Correspondence between Herbert Vincent Reynolds and his family, 1917 - Part 10

Mrs Reynolds
Oct 30^th1917
Albert St
Sebastopol
Ballarat
Victoria
Australia
 

Copy of Christmas card sent to Mabel Davidson (mothers sister.)
No. 1 Aust. Aux. Hospital.
Harefield England.
Nov. 1st. 1917.
Dear Mab,
Just a few lines to wish you the compliments of the season.
I expect mother has told you all about me being wounded.
I am getting along pretty well now though it will be some
time yet before I am right.
There is a small chance of me getting back home to Aussie
but its more likely that I will be kept over here in Eng. on home
service here, anyhow that will be much better than out in France
I've seen quite enough of it, 18 months is quite enough for any-one
if they have the unnatural luck to last that long. I've had an
exceptional good spin & cannot complain about this slight bit of
damage.
Trusting you are all well,
Bert.
 

AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE.
BMG
MELBOURNE, 14th Nov. 1917.
Dear Madam,
I now beg to advise you that Private H.V. Reynolds,
has been reported convalscent
His postal address will be :-
No. 622 Private H.V. Reynolds,
1st Field Ambulance,
Australian Imperial Force,
Abroad.
 

Mrs Reynolds,
Albert Street,
Sebastopol,
VIC.

 

No 3 Command Depot
Camp 5 Hurdcott
Nov 22^nd 17
Dear Mother
I reckon its up to me to at
least try & send you a decent letter, instead
of the usual few lines, well I'll do my best
any how, though I've gone clean off letter
writing lately I expect you can understand
that.

Up to the present I have received
your letters up to Nos 66, with the exception
of two that came by mails that went
down today I received a packet containing
three letters one from you No 70, one from Flo
& another form, from the AIF kit store
stating that they had received a few
articals from France belonging to me, &
asking me to call for them, there is very
little worth troubling over, there is that small
book of verse you sent me, a few cards & photos
also a couple of small silk handkerchiefs I have
carried about with me since the battle of Pozieres
I often intended sending them home to you but
they were not worth sending on their own & I never
had enough cash to get anything else to send
you, though I would very much like to have sent
 

(2)
you a few articals at different times
but you know how things are a bob a day
don't go far, especially now when rations are
so light.
I cannot understand not getting
your three letters between the 66^th & 70^th also
not getting the third letter that you mentioned
sending with the two I got today.
Well your letter was written
the day I bumped a piece of fritz's scrap iron
it is like the letter I wrote on my birthday
short & sweet you know; I started writing
that letter with the intention of writing a
good long letter but sudden orders
came along & I had to cut it short.
I am pleased to know that you
received my packet of cards & the diary
also the photo, the other photo you
mentioned I think must be, that of a mate
I picked up with at Weymouth, he was
in the 4^th Fld Amb & was killed in the
battle of Messines. his name is Bob Warroner
& his people live over here in England, the
two tomies with him in the photo are his
brothers.
Friday 23rd
I've been issued with another lot
of clobber this morning, have never had such
 

(3)
a quantity for a long time I have two
tunics, breeches, shirts in fact a double
issue of everything in the clothing line, a
few of the things fit, but many of them
don't. I'm not used to looking after so much
clothing, over in France we had what we stood
up in, & a couple of pairs of socks in our packs
we did not carry much in them.
By the way I would not mind
having a pair or two of your socks now, we
have three pairs of issued socks but they
are awfull things half wool & cotton. I never
went short of socks from home with the
exception of once when we were in the line
& our socks were never dry, they used to
rot in a couple of days, so you see we
did not take long to use up the few
pairs we were carrying about in our
packs.

Sunday 25^th

I got a rather pleasant 

surprise yesterday, when a parcel from
Eva Stones came to light, it contained
just the things I want a bonza
pair of socks & a fine scarf. I will
be pleased if you write & thank her. for

me, as I have no stamps or any cash

 

(4)
to buy any till next pay day & thats
over a week to go, I will write to
her then. I did not draw any pay
last pay day as I'm looking forward
to spending a few days down at
Parkstone and then my furlough is coming
along, so I'm doing my best to keep a
couple of £s in my pay book as a reserve

Well what do you think of the
latest push?  I reckon the huns are not
feeling too comfortable on it now, especially
now they have been pulled up with a jerk
in Italy. I know which side I would

prefer to be on when the coming spring
offensive opens up, it will be some show
the "Byng Boys" will be nothing to it
The Yanks will shift something, when
their weight is added to that of the
French & ours on the western front.
There is evidently another
referendum coming off soon, over the reinforcement
question, I think they are not going
the right way about it though, we have
had phamplets distributed, & well the least
said about them the better, they disgust

(5)

us chaps who have done a fair amount, when
fellows who have just lately come over, get writing
& talking as though the whole burden our fellows 
have to bear is on their own shoulders, they
don't think that these were real true men waiting,
with much more reason to cry out for help,
when they were comfortably settled at home, it
took them a long time to come & do their
bit,  probably then it was because they were
pushed out of Ausie that they came at all.
One fellow talks of his part of
the service demanding to a man, that they
enforce conscription on Australia, if he knew
what the majority of his mates think of him
he would never open his mouth on the subject
again if he has any sense, let alone write
articals of such a selfish nature, he was not
dragged away the volunteered for this job & he
ought to do it, without crying out about
the hardships that it entails, it is every
mans duty in Australia between the ages of
21 & 45 to enroll for overseas service, any
one who has to be dragged away, well, he is
of little use ^here & should be made use of, on 
national service at home, & given any amount
of it. on the same rates as a soldier with less pay if he is single

If a man is a man at all, he will come
& do his share for the safeguarding of his own
country without being forced.  Dont think that
 

(6)
I am agoing against conscription because
I'm not, conscription is the only fair
means of keeping the AIF up to strength
but let it be declared by the Government,
it is their duty to proclaim it, without
putting it to the people. Now take us
over here it is put before us, we know just
what a fellow is coming to, & we are asked
to bring him, it practically comes to that
Now I'm not far wrong when I say, that of
the members of the AIF over here two out of
every three will vote yes, though they want 

to vote no, they in a good number of cases will

vote yes, against their wish, but do you for 

one moment think,  you say that it's fair to ask a man to
vote yess, & bring his brother over here to this,
if it is the means of bringing him away from
home, I would refuse point blank to do it
for one, he could come voluntarily but I
would never sign vote what is as good as signing
his death warrant, my vote will not go in
if they do put it up again. let the propper
thing be done, Conscription declared by the
Government. What are they there for?
Well so much for that, now
most of our reinfs are young lads, worse
luck, or men who are by right exempt from