Letters from David Wallace Caldwell to his Mother, 1915-1917 - Part 8

thing I want you to do & that is to let 
me know what you got yourself & Evie.. 
I shall not write & tell her you are getting her 
anything but I want you to tell her it 
is from me & with best love & wishes &  
see that you don't forget it will you. 
I would love to be able to send it myself. 
but I am about as stiff now as ever I have 
been & that is saying a lot & I can tell 
you I have a good bit more stuff to 
buy yet that I shall want as an officer 
I should have just loved to have sent 
to you & told you that I have my Commission 
but I shall have it long before you  
get this but don't address my letters as 
Lieut until I tell you I have been 
gazetted: So I must push off with 
best love & wishes - for a bright & happy 
Christmas to all at home. Dad & you & Jack 
& Grandma & G.father & Aunts & Uncles & cousins  
al & all from your xxxx 
ever Loving Son xxxx 
Wally.

Rollestone. 
Salisbury Plains. 
England. Nov 26^th. 
Dear Mum. 
Well old lady I am not 
dead yet you see. although I  
suppose by the length of time 
since my last letter you will 
have been wondering what 
has happened. Well I have been 
flying around all over the place 
well I will give you a detail 
of what has happened in about 
the last 3 weeks. as you know 
Blanche & you and Ev & all the rest 
are always saying that I never 
say much about anything. Well 
here goes. 
Before we left Scotland 
we had a trip up to Aberdeen. 
& it is a jolly fine place & I can 
tell you it is alright. on our way  
up we stopped at Perth for a 

2 
day or so & had a good look around 
I have sent Ev a whole bundle  
of Post Cards with this Mail & I 
will tell her to show them to you 
& I want her to keep them because 
I have seen every one of the places 
& it will be alright when I come  
home to sit and explain all of 
them to you and Ev. We saw 
the Fish Market at Aberdeen. 
& by jove they do send some 
fish through there. I think 
they send bring in there alone 
about 1200 tons of fish daily. so 
you can see what it would 
be like. Then we came down 
to Dundee & spent some time 
there. & Sterling. & just after 
we left Dundee we crossed 
over the Tay Bridge & it is quite

3 
a long bridge. but it is not such a fine Structure as the 
Forth Bridge which we crossed over some time  later. The 
train passes right over it & the bridge is high enough for 
a full rigged ship to pass underneath easily so that 
will give you some idea of the height & it is about a 
mile long. & you can see all the battleships lying just 
inside the Firth of Forth. But taking the whole run 
down & up to Aberdeen it was very pretty indeed & I 
wish you had only been there to see it. Then we came  
down & stopped at Glasgow for a couple of days & then 
we went back to Gailes where we got orders to  report to 
our headquarters at Horseferry Rd London. Well we 
had a very pretty run down to London about 8 or 9 
hours of it. well when we got there we were told that 
we could have a first class warrant to wherever we 
wanted to go & my chum & I took ours at out to 
Belfast in the North of Ireland via Wales & Dublin.

4 
So you might well know that we had laid ourselves in for 
a good time. Well we had a splendid trip through England & 
Northern Wales & I can tell you Wales seemed just lovely. one 
could fancy oneself on the front of that train that you see 
in the pictures where they take all the scenic pictures from 
I can tell you I was taking good stock of it all & if I do 
get back won't I have some tales to tell you. I guess 
I shall make your mouth water won't I? Well we got to a 
place called Holyhead. where we caught the Irish mail - 
boat to Kingston (about 5 miles from Dublin) we got there 
about 8 in the evening. Well next day we had g a good 
look around Dublin & I can tell you we did not like 
it one seap. But there are some splendid Buildings there 
& I think Phoenix Park in Dublin is about as fine a 
Park as I have seen yet. But by jove the Rebels. 
made a men there you haven't no idea what it is like 
both sides of the main street is levelled to the ground & 
what beats me there is the number of men walking.

