Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 57]
France,
22nd May 1916.
Dear Dad,
Yours of the 26th March to hand last night. Sat up till after 12 o'clock waiting for the mail, and incidentally cut out my watch.
That chap you picked up at the Pictures from the 19th Battalion is a bit of a romancer I'm afraid. Have never heard of him. Daresay you can easily find plenty of these sort of chaps, who are willing to give information – for a consideration. I would like to have seen those Pictures of Gallipoli. Don't suppose you saw anything of the fire trenches (front line). Think you will be able to get a better idea of the life over there from that Anzac Book I sent home. I've very nearly forgotten all about the Peninsular. There's only a few of the more exciting incidents still sticking to me. Things over here have crowded them out. We've certainly seen a bit of life and travel in a comparatively short time.
Having fairly regular hot baths, we are practically free here from the vermin and live stock which made our lives such a miserable existence on the Peninsular. We have a substitute though in rats. They're here in all sizes from elephants down to minor details. They're welcome in a way though. Even if they do eat all our tucker, they eat all our scraps too, and get us out of rows with the Doc. They have passed away many a weary nights watch for me by making themselves targets for the bayonet point or spare bricks. I'm getting an expert at it now and its good practice for Fritz.
We are having glorious weather just now. Its twilight up to about 9 p.m. and light again at 2 in the morning, so the nights don't take much sitting through.
These past few days the Gun Section has been suffering a great indignity – we have been forced to do hard work! Our gun position was "upset" and we have had to rebuild it which has involved much sand bagging, rock chopping and cementing. We have cursed most numerously, but it has done us good and got some of the superfluous off us, as the blisters on my hands will testify. You would have been amused to have seen us rock chopping. All we wanted was the broad arrow on our uniform and we would have been set up. Get some of the experts in the office to reckon up how much labor we expended in breaking up into small bits for concreting, 330 cubic ft of solid rock. Finished it to-day thank goodness. Only four of us on the job, hence the sigh of relief. Won't tell you how long it took. Reckon I'll be able to take on any job under the sun when I get back. I've tried my hand at a few things up to the present. Didn't think I'd ever get acquainted with hard work, but when it's a case of "have to" its wonderful how easy it is to adapt oneself to anything.