A Christmas Tale (1 Viewer)

[Russell]

A Christmas Tale
(One of the Adventures of Edward English)

Once when I was about seven years old I was playing on the living room carpet with the new toy soldiers I’d just received from Santa Claus that morning. It was Christmas Day. Grandfather Edward was visiting for the Christmas evening meal. He was only allowed in the house once a year and that was on Christmas Day. He came for the supper, sat at the head of the table and gave the family his blessing. After supper he had to leave until the next year. Grandma wouldn’t have him in the house and she was living with us. We were a God fearing family and grandpa had done wrong.

Anyway the rest of the family was going about its business of getting things ready and grandfather was sitting in the big armchair drinking a whisky and watching me play. “Would you like to hear a real soldier’s story,” he asked me?
“Yes sir,” I answered, my eyes growing wide with wonder.
“Well,” he says, “when I was a young man my best friend Cameron Caledonia and I were young officers in the British Army Signal Corp. Immediately upon graduating from a course in the use of the heliograph and in Morse code we were shipped out for British East Africa."
"What's a heliograph," I asked?
"It's a device with a mirror we used for sending messages. A bit like your Indians on the carpet with their smoke signals. We could send a signal about ten miles for every inch in diameter of the mirror. In Attacqet we were about 30 miles from the town when this story I'm telling you happened. The heliograph was brand new then and we had the Mance Mark V, standard issue in the British Army at the time.
Now where was I? Oh yes, we were sailing on the India Star, a tea boat, headed south with a stopover in Gibraltar. From Gibraltar we continued east to Malta and finally arrived in Alexandria in late June or early July.”
“Where’s Alexandria,” I asked?
He looked at me and smiled. “In Egypt my boy. The land of the Pharaohs, of Joseph, and of Moses.
Well the India Star continued through the Suez Canel heading for Zanzibar. Cameron, the rest of the signal corp and myself were ordered off the ship with a change of orders. Apparently there was trouble further south in the desert at a place called Karthoum where foolheaded ‘Chinese’ Gordon was holding up. He had been told to evacuate but wasn’t following orders. That is where we were headed or so I thought. They weren’t telling us much and being nineteen years old, I didn’t much care anyway.
So from Alexandria we travelled by railway to Cairo and from there we took a boat and made our way up river. From the boat we saw the temples of the ancient Egyptians, the same Egyptians you’ve heard and read about in your Bible classes. The temples were magnificent. Many of my chums were sick though, from the water I think. Cameron and I were okay, maybe because we were drinking mostly beer. You know beer was invented in Egypt. I’ve always said that a people that invented beer, can’t be all bad. Now don’t go telling your Mum, Dad and Grandma I said that.”
I shook my head in answer not wanting to interrupt him.
“We traveled by boat as far as we could, in the area of Aswan I think it was, until we had to continue our trip by caravan. The heat was God awful. By mid-September there was no more rain. In the daytime it was in the high eighties and at night it was near freezing. We were headed for some place called Attacqet, an oasis, somewhere in the Upper Nile region of Egypt. A place, I was told, where the Arab world meets the world of Black Africa. Until a few decades ago the Upper Nile had been inhabited by many tribes, many of them living like we’d lived in prehistoric times. A kind of paradise really. All this had come to an end when the sons of a certain Mohammed Ali, the ruler of Egypt, had sent his sons south to conquer what we now call the Sudan. All this had happened some years before I was there. The Egyptians horribly massacered the people until the peace of death had settled along the the banks of the upper Nile. This is when the city of Karthoum was founded.
We got off the boat in Aswan and continued overland to avoid the long loop west in the Nile. Attacqet is a small fortified town south of Abu Hamed and north of Berber on the old caravan route to Shendy and Sennar. Shendy was the hub of slave trading and over 5000 slaves went through its market each year. About a hundred a week. Of course when we arrived most Egyptians, or Turks as many there called them, had been evacuated by Cairo and the Mahdi ruled supreme. And that’s where my Christmas Tale begins.
But right now your grandfather has to get a refill. This is good whisky. Single malt. Not as old as this story but pretty old nonetheless. So don’t you move. I’ll be right back.”

