France; October 4, 1918

My Dear People,

Just a few lines to let you know I am quite well & doing alright. Things are going fairly well over here & there is every prospect of us giving Fritz a real good licking before another year is out. I saw Mat Griffen when I was coming back from the line yesterday, he was quite well. I got a letter from Mick a day or two ago he had just come back from leave in Ireland & is in No. 4 Command Depot at Hurdcott.

Wally Arnolds was killed by a machine gun bullet the last trip we done in the line. It struck him in the chest & I think he died almost immediately. I was very sorry to hear it, as he was a fine cheerful fellow & very popular with the boys.

Wally Arnolds - A close friend of TJQ

Henry Tralaggan injured his shoulder and again & I suppose is away in hospital somewhere. Frank Richards is still away.

Well I will close now hoping you are all quite well.

I remain your Loving Son & Brother

Tom

France; April, 28th, 1918

My Dear People,

Just a few lines to let you know, I am quite well. We are still on our good job & having a Bonza time.

We have been living on roast & fried meats & plenty of potatoes, jam tarts, (I am pretty good on pastry cooking) but I am getting short of flour now as these Froggies buy bakers bread & unless
I souvenir some more flour, our tarts will come to an end. We had some nice fresh fish which we caught too. One of my lads got possession of a fowl to-night so the troops will likely have poultry for dinner one of these days.

Most of our lads are collecting little souvenirs to send horse '& you can get plenty of nice little ornaments too, but I do not bother anything like that. (I believe the leaning figure of the
Virgin I sent home has fallen at last).

You can get anything you want here, from a frying pan, to a grand Piano, & my word these Frenchies have some lovely furniture. To look at most of the houses from the outside they do not seem very flash, but inside the furniture and decorations are beautiful. There must have been some wealthy people here, & it seems such a pity that they should have to leave such nice homes. It is also quite possible that if there was any heavy fighting about here the houses would be levelled to the ground by shells.

We have a fair amount of sport when we are looking for food owing to the language on the labels but, we can generally pick out what they are by the look or taste. One of my men reported a large find of flour but, on examination I pronounced it plaster of paris (what a sell). The best of the joke was that he gave a sand bag of it to some other chaps & they carried it about a mile, but I found out & told them about it before they tried to use it.

The war seems to be going on with a good swing & though we have lost a bit of ground I do not think Fritz can stand the pace he has been going for long. He has had a little go or two at the Aussies but does not get on too well with them.

I hear that poor old Tom Dearlove was killed. He was one of the best soldiers in our Battalion, He never growled or grumbled no matter what happened & had been with the Battalion right through everything. These sort of men do not get much in the way of decoration but I think they are real "dinkum" heroes.

I expect by the time you get this you will be pretty near finished tilling. I see the Governmentis guaranteeing 4/- a bushel for last seasons wheat so that is not so bad, as you have had pretty good returns.

I suppose Annie will be nearly finished her course at T.T.C. by the time you get this. And Kathie's leave will be up. Of course she will find that keeping house is not all sugar & honey & I
suppose she will be glad to get back to her teaching again.

I have not seen or heard anything of the other Mt. B. boys since I came to France this time as I have not been near their Batts. I guess those chaps who have returned home are doing some swank, but I am sorry for those who have lost a limb.

Well I must close now hoping you are all well.

I remain

Your Loving Son & Brother

Tom

Hurdcott; February 23, 1918

My Dear People,

Just a few lines to let you know I am quite alright. I came back from Furlough on Thursday after a most enjoyable and interesting trip.

When I got back I got 5 letters, one from Hilda Pohlner (Oct 14) one from Kath (Oct 14) 2 from Annie (Oct 14th & Nov 18th) and one from Nell (Nov 21st). In the last two you knew that I had been hit. I also got three parcels from home: one from Siss & George & one from Mt Bryan Red Cross circle. I was mighty pleased to get them as I had given up hope of getting them. I told you before that I had received the parcel with the waistcoat from the M.B.C. people. I wrote to Hilda thanking them but of course the mail route is a risky one now. I have sent you some books of views of Ireland & some Sinn Fien literature which I hope you get safely. I have got a lot of postcards and some little souvenirs to send yet but I don't want them to go on one mail.

I was very sorry to hear Frank Kelly and Charlie Burton were killed & I hope Ralph Thomas has been found alright. I think I will soon be going to Sutton Veney now as I told the doctor this morning that I was quite fit for France. You see I have had a real good time & I think it is nearly time I went back and done a bit more.

