Letters from John Hardie to his family, 1917-1918 - Part 1

Northampton.
October 30^th 1917
Dear Everybody.
Just a few lines to tell you I am
now in England and getting on alright

I am still in Hospital but the wound

has healed up in fact I was alright

a week after I got hit, I would never have

got across here if it hadn't been fore one

of the Nurses in our ward who was an

Australian.

She used to do her best to get all the

Aussies across. There seems to be a great

difference between our Nurses and the others

Of course they are all very kind but I

would rather be in an Australian

Hospital at anytime.

Well I think I will now tell you

something about the place we were

fighting in as we are free from the

censor now. The first time we went into 

the line was on the 29th of September on

the Ypres side of Zonnebeke Village

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or rather where it used to be. Today there isn't

even a heap of bricks. Well we held the front

line for two days and nights and then

came back into the reserve lines which is

about the worst place at the front as Fritz

can shell you there without being afraid

of any dropping on his own lines.

We were there for some time doing night

work such as laying cables, and carrying

ammunition. Then one night they

shifted us back the other side of Ypres.

That was when our boys captured

Yonnebeke well after the stunt we

went up again to make roads to bring

up the guns. You just ought to see the

state the country is in There isn't one

inch of it that hasn't been torn by

shell fire. Of course it is our guns that

do most of it. The night we were making

the road old Fritz sent over a few shells as

we were going up. Our guns were silent

for a long time and then suddenly the

S.O.S. went up and they opened.

 

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I think there was about a thousand

guns firing over our heads.

You can imagine the noise. The German

guns closed up altogether and we never

lost a single man on that job.

If the enemy send over one shell on their

front our fellows usually throw back 

about ten, and if he sends more

it always ends in our chaps giving

him a barrage.

We were withdrawn from the line about the

eighth of October to reorganise for the hop over

on the twelth. On the tenth we came

back and camped outside Ypres

not far from a place called Hell-fire

corner. I forgot to say I had been transferred

to the Ninth Machine Gun Company.

You see they had suffered very heavily

in a battle only a few days before

and were very weak.

At Eight O'clock on the night of the eleventh

we left the camp for the line and

then began the march through pouring

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rain and a constant bombardment of H.E's and 

gass shells. I don't think I shall ever forget

that night ever to my dying day.

Every little track was congested with

troops going up for the battle, which

was to be one of the biggest things of

the whole campaign.

We were slipping and sliding all over

the place and falling into shell holes

and to make matters worse we were

loosing men every few yards.

Well we got to our hopping off place at

twenty minutes past five in the

morning wet to the skin and dead

beat.

Five minutes later our barrage opened

up and in less than ten we were

away. I don't think I will ever forget

the sight, and a funny thing I didn't

feel the least bit frightened.

I never saw the sky lit up with

such a display of lights before.

It really was a beautiful sight

 

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but Fritzies guns soon made us

realize that the business on hand

wasn't meant for fun.

Battalion after Battalion got practically cut

to pieces and I don't know how our

team got through but several of them

had their clothes torn with bits of

shell. I got a small splinter in the hand.

We only got about five hundred yards

where we were held up.

You see they expected the attack and

had been preparing for some time

The Passendale Ridge, also the Village

of the same name was to have been

our final objective. A piece of the ground

we had to take was some that the

Tommies lost seven days before,

and would you believe it, there were

some of the poor fellows who had

been wounded still living in the

shell holes. A good many of our

wounded were drowned in the

liquid mud, in fact some of the able

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men used to get stuck. In the valley beyond

our starting point the mud was up to our

waist. You can form an idea how hard

it was to tackle the enemy under such

conditions. I was hit just a little while

after reaching our first objective, and had

to crawl and flounder, through a swamp

to get onto the main track out.

After about half an hour of such going I

reached the first dressing station which

was a German pill box that had just

been captured. I had intended to get

my bit of a scratch dressed there, but

what I saw was the cause of me going

on as there were stretchers lined up

outside besides those inside waiting

their turn, you see the Ambulance

go forward immediately we hop over

and form these advanced dressing

stations so as to save as many lives as

possible. Well I hadn't gone far before

I came across my Battalion which was

supposed to be in reserve, and sheltering

 

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in a cutting on the railway line to

Roulers. I don't think I will ever forget

what I saw along there Chaps whom I had

seen so full of life only a few days before

were lying in little groups just as they

were killed by the shells. All the way out

the road was nothing but a shambles

and when I reached the Mennin Road

matters were worse. I heard afterwards

what was left of our boys went up and

helped in an attack just after I came out.