The first picture is of the ship my grandfather, Edward English, traveled on.
The second picture is the city of Cairo with caravans coming and going.
The third picture is of Cairo along the banks of the Nile.
The four picture is of a heliograph machine much like the one grandpa used.
The fifth picture is of an American heliograph machine.

My grandfather's story will continue tomorrow or so I hope.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Wow!! Great story and photos!! I can't wait until he gets back with his refill of single malt (Glen Morangie, I hope). By the way, do we get to find out what got Grampa kicked out of the house except for Christmas day?

 

[Russell]

Episode Two "Because of the heat our caravan travelled in the very early morning and then late in the day when the sun was going down. During the mid-day sun we'd stop with most of the traders sleeping on their goods so no one else would steal their stuff. Some members of the caravan were happy to have us as we had guns, knew how to use them, or so they thought, and so could help defend them against the raiding nomads. Others worried we'd attract the attention of the Mahdi. Fortunately the leader of the caravan agreed with the former group and so we were heading south."
"You had a rifle Grandpa," I asked.
"Actually my boy your grandfather wasn’t much of a shot. I didn’t have the patience nor the disipline. Why in Attacqet I even shot myself in the thigh. It was just a flesh wound but, my God, it sure gave me a scare and had the rest of the fellows laughing. We were at a sleezy night spot drinking some beer. Horrible stuff, but not so bad nonetheless if you know what I mean. I'll tell you more about the gun later.
When the sun would start going down in the west where the Nile was, we'd break camp and travel until a bit before night fall. When the moon was full and shining bright we even travelled at night. Along the route we saw the dried up bones of many camels and even those of some unfortunate souls. May they rest in peace. Finally early one morning, actually I remember-it was December 23rd, two days before Christmas.

Where was I? **** good whisky. (the asterisks are some Treefrog editing) Yes that's it, early one morning we arrived at Attacqet. The gates to the town had just opened and two fellows of the African Rifles were on guard duty."

In the picture you see those two fellows from the African Rifles at the town gate. The hills in the background are the foothills of the mountains leading to Abyssinia.

 

[DMNamiot]

I do enjoy a good story and this one looks like it will be interesting indeed.

All the best

Dave

 

[theBaron]

Excellent! A great idea for a diodrama, can't wait for the next installment!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Russell]

Episode Three

My grandfather continued his Christmas Tale with his arrival in Attacqet.

“Well my boy, at the gates there was much screaming and yelling. Slave girls came running out of the city gates to greet us. It was all that relieved tension from having survived. Why with the occasional raids in our desert camps about ninety of us had made it. The original group leaving Aswan had been about a hundred. And of course, other than us, the rest of the caravan was continuing south to Shendy and Sennar. They would probably be facing more raids. It was a hell of a way to make a living. On the way south these traders would be bringing sugar, soap, beads, cloth, mirrors, and ancient firearms to sell or trade in the markets of the Sudan. On their way back, they would bring ostrich feathers, gold, ivory, and black slaves. We, the British, were against the slave trade but out here it was difficult to control and so it went on as it always had.