I will now give you a description of my trip through Ireland. I left Custon Station (London) Thursday night at 8.40pm and went right across England about 300 miles with only one stop at Crewe to Holyhead. I then got on the boat and went over the Channel in about 3 hours (it is 64 miles) and landed at Kingstown (Dublin), at 6 o'clock. I got in the train there and went straight to Killarney, arriving there at dinner time on Friday. Had a look over the Cathedral there. It has not been finished very long and I believe some priests went to Australia and collected a lot of money to help finish it. Saturday it was rather wet, so we went to see some lace at a convent in Killarney. They are on Red Cross work now as there is no market for lace. I got a couple of handkerchiefs or doilies which I am sending home to Mum. The lace is made by hand and the finer sorts are fairly expensive.

Sunday morning I went to Mass and then with another Corporal and a honeymoon couple, went in a jaunting car for a drive around the beautiful lakes of Killarney.

It is indeed lovely scenery. On Monday I went to a Fair at a little place called Killarglin (about 30 miles from Killarney). The people in this part are supposed to be the most backward and uneducated in Ireland but, I believe, as honest as could be. At the Fair there were cattle and people so thick in the street you could hardly walk through them. The crowd (girls & all) push and bump as bad as a lot of soldiers rushing for pay or dinner. There were a lot of cheap-jacks etc. They're much the same as a show in Australia. All the stock were bought and sold privately.

On Tuesday I went to Cork. It is a very old-fashioned town with about 100,000 inhabitants. There was a bit of a strike on there. A tobacco manufacturer there was paying the girls 3/6 a week for 10 hours a day and they struck. They had his place picketed and there were a lot of police there to keep order. The Irish police are very big, fine men and they do not want there to be any squibs either. I can tell you one afternoon they were escorting two or three fellows down the street and there was a mob of 200 or 300 chasing after them and boo-hooing something splendid.

At Limerick there was some trouble over a steam crane that was being put up. Some of the dock labourers thinking it would do them out of a job. One evening I was standing on the quay and a wagon belonging to the people putting up the crane was being escorted by about 20 police along the street. A yelling mob was following it. Some police who were guarding the yard rushed out with rifles and let the wagon in. Then the police rushed the mob and drove them off the quay like a mob of sheep. I take it that these are quite everyday occurrences in the poor misgoverned Ireland.



View Larger Map

On the Wednesday I went out to Blarney castle, about 10 miles from Cork, and kissed the Blarney stone. It is a very pretty place.

Thursday I went to Limmerick and then on to Dublin, Saturday night. I had not heard or seen much of Sinn Fein till I got to Limerick, but I went to a lecture there on the Dublin Rebellion by one of the men who was in it and sentenced to death, but was eventually released. I had my eyes considerably opened by what I heard and saw there. A good many of those present were in the uniform of the volunteer Republican Army. I did not think they would be allowed to wear that in public. They have officers and I saw a good bit of saluting being done by the privates. The Officers wear Shamrocks instead of stars on their sleeves. Some of the speaking was done in Gaelic and it is Sinn Fein's idea to get rid of everything English. Government, Language and all. I am afraid they are taking on a hopeless task. Any one of them would cut your throat for a rifle. So when the Irish soldiers come home on leave from France, the police take charge of their rifles till they go back. Of course everybody had their eyes on me but I clapped and hurrahed with the rest when they sang songs and gave recitations, some of which I have sent in a bundle of Sinn Fein stuff. It seemed a bit rich for me to be wearing a British uniform and cheering rank Sedition. I would have given quids to have had Uncle Jimmy with me.

Anyone I spoke to always wanted to know what part my grand-parents came from - but I do not even know what county they came from (terrible disgrace), you must write and tell me as it would be quite easy for me to trace some of my poor relations if I went to Ireland again. They also pointed out to me that it was on account of bad English laws that my people had to leave Ireland. But I don't bear England any grudge for that, seeing Australia has a climate more suitable for me to live in than Ireland. Dublin is a very nice little town with some lovely buildings and Phoenix park is a magnificent place.

The museum there has a wonderful stuff and I even saw some of our old South Australian stamps - it would take a week to go through it properly. The Art gallery is splendid too. I went over Guiness' Brewery - it is an immense industry. When you had had a look over the place they treat you to some of their stout, but I don't like any liquor much. Sackville street, which was knocked about a bit during the rebellion is still in ruins and the GPO is still the same.