I heard that Bob Pearse got slightly wounded,

and when coming out got   was killed by a

shell. It took me from sunrise untill

nearly sunset to reach the fifth dressing

station a distance of about five miles

you could hardly form any idea of the

traffic on that Mennin Rd. On one side

there were fresh troops coming up on

the other a constant stream of wounded

going out. Nearly all of the stretchers

were carried by German prisoners.

as our bearers were about wiped out.

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The centre of the road was occupied with

new guns which were being brought up

and also an endless line of shell carriers.

The enemy's guns were constantly hitting

the road, but instead of getting afraid

and mixed up the traffic still went

on. Sometimes a gun and its team would

get hit, there would be a bit of a halt

until they shoved the broken gun and

the dead over the side into the mud, and

everything went on as before. About

two miles out from the new line I came

across the guns which had been

brought up during the night. They had

been placed in position on the edge

of the road, and were blazing away.

Further out there were eight inch

guns also out in the open. We must have

had thousands of guns on that sector.

Ypres which has been a beautiful town

or rather a City is nothing else now,

but a heap of ruins. There ins't one

building left standing in that 

 

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magnificent place. Part of the [?] Hall

is still standing but the walls have been

pierced in manny places and the

ruins threaten to collapse at any moment.

The town was built in the days of wars

and troubles. I think so rather, by the wall

that surrounds it. I never took the trouble

to measure the thickness of it but know

that three years of constant shell fire

has been unable to damage it in any

way. The Streets are still kept in good order

and the cellars are used for billiting troops.

In some places it is a town underground

with tunnells cut from one place to

another.

There are heaps of things I would like to

tell you but am forbidden and we never

know when our letters may be opened

One thing I will say though is that our

boys got cut to pieces, in this last affair.

They all say it was the worst they ever

were in. Battalion after Battalion just

seemed to melt away before the

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German guns. I know for a fact that our

guns fired about ten times as much as

Fritz, so you can form an idea of what it

was like. I reached a C.C.S. about fifteen

miles behind the line on Saturday night

and had my wound seen to. My uniform

was that caked with mud that they just

cut it off. My word it was good to get

a nice warm meal and a clean bed

again. Everyone was so kind to us.

At every place we stopped there was

always hot tea and biscuits for those

that wanted it. The Hospital train on

which we travelled left Loperinghe

on the Sunday morning 13th of October

and arrived at Albieville a fair sized

town on the lower part of the Somme

at midnight. We were there for a couple

of weeks and there I was again put on

the train for "Harve" which was reached

after travelling all night.

At nine o'clock next morning we

were taken on board The Hospital Boat.

 

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"Warialda" belonging to the Adelaide S.S. Coy

of Australia, but we didn't sail until

after dark that night.

When I woke up next morning the boat

was just drawing into Southampton.

Everyone were quite happy and pleased

to see old Blighty again even the very

seriously wounded were quite cheerful.

There have been times that I never

expected to ever see England again.

We were kept on the boat until dark that

night and then had another train ride

until after midnight. It took us from

Friday evening until Monday morning

to reach Northampton from the Hospital

in France.

Well dear ones so long for the present

Hoping all are well and happy

I am

your loving Son and brother

Jack Hardie

P.S. I forgot to mention that Mrs Birdwood

is a [?] and was in our ward in the Hospital

in France.

Northampton is a large town in which

the main industry seems to be the

manufacture of boots and shoes.

The Hospital here is an Asylum in peace

time. My word it is a beautiful place.

all built of stone and several stories high

there is a large theatre in the centre of

the building which would do credit

to many large towns in Australia.

Every week there are two and sometimes

three parties down from London and of course

everyone are having great times.

There is nothing that I enjoy better than

wandering round the grounds along the

these beautiful roads, the trees meet overhead

and the foliage of the undergrowth is

something gorgeous. A party of us went

into the City on leave for the afternoon

and as usual finished up by going

to the theatre.