That night some of the boys and myself were celebrating in a bouza shop and that is when my gun accidently went off. The commanding officer wasn’t too impressed and so the next morning I was included in the heliograph team being sent out to a small oasis about thirty miles west of the town. Our job there was to survey who was using the watering hole and to signal back to the town if an attacking force was on its way. Obviously the fear was that the Mahdi and his forces would arrive. We knew of course that Karthoum, a couple of hundred miles to the south was under siege. Cameron was to stay behind to man the heliograph in Attacqet to receive our signals.”
“Was the Mahdi a bad man Grandpa,” I asked.
“Well boy, I don’t really know. Never met him. He was fighting for his way of life, the Egyptian-Turks were trying to extend their empire and for reasons hard to explain, we the British were there. I can tell you that he was a clever one, a whole lot more clever than Gordon. But that’s just my opinion.”
Just then my grandma arrived and she was looking at Grandpa sternly. “What kind of stories are you filling the boy’s head with,” she said more than asked.
“Now Helen, I don’t see the boy often and we’re just sitting here having a man-to-man talk. So you be off. I’ll be out before midnight and then you’ll have a year to talk to him.” I’d never seen anyone talk to Grandma like that.
“And Helen, you’d be a dear if you’d fill my glass with some of that single malt. No ice please.” And so she filled his glass!
Grandpa looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and smiled. “She’s a good woman your grandmother. So don’t you go thinking that I think otherwise. Let’s get back to the desert.”
“Yes,” I nodded eagerly, amazed by what had just happened.

He took a sip and began to talk. “We left that morning and I had to camel ride all the way because with my leg bandaged up I sure couldn’t walk. We camped out in the desert that night and the stars were truly a heavenly sight. It felt that heaven was right there at the tip of our fingers. It being Christmas Eve and all, some of the boys began to talk nostalgically about home as we sat around the campfire with the stars looking down on us like they too were listening to our tales. Maybe one of the wisemen came right through here on his way north to the holyland, one of the boys was saying. Could be I answered, after all just a few years back there was a Christian Emperor named Theodore up in the hills to the south. Napier and about 12,000 fighting men were sent up there to defeat him and defeat him they did. Napier is a good man but why we were fighting a Christian Emperor I don’t know.
Then one of the fellows began singing a Christmas Carol and we all joined him. We were all far away from home and so we sang to bring home back into our hearts. Why even our Bengal guide did his best to join in. He was far from home too.
On Christmas Day we broke camp about four in the morning and soon after we arrived at the small oasis where the 7th Bengal Infantry were stationed and where we were to be stationed for one month. It was no more than a glorified watering hole, but it was clean and maybe the best place for my leg to heal.
We ate breakfast, pitched our tents, piled up the gear, unpacked our instruments and in no time we were sending signals back to Attacqet to make sure Cameron and the rest of the team there could see them. The first message we sent said, ‘We have arrived. All is well. Happy Christmas.’”
Cameron and the boys answered back. ‘Wish you were here. The beer is good. Happy Christmas.’ And so that is how our Christmas day began, and just like today, my boy, the fun had only begun.”

In the first picture we see a lone 7th Bengal Soldier standing guard in the early morning.
In the second picture it's a bit later and we see a few of the 7th the way they were when the signal corp arrived.
In picture three and four my grandfather has arrived. They've pitched their tents, unloaded the equipment, and are sending test signals back to the town. My grandfather is the one sitting on a supply box taking notes. He got the sitting job because of his leg.

 

[1879fanatic]

Russell,
Thanks for the great story...Far from over I hope for the heliograph team just set up. Many miles to go!
Mike

 

[thebritfarmer]

Great stuff Russell. I am enjoying reading about your Grandfather and am enjoying your wonderful figures that you are using to illustrate it.

Thanks

Scott

 

[Deitz]

Nice story so far and nice little diorama. Hopefully, the heliograph warns your Grandfather of Madi and his army.

 

[Russell]

