Text reads as follows:
"We go Through The Red Sea.
New Zealand’s first hospital ships left Wellington for an unknown destination in 1915. There was a full complement of The Ship’s medical officers, and nursing sisters.
The ships also carried 100 passenger sisters, also to be landed at some unknown destination.
The passenger Sisters were housed somewhere in the bowels of the ships, in wards that had been freshly painted, and the paint still quite wet. To make our discomfort worse, we ran into some very dirty weather, and were paint-sick and violently seasick, and bruised with hitting the sides of the bunks.
Some of the Sisters were so ill they had to be taken into the ship’s hospital.
However, we all cheered up on the fourth night, and it was a healthy sign to see the face creams come out, and the curl rags rolled up, against the next day’s effort to appear on deck.
Orders were given, that we were to appear on deck, but we all felt too weak, and ill, to make the effort. However, two kindly stewards carried our cushions and rugs and each took an arm, and helped us up. The steep stairs took us up to the deck chairs put ready for us and wrapped each one up in her rug.
What a dejected lot of women we all looked. The curl rags had let us down badly, any whisp [sic] of hair showing, hung lank and damp against a yellow leaden skin.
We were all dressed alike, and all looked alike, and all felt alike, but it was wonderful
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to sit on the deck in a comfortable deck chair, all wrapped up in a rug, with the sea breezes blowing on your face, making you feel better with every breath, and the days passed very pleasantly.
At last word came from the Captain, that we were approaching The Red Sea.
It was a great thrill for most of us. We had already noticed the sea breeze was not so cool on one’s face, and one tactless Sister recalled that she had heard of several people dying in The Red Sea, of heat appoplexy [sic]. Conversation was a little forced after that, until the steward brought round some iced drinks, which were very acceptable.
Very soon we were going through the Red Sea and with the hot stillness, and absence of any breeze, we felt almost stifled.
The orderlies were the first to go out, and a few collapsed on the deck. One of the medical officers looked them over, but was hastily called to another part of the ship.
Then one of the passenger Sisters went down. She was the short neck type, and certainly did look like a case of heat appoplexy [sic], some fanned her, while others ran for ice to put on her head, and bring back a medical officer, but no medical officer came, they were all hurrying in the opposite direction.
A passing orderly said ‘no medical officer can come just now, they are all working with 'Jock' the bulldog mascot, who is just about passing out’.
A shiver of fear went through us.
If 'Jock' died, then our good luck died also.
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We forgave the medical officers for not answering our urgent call, and put up a plea that 'Jock' might come through safely.
I strolled along the deck in the direction the medical officers had hurried. I looked through a port hole, and there was poor “Jock” sitting in an ice bath, panting, and drooling at the mouth, certainly looking more dead than alive. More and more lumps of ice were put in the bath, an ice cap was held on his head, drops of brandy were dropped on his tongue 'Lucky Jock'.
A medical officer was injecting a heart stimulant into one large paw, while another listened with the stethoscope to his faint heart beats.
At last 'Jock' opened his bleary eyes and it looked as if the worst was over and 'Jock' and the ship was saved.
I strolled round to the other side of the ship, hoping to get away from the oppressive heat. I suddenly came upon a most pathetic sight, a little black cat lay flat on its stomach in the scuppers, with its front and back paws stretched straight out. It was panting pitifully, with its little red tongue hanging out and quite dry.
I secured some ice from a bucket the orderly was carrying to 'Jock' and as it melted very quickly I dropped some into the little hot mouth. Then after being fed with some iced milk, she felt much better, and puss and I got talking. She told me she never would have worn her furs if she had known we were going through the Red Sea."