I got back to London Thursday morning and went and saw the King's Guard change at Buckingham Palace (very smart) and then caught the train home after a most enjoyable fortnight.

The whole trip, fare and all cost me £14.0.0 and I came home with £11.0.0 in my belt as I did not intend to be short of money on my trip and I had everything I wanted and lived pretty swanky.

Well I must close now, hoping you are all well as I am.

I remain,

Your loving Son and Brother,

Tom

France; April 22, 1917

My Dear People,

Just a few lines to let you know I am quite well.

I have not been in the line yet so am not a "Dinkum" yet. We are having a quiet rest to-day. We have been moving around every few days but as the weather is getting much finer things are not too bad at all & most of the mud is dried up. We are fed pretty well & I am in very good health.

From World War 1 Color Photos

I was quite close to Bert Lilley's Batt the other day but did not have a chance to go & ask for him or Matt. I have not had any mail yet, but I hope you have been getting along alright. I saw in a casualty list that George Dann died of wounds. Harry Tralaggan told me he was transferred into another Battalion. I suppose his poor mother will been a state about it. He & Harry were mates coming over on the boat.

They have been giving Fritz some hurry up on this front lately & things look fairly promising.

I remain

Your Loving Son & Brother

Tom.

Later.

I have just received 4 letters one from Dad (Jan 28th) one from Annie (Feb-4th) one from Mum (Feb. 19th) & one from Nell Simmons acknowledging a photo & a post-card I sent her from Durban. I was very pleased to get them, they have been loitering around England for a week or two. In Dad's letter were two photos of the harvester. I was very pleased with them & would have been in my glory reaping such a nice crop. I was afraid you would have trouble with my harvester but if I get back I will be able to work it alright. I am very glad the crop at A.V. [Almondvale] went so well. I would not change A.V. for any place I have seen in all my travels.

I suppose Willie is considerable proud of being able to drive the harvester. I am glad the lads like their teacher. Nell Simmons told me she was going home for awhile & then going to live with Pat & Mill. I was very much amused over a piece of news in Mum's letter. I have not received the parcel of flannels yet but I am not badly in need of them. The trouble is that we have to carry all our stuff in our packs when we move & usually have to carry a blanket & water-proof sheet as well, so it does not pay to have much gear. I have got a change of under-clothes with me now. Most of the lads only have what they stand up in & get a change from the Q.M. store's every 2 or 3 months & of course as they do not get a bath very often they have plenty of "friends" to keep them company.

I do not want anything else as there are canteens about, except when you are right in the line. I have plenty of money, in fact rather too much, as you would not be very likely to get it if I am knocked out. For that reason I am not drawing any pay here, this will give me a credit in my pay-book which I could draw in London if I was wounded & would be paid to you if I am knocked out. You need not worry much about my pay for the trip over, as although the Military seem rather slow to an outsider you do not realize what a tremendous organization it is until you are in it & see for yourself what an enormous lot of work there is in organizing an Army. At any rate, the Military have treated me very well so far & it has been quite a pleasant change for me although I have not seen any of Fritz's shells very close yet.

I saw a German aeroplane brought down by guns this morning. It fell about 2 miles away & I guess it hit the ground with a considerable bump. There are plenty of them over here, but I have not seen a fight between two planes yet. If the war is still going in September I would like you to send me a parcel of under-wear & socks. These would then reach me before next winter, if I am still at it, but do not send a scarf as I would not wear it.

In the canteens here you can buy tinned sausages, fish, fruit, chocolate biscuits, etc. but I have not had to buy any yet, although the lads are always buying whenever they get a chance. I do not have their worry of tobacco & cigarettes which they are always short of as they smoke a terrible lot.

I was indeed very much surprised to hear that Mr. Dare was married again & could hardly believe H. Tralaggan when he told me - perhaps there is a chance for me yet. Fred Pohlner is in the 5th Divisional Artillery but I have not seen him. H.T. told me he was trying to get in the Flying Corps the last time he saw him. Augie was in this Batt when he was wounded as a part of his reinforcement was transferred here. I do not know where he is now. I have not heard anything of Ralph Thomas & do not know what Batt he is in at all.

You need not worry much about me as unless I get in the way of one of Fritz's nasty shells or bullets I will be as right as rain. I do not like the mud & wet at all but most of that is over now for a few months & perhaps the war will be over before next winter. Well this is rather a long P.S. so will close now.

Tom.