Photostat copy of letters from Percy Wellesley Chapman to his mother, 5 April 1915 to 1 February 1917 - Part 3

8
sometimes quenched my thirst after a hot
tramp from camp.  Ferry post is as its name

indicates the ferry over the Suez Canal, it is

situated at the north point of Lake Timsha one

of the little lakes. Here we were camped for

about a week doing guard duty, at night

on duty one would see the steamers pass

by on their way home to Australia or 

to England, their screen lights would cause

weird shaddows to creep stealthy along the

land as they moved by when all but me

would be bathing either in the lake or the

Canal, many times I have swum from bank to

bank in the water. From Ferry post we moved

to one place then another once B Company were

sent back to [[?]] to do guard duties over

the water side Aerodrome and sundry other

places. Two weeks of our time here spent in

the front line of trenches, the first three 

days out there the thermometre was somewhere

about 100° in the shade there was the remainder

of the line, however no fritz came. From the

trenches we moved east to Ferry post where

the troops were equipped from there we moved

again to trenches and returned for Alexandria

9

At Alexandria we embarked on board

this boat, we lay at anchor for a couple of

days on one of which I got home to visit

that old town, for the last three days we

have been zig zagging arriving across the

Mediterranean, and here just just dropped

anchor in the bay at Malta. tic tic the

afternoon tea gong has just gone so I will

wind up now. Never in my wandering days

for I have never seen any place to compare

with Sydney or N.S.W. Malta is only a 

small island from the deck it looks completely 

terraced, on the cliffs pointing their huge

muzzles out to sea are some big guns

but the island has a bare appearance, no

fruits creeping down to the waters edge, all

these islands have the same appearance.

Yesterday afternoon we stormed past Crete, but

from a distance it may have been Lemnos

Mudros or the peninsula itself. Well Mamman

something may happen before the voyage is

over so I will leave this open.

 

 

July 24^th 1916

Somewhere in France
My dear Mamman

I hope you are not

very anxious about me as I am quite

well, never felt better in fact. We are

in the land of wines at present north

of where Ray came to gain experience.

I would like to describe what I have

seen of this place but I am not in 

quite a peaceful enough frame of mind.

We had a bit of a scrap the other day

visited the German trenches and had

a grand look round to see how

Fritz was getting along. Those whom

I saw alive were hurried past me  too

quickly, and those whom I saw dead

of course could not give me any

information other than by appearance.

Well Mamman a description of a

fight is not very pleasant, I will

describe it in detail some other time

I receive nearly all your letters, but

very few parcels or papers. I could not

help laughing when you mentioned our

troubles with the rats. If they were

our greatest inconvenience the place

would be a picnic. Well good bye

mamman don't worry about me

as I am perfectly all right. I don't write 

much as I can only say I am all right

I will send a cable if anything

happens. There is no place like home.

Mamman don't forget to write.

Ever love from Bob.

 

 

France

8/9/16

My dear Mamman,

I suppose

by this time that Nina is

married and perhaps enjoying

her trip to Melbourne.  I am glad

she is married, she ought to make

a very good wife. I liked

Murray what little I saw of him

and he seemed very fond of her.

The last letter I wrote to received

from you was in answer to one

I had written from Egypt. You

must not worry about me, sometimes

I get the dumps, but you know

it is part of my nature, when I

was a youngster I used to say

"I'm angry" didn't I. And

sometimes now I feel the same

way, but I generally put it down

to my liver and wait till the

 

turns cool again. When I come

back I'll have to go on the land again

not that I mind being on the land

my vision of my future home is always 

on the land somewhere. Only my attempts

so far have always been in a hot climate

and I hate the heat. A small sheep place

would do me, somewhere near Armidale

for preference, Well if it is to be it will be

I suppose "thats what we say in the Army."

After a fellow has been here some time and

has seen men picked off under all sorts of

conditions whether they are under cover or not,

a belief in fatalism seems to be the natural

outcome. I sent a cable to you last week

saying I had received the military cross

and have just received word from the postal

authorities that it will be dispatched tomorrow

the 9/9/16.  Hope you will be pleased. Last Sunday

I had to go to the presentation of the ribbon.

General Plumer of Boer War fame pinned it

on my manly "bosum". Think I have a

manly bosum. General Plumer is a nice

looking old chap with white hair and mustash.

 

A fellow feels a bit of a fool, he has

to march out on his own in front

of everyone and listen to a rigmarole

of his heroic deeds, then get the ribbon

pinned on and he congratulated by

the officiating General he then bolts

to the nearest shelter, mine was

chiefly for some bombing operations

and messing round generally. I'll

explain matters when I get back.

The M.C. is a Kings decoration and

I believe I am allowed to put M.C.

after my name. But please do not

put it on any of my letters. Did

I say we are in billets again. We

live in style here, in civil life

people eat "that is on certain occasions"

& the sound of sweet music, wireless

guitars trombones & symbols etc. Here

we don't do anything so silly, we eat

to the sound of martial music,

the crack of rifles and crash of

big guns. Outside our present abode

is a big gun which every now & then

booms out a message to Fritz.

 

crash it goes, and the house trembles

the floor shakes the window frames

rattle, the panes of glass don't as they 

have rattled out of the frames long

ago. Talk about "Frankenstiens playing"

it is nothing to our old 4.7.

Our present abode must have belonged 

to nice people before the war. In

one of the rooms is a libery at least

an old book case containing many books

mostly historic or books by standard

authors. But an officer who has just

bought in a small history to try his French

and as it is not much better than mine you

can imagine the result. Well Mamman the

shades of night are falling, the only things

that seem unaffected by the war see the

sparrows that are squabbling about the best

posy for a nights rest in a big walnut tree

outside. My love to everyone at Home.

Your loving son

Bob

 

 

I going to write about. Airplanes are like

flies down here, they are like huge dragonflies that

lazily drone their way through the air. I suppose

you received my cablegram saying I had

received the Military Cross.  I have not heard from

home for about three weeks but when my mail does

arrive I expect there will be a good deal of it.

So you know who my room mate here is. You

know the chap who is engaged to Molly Carter. "Young"

by name well his elder brother is here with me. I 

went to school with him years ago. And here I am

at school with him again. He is an awfully nice

fellow. The world is not a very big place is it. General

Plumer came to school church with us this morning

good of him wasn't it. Well Mamman my ability for

writing seems to be fading. I want to write but somehow

I cant write a decent letter. My love to all

With heaps of love from Bob

Church Army Recreation Hut
At School

17/9/16

My dear Mamman

You will see by the

paper that I have made the acquaintance of some place

which is not in the trenches. The fact is I am at school

I seem to have rather a fondness for school at my time

of life, but this is an officers school where we learn how 

to drill and draw maps put up barb wire entanglements and

all sorts of other things as well as have concerts at night

and listen to the band. The place is a beautiful old

monastery perched on top of a hill surrounded by trees

the sound of guns in only just audible from here and then

only occasionally, to mention their name seems wrong

ugly and terrible at present. The band is playing

outside it belongs to some English Regiment, there are all

sorts of officers here Canadians, Australians, Scotch, Irish

English, infact it is a great home. I suppose you

wonder what I am doing here, well I'm writing home

at present in the officers club listening to the band. The

band makes a fellow a bit homesick sometimes. Every 

day bulletins are posted up on the board showing the

advance that is being made at the Somme. They are

doing very well down there. Well Mamman what am