Transcript
We used to have these quarls over a fire, burning, boiling water, and whatever container you had to eat in, you used to have to dip in the boiling water before you had your meal. It was a normal thing for us to wash our hands. I mean, let's face it. It wasn't like you were living in a luxury hotel. I mean, you did the best you could over the circumstance. But I think the main thing was the boiling water, and the scoring of the mess tins and all that.
I think it was one good thing. Toilets were practical, were as hygienic as practical. But that had its moments too, because there was no such thing as toilet paper and that, and a lot of the blokes found this out when you going through the dunny, especially when you have dysentery. Many men were very sore because they had to use leaves. But they didn't realise one side of the leave was like a fibre...It's like the sign of an early spring. See, these are all the things you used to learn as you went along.
