Letters to Mrs R. H. Caldwell, from her son Robert Douglas Caldwell and other soldiers, 1917-1919 - Page 1
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[Transcriber's note: The letters of Douglas Caldwell cover his journey from Australia to England, via South Africa in the Hororata, departing in January 1917. He was in camp in Salisbury for training before going to France in December 1917. The devastation of villages, the shortage of food, the fighting in and around the Somme and further north are described quite vividly in his letters. In September 1917 he is sent to hospital in Birmingham with a septic finger. He is moved to a convalescent hospital in Alcester and at this time Armistice is declared and he describes the celebrations that followed in the town. Following leave in England, he returns to Australia in January 1919 in the Kamala. He frequently mentions Ken in his letters and it is presumed he is a relation. There is a letter from Sgt. Grange thanking Mrs. Caldwell for a parcel and also one from Frank Bailey, also mentioned by Douglas in his letters, telling Mrs. Caldwell of being wounded and carried out by Douglas.]
Coo-ee
A Christmas Message
of Gratitude and Remembrance
from the Australian Red Cross Society
Xmas 1918