5 
about. there are thousands & one wouldn't mind if they 
were on war work. but to think that England 
has to keep a whole lot of troops there just watching 
the swine. & I can assure you that seemingly 
the whole of the Irish people are the same even 
to a large extent in Ulster. Well at anyrate we did not 
like Dublin. then we went on to Drogheda but we 
were not long enough there to form much of an 
opinion of them. Well after a very good run up through 
Ireland we arrived at Belfast & we had a good 
look around & liked it alright. Then we were 
having a look around at the Belfast Town Hall & I believe 
it is noted as the best in the world & it is the 
best I have seen so far. Well while we were in 
there we met a lad about 17 who offered to show 
us around & so we had a good look round 
with him & afterward we met his father who

6 
would have us go home with them to tea & he 
offered to put us up for our stay in Belfast but 
we did not like to encroach too much upon their 
good nature. but at anyrate we went home with them 
& we met his wife & daughter & two sons & spent 
a great evening. And next day he arranged for us 
to be shown round. Spinning & Weaving & Finishing Mills. 
The Largest Shipyard in the British Isles. or about the 
largest. The Belfast Rope Works & I know this is the 
largest of its kind in the world. & we saw all round 
a Technical College with practically every machinery 
under the sun. Anyhow we had quite an interesting 
time of it & we went out there to tea again before  
we left Belfast & they were down at the train to 
see us off & put horse shoes in our pockets for  
luck & all sorts of things. They have got a fairly 
large Linen warehouse themselves & do a fairly large business.

7 
anyhow after the same run back to London we reported 
to our Headquarters where they told us we had our 
commissions so you might guess we lost no time in 
getting our stars up. Then we got orders to Shift down 
to Salisbury Plains. I have not seen Bob yet but I 
will as soon as I can & I will be sure & see him 
before I go to france France again which from what I 
can hear will be bf before the week is out as our lot 
has been cut to ribbons. only about 3 officers & about 100 
men left in our Batt so that will give you some idea. 
We are nicely fixed up down here we have a good mess 
& good batmen who does everything for us. I sent you a 
cable saying we were Commissioned we dated from 23^rd Oct. 
& if we get back now & have any luck we shall soon 
get well up the ladder won't it be alright if I came home 
a Major.. I don't think. Well love to all at home & I hope 
Dad is alright now not forgetting yourself & Jack & all the 
rest. Well I must push off now, from your loving Son 
Wally..

In France 
Dec. 16^th 1916. 
Dear old Mum 
Well here I am again not 
dead yet you see, I received yours & Jacks 
letters today & writing straight away. I am 
back with my Batt again but we are 
not in the trenches at present But as  
bad luck happens I fancy we move in on 
the 25^th. Christmas. Day So I hope you think 
of me up to my waist in mud & slush. 
& all sort of things. The ground is all 
churned into a jelly by the constant shelling 
& it is great fun to see somebody stuck up 
to their waist in mud & the other chaps 
with an overcoat through his crutch 
heaving him out but although there is  
a funny side to it there is also another 
side the poor chaps got what they call 
trench feet with standing in the damp 
& the flesh swells up & bursts through the 
skin & rheumatism is another common 
thing I suppose one will come home a 
Rheumaticy old man (perhaps.) We are going 
into the Somme again so I suppose it will 
be quite warm enough in some ways. I can

assure you. I am ready for anything after 
five months in blighty. Bob wants me to 
apply for him to be sent Transferred to 
my Batt as soon as he joins up his Regt 
& I am going to do it although I know our 
Batt is not much good I fancy it is better 
than a good few of the others & I will do 
my best for him although I don't suppose I 
will be able to do much. South Australia 
seems to have been having great to do about 
Conscription. By jove some of them are needed 
here alright. When I come back to the batt. 
& it still is but a skeleton of a Batt. you said 
in your letter that Col Dollman had been 
sent home for a rest. I don't think he has 
practically been ch cashiered for something he 
did. I fancy it was cowardice but don't you 
mention this to any one as I am not quite sure 
about it Well Mum I will write about once a 
week now that I am back & you will know 
how I am getting along, so I must push off now 
with love to Dad & Jack also yourself 
& a kiss as well from  
X Wall.