This time I didn't   was well pleased by

the play we saw. It was called

Peg.O.My Heart. and I think that it

 

is very good and is well worth trying

to see if people get a chance.

 

We A Draft of about 500 men marched out of the

camp at Longbridge Doverill "early on the 

morning of the 1st of February 1918 and through

Warmunster to the railway station. I think all

the towns people turned out to cheer us on

our way in fact it was just like leaving

home again. . . Well we entrained and after

three hours travelling landed on the docks

at Southampton where we were kept until

after dusk that night. Sometime during the

night out boat put to sea and when the boys

looked out in the morning we were alongside

the wharf at "Havre". I must say we had

a most enjoyable trip across and I thoroughly

enjoyed the first meal at the base camp.

On the 5th the draft moved out again to the

railway station where we were trucked in.

Horse Vans (42 in each one) and consigned

to the advanced base at "Castre".

I don't think I will ever forget that trip although

we were packed so tight that there wasn't room

to snooze. it was a glorious journey.

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The Spring was setting in exceptionally early

all the trees and little shrubs were beginning

to bud and blossom. To look at the country

a person could hardly credit that there

was such a thing as war.

Late at night on the 6th the troop train drew

into 'Castre' and after a short march we reached

the camp where there was the usual amount

of jostling and swearing before things settled down.

We spent three days round the town and of course

had a Royal time after which we were drafted

to our respective battalions. mine being behind

the lines at "Armientieres".

For a while we had work to do at night in

the front lines, other times they kept us out of

mischief by giving us work improving the

fortifications round "Ploegsteart" "Armientieres"

and on the Messines Ridge. Of course we

were constantly under shell fire. but still I

considered it all a picnic after what we had

in the Ypres salient before Christmas.

On the 25th of February the Battalion went into

the front line ^at La Bassiville and remained there

 

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for five days and during that time

everything was marvelously quiet,

in fact it was that quiet that we all felt

uneasy. The greatest danger seemed to be

from our own guns especially in the

listening posts.

The last night we were there the enemy

straffed the eleventh Brigade with trench

mortars. Of course our eighteen pounders

replied but as they hadn't been given the

correct address my platoon got the 

whole issue. I happened to be in one

of the listening posts in no-mans-land 

several of the shells just skimmed over me

and plastered me with mud. It was quite

an exciting few minutes.

It doesn't feel too pleasant out in no-man's-

land at night you can hear the enemy

talking and often the patrols can be seen.

sometimes rather too close to be healthy

still you aren't allowed to fire on them

but must signal to the front line. our job

is really to make sure that a surprise attack 

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is never a surprise. One night three of our scouts

went for a fighting patrol ^of about twenty men just alongside me

needless to say the scouts had the victory or rather

the enemy took to its huts.

We could see the spires of Lille from the front

line quite plain, but our Commander says it

is six miles away. and also that the town

has scarcely ever been shelled.

On the 2nd of March the Battalion withdrew to

Dead-Horse-Corner a place on the edge of Ploeg-

Street Wood and really is the junction of

several train lines and pathways.

All the cook houses were situated here and

we now had our turn at carrying the hot

stew and tea to the front line.

On the 3rd our boys raided the enemy trenches

towards Warneton and were very successful

according to reports.

The Raiders crawled out until they were

fairly close to the enemy trenches and after

when the guns ^lifted their range after playing with

the barb wire for two minutes they hopped

in and took possession.

 

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They afterwards told me that they met with

no opposition whatever and also that they

wire entanglements and trenches were

hardly recognisable. All they they saw 

was dead and wounded until the support

trenches were reached.

After they had captured a great many

prisoners and machine guns and

also blew up a few strong posts and

dugouts they were were ordered to retire.

This was all carried out with very slight

casualties.

Not satisfied with that we raided again

the next night the 1st of March but the enemy

were lying in no man's land in front of his

own barb wire waiting on us.

When the guns lifted off his entanglements

our lads fell right into a hornet nest

still they fought as only Australians can

and managed to penetrate to his support

lines, but at a terrible cost.

As the sapper & trenches were full of

fresh troops they were compelled to fall