[ British Expeditionary Force, German East Africa. ] Autograph article titled 'The Little Nurses of Morogoro. A character study from "German East"'. With newspaper cutting about the author Captain Francis Robinson, and a print of a drawing by him.

12pp., 4to, including title-page: 'The Little Nurses of Morogoro | A character study from "German East" | by Capt. Francis Robinson | Chaplain. | South African Horse | with the British Expeditionary Force | German East Africa'. In good condition, on aged paper, with closed tear to last leaf. A reference dates the item to after the Battle of Salaita Hill on 12 February 1916. The following captures the tone of an enthusiastic tribute: 'Wherever you go in that unattractive collection of miscellaneous buildings, you come across a little nurse, prim & smart in her uniform & cap. If you sit downn in a marquee to talk to the sick men, a little nurse runs in at one door with a hypodermic syringe; a little nurse runs in at another with a dose of medicine; a third appears outside closing a canvas window to keep out the sun's glare. You walk across to the hospital, where the wounded men are lying. There is a flutter of draperies as you reach the verandah, and a little nurse avoids you dexterously, jumps down the six steps, and scurrries away in the distance like a rabbit.' Robinson conccentrates on 'Sister Mabel [...] the only English nurse in Morogoro, though our forces hahve been in occupation for some time [...] She belongs to the Universities Mission to Central Africa'/ The nurse's speech is reported, including: 'O, yes! I know you had the rebellion and the German West campaign. They [the Germans] told us very exaggerated accounts of the rebellion, and kept silent about the conquest of their territory in South West Africa. All the time they said that we were being beaten in Europe, and laughed at the Indian Expeditionary Force in British East Africa. It was awful about Tanga in the early days, and awful, too, when we heard about Salaita in February.' The newspaper cutting of an article on 'Capt. the Rev. Francis Robinson' is from the Pictorial (Durban), 9 February 1917, and includes a photograph of a smiling Robinson, 'now military chaplain at Durban'. It states that he 'contributed letters from East Africa to "The Latest," and the series proved an exceedingly popular feature', and it may be that the present article was intended for that periodical. The last of the three items is a print, on 46 x 36cm paper, with printed signature of 'F. ROBINSON /02', showing a view from a rooftop of a victory procession (probably at the end of the Second Boer War) down a main street (possibly Greyville, where Robinson had been vicar).