Letters from William Rawson Leach to his family, 1918 - Part 4

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on the Western Front. Let Fritz

start this offensive here we

are waiting for him & he will

get as hot as reception as

ever he wished for.  He will

be mown down like hay

before a binder.  If the people

in England can hold on I

guess we can over here.

It is Sunday afternoon  & I am

spending it letter writing.  I

broke my watch the other day 

so sent it over to Annie

Walmsley to get it repaired

in Leeds.  Now Mother I will

have to close so goodbye

with love to all at home

Your aff son  Rawson

 

FIELD POST OFFICE

12 AP 19

 

Mrs S. Leach

Victoria St

Parkes

N S Wales

Australia

 

PASSED 

BY

CENSOR

No.

1305

 

March 17th  18

France

Dear Mother & Father

I received your three

welcome letters last night

dated Jan 6th, 14th & 20th

respectively & I am sorry

to hear that you have been

so long without word from

me.  I wrote letters which 

should have reached you

the same time as you

received the two souvenir

broaches. I have written

regularly since I have been

in France almost every

week & it has never gone

more than ten days in

between writing so I have

some to the conclusion that

my mail must have gone

astray or else been sunk

anyway I hope that you have

heard from me by this

time.  We had a church service

this morning at ten o'clock 

& I thought of you all at

Parkes at that hour you

would just about be having

your evening service at

home & no doubt just as my

thoughts were turned home

yours would be turned in

this direction.  Anyway try &

not to worry & look on the

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bright side of things as

the boys do over here & you

have no idea of their longing

to get back home again.

I quite believe the poem

which makes a man long

for his own country when

he is on foreign soil & we

often wish we could realize

[?] few following lines.

Breathes there a man with soul so dead

Who never to himself hath said

This is my own my native land

Whose heart has ner with in him burned

From wandering on a Foreign Strand.

There will be on one more

happy than the boy over

here when the conflict is over

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& we all hope to return with

victory on our side.

I got one of Alice's parcels

last week one sent on

the 17th of November & that

is the latest date parcel I have

had.  I have received most

of my others I think has never

turned up yet but I shall

not give up hope as they

turn up at all times.  The

days are getting much longer

here now & they have just

recently advanced the

clock an hour which 

makes it light till 7.30

or eight.  I had some letters

from Al & Ruth through

the week which they wrote

while in Sydney.  I have

just had a letter from Annie

Walmsley & she writes very

 

 

good spirits

of the situation in England.

I sent her my watch to have

it fixed up & she so going

to send it back as soon as

it is finished.  I had a

parcel of magazines from

Ethel Baxendall last

night so I am well fitted

up just at present with

writing material.  I am

expecting to get my leave

to England sometime in May

so am looking forward to

it.  I am going to see Mrs. Baxen

dall for she & Ethel have

been so good to me while

I have been over here in France.

We are billetted at a farm

house just at present

having come out of the line

a few days ago.  We generally

do about six weeks in

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the line & come out for a

similar period. My word how

I envy you & your fruit.  Just

fancy sitting down to a good

feed of fruit for tea & we have

to be satisfied with a piece 

of bread & jam & a dixie

of tea.  I dont know whether

I told you before but I have

lost a good deal of weight 

about 12 stone now & when

I went into camp first I

went over 14 stone 6 lbs.  So you

can see that the army life

doesn't fatten everybody.

I didn't bring all my soxs

over with me when I came

to France but left about

eight pairs with Aunt Alice

& have since got four or five

 

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sent over some leaving the

other few pairs there in case

I should want them on 

my leave.  Now mother & father

I dont think I have any

more news so will have

to close so goodbye with

love to all at home &

yourselves

 

Your aff son

Rawson

 

March 19th

Since writing you last night

I have received your parcel

with the sox, sugar, cigars, tobacco

& several other articles you enclosed

& two of my mates & myself are

 

8 just enjoying the cigars

all the other things were

very acceptable & one of the

other boys got a parcel with

some cake in so we had a

good tuck in.  Aunt Annie

sent me over some smoked

fish & I am getting that

boiled tomorrow which I

think will go down very

nicely.  Today has been

very wet & its great joy

taking the horses to water

you sink down to your 

knees in mud & check every

step you take.  I sent Alice a

magazine called "Aussie"

published over here for us

boys & we get a good deal of

amusement out of it.  Am

sending you on another

one this week & no doubt