Episode Four

"Were you a brave man Grandpa," I asked?
"Oh I'd love to tell you yes boy, but that would be a fairytale. No, your Grandpa is not and was not a brave man."
"So why did you join the army?"
"Well I came from a good family ... that usually means having money and not much else, but we didn't have any money. Still, I had a good education, my father had some contacts, and I wanted to see the world. So the army it was. Sometimes brave is a wonderous thing, an act of love I guess, and often it's some kind of foolishness. Are those little Indians and those African Rifles Santa gave you for Christmas brave," he asked?
I looked at them and answered, "I think so."
"That's good," he said.
"And what about the oasis," I asked?
"Ah yes, it was Christmas Day. Your grandfather and Cameron were some kind of anti-heros, clowns really. It was all a lot of fun. So we kept sending and receiving messages Cameron and I. Meanwhile some bedouin were coming to the watering hole, trying to chat us up and then continuing on their way. Back in Attacqet, the town was waking up. Cameron signaled us that some Arab was up in the parapets above the town gate observing things while another was sitting by the gate, Buddha like, all dressed in white, just looking. Cameron wondered if they were spies. Tell you the truth, he had us worried.
Then the African Rifles marched out of the gate for their daily trot around the walls. It was just a show of force, letting everyone know they were there. At the oasis lots of Arabs began to show up at the watering hole, much more than was usual. There must have been at least three or four caravans arriving at the same time. Ujagar, the officer of the 7th Bengal Infantry, told us he’d never seen so many all at once. He seemed concerned. So we sent a message off to the town, ‘Many armed Arabs coming through here. End of message.’ Cameron got the message and sent it to the colonel and now the colonel was worried. The Mahdi, somewhere out there in the desert, had us all on edge. To add to it all a huge caravan was just arriving at the town gate. Too much activity, the colonel wondered?

Your grandfather needs to go to the privy, I’ll be right back with the end of my Christmas Tale.”

As he left, I looked down at my toy soldiers on the carpet and wondered many things, about growing up, being a man, seeing the world. One thing I knew (had just discovered) is that my unheroic grandpa was just grand.

In the 1st photo you see a few armed bedouin arriving at the oasis.
In the 2ed photo you see many armed bedouin arriving at the oasis.
In the 3rd photo you see the African Rifles off for their trot around the walls with the rising sun reflecting off the walls of the town gate. There is also a sinister Arab sitting to the right of the gate.
In the 4th and 5th photos you can see Cameron and his telescope up on the ramparts. The 'spy' is to his left, also up on the ramparts. A large caravan is arriving and a veiled woman is being led as she rides on a camel.

 

[Russell]

Episode Five - "Well I’d better finish this story because I see we’ll be sitting down to supper soon.

At the oasis many Bedouin were coming in and seemed especially heavily armed, especially those coming from the south. Once their camels had drunk, one large group left heading toward Attacqet. So I sent off the message, ‘Many heavily armed Bedouin are on their way to attac.. .’ Just as the message was nearly complete a heavily loaded camel, just arriving as part of a caravan, bumped into the heliograph knocking it off its stand breaking the lens under one of its hoofs. A shouting match started and it was like the tower of Babel. We were yelling in English, the caravan people were yelling in Arabic and the boys from Bengal were yelling in Hindi.

Meanwhile back in town Cameron and the others received the message in Morse code, ‘ Many heavily armed Bedouin are on their way to attac ... ,’ and then nothing. Cameron deduced that the message was incomplete because we were being attacked and could no longer signal out. He also deduced that ‘attac..’ was missing the final ‘k’ and so understood the message to read, ‘Many heavily armed Bedouin are on their way to attack.’ In fact the message was meant to be, ‘Many heavily armed Bedouin are on their way to Attacqet.’
Cameron passed on the message to the colonel. The colonel decided to rely on the element of surprise, and so instead of waiting he decided to go toward the enemy to hit him before he was ready. He ordered the African Rifles out to an old wall a bit east of the town in the direction the enemy would be coming from. He also had the Egyptian artillery crew sent out along with a small number of the Egyptian Camel Corp.
Luckily they arrived at the old wall first and so had time to dig in and wait. But the enemy never came. The Egyptian Camel Corp spread out to do some scouting to make sure they weren’t being outflanked. But there was nothing. Just empty desert. They also sent some Arab scouts out beyond the wall and they too saw nothing.
Finally a caravan with a Bedouin guard arrived on their way to town. This was the group I’d been sending a message about.

