Letter from 4933 Albert Anderson to Sir

Queens Hospital
Birmingham
England
PR82/8
January 23^rd 1917

Dear Sir
I am just going to mention a few things the way
we get treated in England it is only the Australians that get
treated this way the people in England used to make a great
fuss of us at one time. But now they look upon us as dogs
they rub all the dirt into us as much as they can this Hospital we
are in is nothing else but a Butchers shop the Tommies get on
alright with the Nurses and the Sisters and so do the Canadians
But the Anzacs are looked upon as only dogs it is us Boys that
do nearly all the work in hear for the Nurses and that is how
we get treated the Tommies do nothing and they are far better
off. I have been in hear now ten weeks and I've been waiting to
get to a Convalessent camp this long while and nobody will take
Australians in anywhere there is plenty of room for Canadians and
Tommies and jocks we do get treated well in a  Military Hospital and
looked after well and get treated well deasent food a change of meals
every day. But in hear we get the same everyday what we get
for Breakfast is one egg when we brake our egg open the smell
is enough the ward smells for fully a hour afterwards and some
then comes dinner a drink of water one potato a piece of meat we can
put in our mouth in one lump and half a plate of rice and then
comes tea one cup of tea and bread and butter scraped on and at
supper a cup of coffie we get the same things every day no change
at all for our meals Breakfast at 6.a.m. Dinner at 1.P.m.. tea at
3.30.a.m. supper at six we cannot smoke from 8 oclock in the
Morning till 1. P.m. at dinner time and then we are not allowed to
smoke from8 oclock at night till five in the morning we get 3/6 a
a week from the Military while in hospital and we have to buy a few
luxuries with that if we can spare it. But it takes all of the 3/6 for
cigarettes there is the Australian red cross ahey are very good to us they come
to the Hospital with razors. shaving soap. shaving brushes. Razor straps.
tooth paste tooth brushes. and mirrors there are plenty of other things
they bring us to. It makes the tommies very gelous of us to see the
 

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Australians getting these things for nothing because they get nothing
themselves. and the nurses dont like it either the way the Australian red cross
look after us in hear for instance take the way the Australians get
buried in england I am sending a letter that sent out of the paper to
you please publish these to letters in the paper why they bury them
anyhow with dead Tommies three and for in a grave and Germans
that die in England gets Buried with them to. Dont the people in
Australia think this a damn disdrace if they are not good enough to
have a piece of ground 6. by 2. they are not good enough to come
over ten thousand miles to fight I have been noched twice the first
time I dident leave my company because it wasent much
they wanted me to go to a rest station till it was better but I would
rather stay with the boys and the 13^th November 1916 I got a nasty
one in the leg and I came in this Hospital Nov 21^st 1916 my
leg ought to have been better long ago but it is just as bad as ever it was.
I am not going back in a hurry after being treated like this I like fair
play a fellow ∨ dont mind his mates getting buried like that in the trenches
in France because they, are lucky to get buried at all over there but
they ought to give them a deasent grave in England I don't want
the people in Austialia to think that I am the only one that is writing
this because it is all the Australians in this Hospital that is putting this
together and I am writing it out and I am the ring leader it is all
the truth so dont be afraid to publish it I am willing to face it
all we are supposed to get five cigarettes a day from the Military that is
our allowance they are sent to the Hospital by the Military for us
and we only get five about every three days and the Australian
red cross Women send plenty of Crayola cigarettes up to us and do
we get them no. They are given to every one in the Hospitals Tommies
and Canadians as well there is about one hundred and fifty
Soldiers in this hospital altogether they are all mixed together those
cigarettes are only supposed to be for the Australians this hospital is a
private one and they get 4/- a day from the Military to keep us why they
are making money out of the Australian Government by starving
so we get a few visits from outside to come and see us they
 

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generally us a packet of cigarettes some of them are pretty good
when the sister of the ward feels inclined to let you out she will tell
tell you that you can go out for a while we can only stay out for a
hour and a half I have been out once and that day we was walking
along the street when a woman came up to us and said you pair
of bloody Australians. well we thought thae was a dirty insult
but we said nothing and kept walked on if it had have been a man I
think it would have been pretty help him the nurses dosent like
the Australians because the sisters jump down their necks if they
talk to us and tell them to go on with their work The munitions
that put so much money in each week out of their pay to supply
the Soldiers with a hot supper once a week it is very good of
them and then they used to come up just after we had eaten it
to see how we enjoyed it they often come up about twice a week
Wednesdays or Sundays as well as Fridays nights they come and sit
alongside our bed on a chair and speak to us because we have
nobody to talk to over this side of he world and now they have stopped
the Munitions from coming up to the hospital altogether that just
shows what this Hosptal is like it only done because the Girls used
to talk to us more than they would talk to the Tommies if I were
the Munitions Girls I would nock of sending things to this Hospital
altogether. And look how much it must cost the Girls to things for
themselves because things are so dear over hear now the Girls was
doing this to help the Soldiers and that is how they get treated they stop
the bandage on us anyhow and within ten minutes tte bandages are
off again and we have to put them on ourselves they want to go to
France and have a few lessons on putting on bandages you cannot
beat the Military nurses why even the Doctors do nothing they are
all students there are a couple of men and the  remainder are Women
Doctors they call themselves why they are only just hear for
 

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experience just imagining having Women students over a
Soldier and when the students come around to see how you are
they just look at us and walk on never look at the wound and
then they only come around about once a week isent that a nice
Hospital to be in they know absolutely nothing some fellows get
their wound dressed once a day and the remainder gets done every
second day it dosent matter how small a wound is in a Military
Hospital they dress it everyday they even send a man out before
before he is right for convalessent as long as he can just get about
he gets marked convalessent and goes in a couple of days I have been
marked now a fortnight but nobody will take Australians in
anywhere
Please hand this over to G. Norton papers
afterwards
No. 4933
Pte. Albert. Anderson
Machine Gunner
12^th M. G. Company
A.I.F