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30.525813, 47.816562
Transcription
Basrah [Basrah, Al (Basra)] March 17 Dearest Mother. Monotonous days pass so quickly that I never realize it's mail day till it is upon me. I am still with the good Coxes but I only dine, sleep and breakfast here - like Mr Jorrocks - for I go in to lunch next door to G.H.Q. which saves time and trouble. Next week I am to be lodged there also - which will be convenient though I shall be sorry to go away from here. Sir Percy is most charming, well read and interesting and a really considerable politician, I like him so much. But I can't decently impose upon their kindness much longer - I've been with them a fortnight already. Mr Dobbs also is a great standby. I go walking with him of an evening. Today I went to tea with him, for I wanted to look at some maps he had made, and afterwards I walked with his second in command, a very nice and intelligent young man called Bullard who was for a long time at the Embassy at C'ple [Istanbul (Constantinople)]. We walked right out of the palm groves and into the desert - the first time I had seen it for 2 years. The hasty recall of General Aylmer is a sufficient comment on recent events here. Heaven send someone more competent to command, otherwise I see no chance of an advance until the Russians clear the way for us - not a satisfactory thought.
I'm still wading through the stuff which they have got here but tomorrow I have a man who is coming to see me and give me information, an Arab of Central Arabia, and I expect to have rather an amusing talk with him.
No mail in yet. One pines for news. Ever your affectionate daughter Gertrude
Enhanced transcription
Evolving Hands is a collaborative digital scholarship project between Newcastle University and Bucknell University which explores the use of Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and Text Encoded Initiative (TEI XML) to enhance cultural heritage material. In this project, we have applied these methods to a selection of letters from the Gertrude Bell Archive.