Tuesday, Dec 11th 1917
Reveille 6 o’clock. Awful mess, cannot find one half of my things. Breakfast 7:30. Wash and walk around the ship. Wonder if we will leave today – I hope so. Route march afternoon through Marseilles. Chose a fresh place to sleep.

Frank may not think it, but his reference to a ‘wash’ might have been seen by others on troop ships as ‘luxury’.

According to Gavin McLean, describing the experiences of troops sailing from New Zealand to Egypt in 1914, there were 500 troops on the SS Athenic ‘sharing five washbasins and four toilets’. However, he also noted that with medical teams onboard, some troops enjoyed better healthcare than they did at home. Watch this short video about the journey of the troop ships and life onboard:

References & further reading

Gavin McLean is Senior Historian, Ministry for Culture & Heritage, New Zealand.  The film was made by New Zealand WW100.