Back at the oasis, after all the screaming and yelling, we finally found a spare lens, repaired the heliograph and sent off the interrupted message. When Cameron received the message he realized his error and told the colonel. Once the colonel understood the whole story, Cameron got the dressing down of his life. I did too a month later when I returned to Attacqet. By then Cameron was gone, having received orders to go to South Africa where all was quiet and he couldn’t cause much trouble, as the colonel put it. So he travelled overland to the Red Sea coast where he picked up a boat going down to Cape Town. Less than two years later the Boer War started and Cameron was right in the thick of it.
As it turned out many of the Bedouin were heavily armed because they had been buying weapons at a market from the very caravan I’d travelled with starting in Aswan. So Cameron and I were the joke of the whole signal corp. Why a year later you couldn’t say the names Cameron Caledonia or Edward English anywhere in the British Empire in the signal corp without officers smiling and shaking their heads. It was all good sport and lots of laughs. Wherever I went I was always ready to tell the story if asked, as long as they paid for the drinks - single malt whisky. Oh yes, the Arab above the city gates was an old man who just liked looking at the troops wishing he could have been a soldier too in his younger days. And the Arab sitting by the gate, well he was just waiting for his Bedouin friends to arrive.”

“Did you end up going to South Africa too,” I asked?
“No,” he said smiling, “for me it was India. Look your mother is calling us to the table. I’ll tell you all about the fun we had in India next Christmas.”
So grandpa sat at the head of the table, looked at us all and gave the family his blessing.

The End​

PS Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for all the fun I have on this forum. A special thanks to the Treefrog team and Jazzeum for making all of this possible. Finally thank you to those of you I’ve had the good fortune to share exchanges with and to get help from: PolarBear, Britfarmer, 4th Hussar, DickButtons, the Baron, 1879 fanatic, Njja, Jagdpanther, Deitz, DMNamiot, Wadepat, Warrior, Louis Badolato, Canadian Samurai, and many more. Happy Holidays.

In the 1st photo we see the artillery team getting ready to go.
In the 2ed photo we see the African Rifles going off to defend the town.
In the 3rd photo we see them all arriving at the old wall.
In the 4th photo we see them returning to the barracks.

 

[wadepat]

Hi Russell,

Thank you for such an engaging and wonderful Christmas story. Illustrating your story with the toy soldiers was a delightful experience. I enjoyed every episode of your story and I marvel at your story-telling skills. You have some real talent!

And,...best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[1879fanatic]

Russell,
And a Big, Merry, Safe and Prosperous CHRISTMAS to you and you family also!!! Thank you so much for the story/pictures. They'd make good little books for budding toy soldier collectors, like my 9-year old, who love history also.
Mike

 

[thebritfarmer]

All the best to you and yours Russell. Have a happy holiday season and thank you for entertaining us with your story and toy soldiers.


Scott

 

[4th Hussar]

Merry Christmas and may you find troops under the tree.........................

 

[Louis Badolato]

Great story Russell, I really enjoyed it!! But I still want to know what Grampa did to get kicked out of the house . . .

 

[The Lt.]

Russell what a great addition to the Diodramas Thread and along with those who commented thank you for the time and effort for it was no little chore to put it all together and sharing it .Here's wishing you and your loved ones a Very Merry Christmas.......The Lt.

 

[Russell]

To 4th Hussar - I hope you also find something toyish under the tree. Maybe set #104 from Hocker which is presently on sale.

And Louis, I know you've already asked but I thought I'd pass on it because it's not related to toy soldiers, ... unless, I told myself, he asks again and really wants to know. But you might be disappointed. Still since you really want to know, I'll post it on this thread before Christmas.

 

[Russell]

You're right Lt., I was just vacuuming the sand that had escaped onto the floor. And my wife was less than thrilled to have me monopolizing the computer as I struggled with PhotoBucket to make it give me what I wanted.

Also, it has made me appreciate the efforts of all the others who are posting.

Have a nice weekend.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Russell,

A very Merry Christmas to you! I really enjoyed your story and am really looking forward to the story of India. Please let your wife know your efforts were well received and appreciated.

All the best

Dave