Photograph Album and Archive of a Scottish Soldier in Cairo

Sergt. John Lister (b. 1893) was a Scottish soldier in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force stationed in Cairo during the First World War. He travelled with the Royal Army Service Corps via Gibraltar, Malta, and Lemnos, to take part in the landing at Suvla Bay, as part of the Gallipoli campaign. After being injured while serving, he was transferred to Cairo where he was taken on as a military clerk as part of the British administration. This archive shows evidence of his experience of life in Cairo, and his frustrations with the conflicting General Commanding Officers (GOCs) of Egypt, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and the Levant Base. This group of items also documents the period in Egypt's history just prior to the 1919 Revolution against British occupation.

This small collection contains a photograph album containing 48 photographs and 8 other loose photographs of Lister and other soldiers (presumably friends and family members), two official printed documents detailing Lister's military service with the 1st Scottish Horse Regiment and the Army Service Corps, a typed sheet detailing his journey from Morpeth to Lemnos, and Later onto Cairo, a typed sheet entitled "Translation of a Turkish Officer's Letter to His Wife," a two page prayer entitled "After Morning Parade. Quicunque Vult" regarding the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Egypt, a poem entitled "When" on being refused to drink at the Savoy Hotel, Cairo," and documents relating to his post-war career as a clerk and the birth of his daughter. The album contains 8 photographs of the funeral procession of Sultan Hussein Kamel and various local military scenes.