans joined hand with the Bulgars, and the blockade of Turkey was ended, they thought about conquering Egypt. Now they have got sensible again. It is very difficult for them (lack of camels) to bring more than a small force down. George Lloyd, who came out with us, came back a short while ago, and worked in the Office for a fortnight.  A man called Bolland, who is in the Sudan Agency, as a sort of secretary to Clayton, told me today that his people are living at 228 Woodstock Road (new-comers) and suggested that you might like to go and see them. I didn't undeceive him! Miss Bell is going to India for a week end in a few days time. Mr. Hogarth still in London.

N.