Letters from William Rawson Leach to his family, 1919 - Part 2

38 Schoolhill
Aberdeen

3.6.19

Dear Mother

I wrote Alice last week 

so I thought that letter would 

do for all hands.  I havent had 

any letters from home since I 

last wrote you but I received the 

Pcl you sent the one with the

pair of sox  & tobacco & cigars & my

pals & I smoked the cigars to perfection

I am sharing a room with a Sth 

African & he is real good company

we get about together a great 

deal. He has gone out tonight but 

I am busy letter writing. I feel quite

ready for bed after putting in a 

good days work. We get stacks of

fish here & I am just about living

on fish it is a bit of a treat 

after jam & stew etc. My word you 

do notice being away from your battery 

and your pals & you feel quite lost at

times. I think the whole trouble is

that one cant settle down until

he gets back home we are all 

looking forward to the day when

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we shall put foot on Australia soil

& know & feel that we are at home.

They can have all these roaming about

stunts for mine let me get back to

Australia & I will have to be blown 

out of it with dynamite.

I had a letter from Czarina this morning

& Aunt Annie & Ruth went to London

yesterday morning for a fortenights 

holiday. I have decided to take my 

leave after the end of this month 
I will put in here till the end of 
June & then I am going to Leeds,
Bradford, Scarbors, & say good bye to
them all then I will go straight
back to Camp & will be ready
to sail as soon as they can
send me. I wont want my fourteen
days leave I will have had about
a month as it is so I cannot complain
There are a lot of our boys on Salisbury 
plains & they are fed up waiting there
I think I did the wisest thing in

getting away for a couple of months
I recieved a couple of ''champions'' th^rough
the week which you had sent on
to Uncle Fred. Now mother I will

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have to close  so good bye with
love to all at home & self
Your aff Son
Rawson

 

Australian 
War Memorial
PR00441

 

38 Schoolhill
Aberdeen
16.6.19 
Dear Mother
Since writing you last

I have received a letter from

you dated April 15^th & was glad
to hear that you had all so
far escaped the flu at Parkes.
I was sorry to hear that Arch
had been in bed for a week but
you mentioned that he was on
the mend at the time of writing
I excpect you have been worrying
about Edo he being down amongst
the crowds of Sydney I hope it
has all disappeared by the time
I get home which should be

some time in September I will have

the experience of two summers & 

missing a winter. I intend stopping
here in Aberdeen another fortnight
& will then go & see them in Yorkshire
I am going up to Inverness before
on Friday week just to have a
look at the Highlands they say
that they are just glorious at
present. So I will return to Australia

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a full blown Scotch man. I am
looking forward to my boat trip home
& it will be a nice rest & change
for six or seven weeks. I dont
know what route we will strike
but I hope we come through the
Suez this time. I see by the papers
where there is a big shipping strike in
Australia & I hope it wont delay us
any longer from getting home for I
tell you I am looking forward to
that day. We wont be satisfied till
we get home. I dont know where I
will be when I get back to work again
I dont know whether they willl send
me back to Adelaide or where they
will want me to go I wouldnt mind
a bit of a change in NSWales but I
will see what's what when I get
back I expect. I was thinking of getting
my discharge in Melbourne but think
now that I will take it in Sydney
& I can run down to Sunshine &
see them after I have had a few
weeks at home. I know you want to
meet the boat that comes brings me
back for it is naturally a Mothers Fathers

3
wish to see their loved ones come
back on a troop laden ship & it will
repay you for all the anxious &
restless times you went through while
I was in the thick of it in France. I
think you at home went through a good
deal more than we did.
I went down Sea Bathing yesterday morning
but my word the water was cold & not
too many in but it gave us a 
good appetite for Breakfast. We had
a great plate of porridge & some ham
& eggs waiting for us when we got
to Woodside which is a very pretty
place particularly along the banks of
the Don River. Now Mother I will
have to close so good bye with
love to all at home & self
Your aff Son
Rawson

 

ABERDEN

12.30PM
JUN 4 19

 

Mrs S Leach
Victoria St
Parkes
NSWales

Australia
1919