Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his wife, 1914 - Part 3

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{*for all the golden locks or any other locks of all the women
in the world my dearest sweetest purest little love girlie. Bye now
with all the love of your very own for ever & ever Dida Donssy*]
'Cause I specks she'll be getting sad &
lonely for her old man now. Dear
sweet old love God Bless & Keep you. Your
Picture & that of my pet Bairnies are
a great comfort to me always. I give it a tish
sometime. I am so pleased with it. It cheers
me up good. Don't forget to tell me you love
me millions & millions & all about the wee
bairnie pets. I wonder if you are down at
the Beech yet. I hope you get a dear
little house & fix it up just as you would
like everything to be (except for your old
man of course). You must keep a corner
both in your heart & in your house
always for him mustn't you pet.
love. - I wish I had your dear old
sweet head resting against me Katie
I'd give you such a big big lot of of tishes & I'd
tell you I loved you something [[dicklus]] & I'd
want to squeeze you all up tight in my
arms till you were nxxx nearly squeezed all
to bits. Now xx my ownest darling I must
say goodbye to you once again & God bless
& keep you. Give my love & a tish to Nana
& Baaby &, about a dozen each to the wee pets
& just shut your eyes up tight & imagining I
an doing to your dear lips & chin & cheeks ^as I would be if I hopped
in & surprised you just at the very minute you
[* are getting this letter sweet loving pet, I suppose it
will be getting near our wedding day at Christmas when you get
this. I must thank you again for the five sweetest happiest years anyone
could have my perfect little wife. I wouldn't change one tiny grey hair of her head. *]

Dearest Wife,  H.M.S. Hororata
I am once again 1/12/14
^ We are now anchored off Post Suez. We left Aden on
the 26^th at 6 am. While at Aden we heard
that a British War Ship the Duke of
Edinburgh had shelled & captured the
Turkish fort at Babel Mandeb which is
just at the heel of Arabia where we
would be passing by. About 3pm we
passed this Dpot & of course all glasses
were directed upon it but you couldn't
see much. It seemed a dreadfully barren
& inhospitable shore all along Arabia
from Aden right up to here. On that
evening I was vaccinated. The 27^th & 28^th
were very hot & disagreeable days almost
dead calm. On the 28^th we got a
fine breeze from the North: & it kept up
until now. It was quite cold this morning
& it was dark until after 6 oclock.
I seems funny queer after just coming out of the
hot weather. On the 28^th We got word to
disembark at Cairo. There were all sorts
of speculations as to what it meant. The
general conclusion come to was that
the weather would be too cold for
our men in England just now & we 

(2)
were to put the finishing touches on our
training for Egypt & we would be in a
central position from which no could be
employed anywhere. It will seem strange
to be amongst Scenes where Julius Ceasar
& Anthony & Cleopatra & Nelson & all the
old people fought & died. All the boys
you know are quite well. I have a
rather bad headache just this moment which is 
due to the vaccination. Otherwise I am quite
well. I am enclosing under separate cover
an account of the Sydney & Emden fight which
was issued to us at Aden. Also a postcard
photo of the boat the Hororata. We are
anchored here just waiting our turn to
go up the Suez Canal. Now Kit old girlie
that just about  [*stop*] all the news so what about
a bit of lovemaking- Dear old girl will you just
please cuddle up nice & close sitting on knee knees
of course & with your dear old loving arms about
me I tell me how much you love me - 'cause you do
love me you know something scandalous. Your dear old
sweetface is smiling down on me as I write & the wee
sweet bairnies too. It will be just about Xmas or
new year when you get this & I do with all my
heart wish you a very merry Xmas & a bright & happy
New Year. Give my wee bairnies & extra special
 

(3) Omit
love & a big dida tish on the 27^th our wedding
day dear love & another on New Years day.
I wonder if I shall be back with you for the next one
But whether or not you will allways know & be
certain of that Dida wherever he may to will be thinking
of you & the wee pets - for you you only are my bonnie
darling wife & sweetheart love - just every tiny bit of my heart
is yours & there is not the slightest room for anybody else - my
true & only loved one. Because I never truly loved anyone but you
did I Katie- not that old girl at all. It is when the wee sweet
bairnies come that your heart really goes out to your love don't you
think. How can I thank you for your precious gifts to me - our wee little
wise Dhusack & that wee roguish laddie. They must are
part of us both for ever & must present anything ever coming between
our love. My little angel wife. God bless you for all your sweetness
& love to me. All my association with you has helped me
to be a better & truer man & I hope I shall deserve to have had you
for a wife & to have had the happiness of being your husband My little
sweetheart you are a wonderful little woman & you don't know it
the least little bit. There is no one that every ever I met that has
your sweet unselfishness & grace. I have had no letters
from you except at Albany my pet & I am just longing
to hear from you. I hope you have settled down nice &
comfortably & the sweet little cottage that you have always
longed for. And mind you are not working yourself to death
You just say to yourself. Now I must be looking fresh & rosy
& bright & bright for my bonny & I'm not going to kill
 

(3) (6)
And now goodbye my own precious one. I may
have an opportunity of posting this here although
no instructions as to mails have as yet come
to hand but if not I will add a few words before
I post it at Suez or Alexandria for we are
to go to the latter post for Disembarkation.
Did I t We have received instructions to be
prepared for attack by the Turks from
the bank of the Canal while going through
& to reply to any fire directed on us. It seems
strange to me to think that we may be under
fire in a few hours or so but I don't think
there is much danger. The may be a few
snipers about the banks but if there were any
large force we would land a party &
hunt them off before allowing the ships to go
through.  [* Stop*] Well now my love you will be
getting tired of this letter. But you will forgive
me  -cant you because I love you & I insist to
keep on writing to you all the time - It is like
talking to my darling -except she is not on
my knee really though I look up at her sweet
face smiling down on me & try to imagine that
the little sweet curly head is resting against my
shoulder all the time. Millions of kisses & all my
love to you dear one & to our sweet wee bairnies. I
wonder if they still remember Dida- God bless you all
once again - From your own Dida Donssy.

1
S.S. Hororata.
Outer Harbor
Port Said
3/12/14
My own dearest one,
I received your line letter this morning
a we were lying just off the jetty at Port Said. I had
barely time to scratch a few Words on a Post Card
& send on to you when we pulled out here into the
outer Harbor. where we are lying until the rest of the
fleet are ready to go on. It was the letter you started
on the 1^st Nov on the Sunday just as we would be on
our way out of Albany & you finished it on Cup day
[*Omit*]& I was most awful lonely for my wee sweet wife on those
days. Katie dear it is I suppose very selfish of me
but I am glad you miss your old man a big heap- I've always
wanted someone to love me a big heap million- and you
do that don't you Katie. Little girlie I will remember
that when I come back to you & I will just about squeeze you
& cuddle you to death. Oh my true love I am very content
with you - the dear little mother of my pets. I would not change
you or the tiniest bit of grey hair on your dear old curly head
nor a single beat of your true loyal & loving heart for
all the goldies in all the world - For me there could be
no one in all the world to take the place you have won for yourself in my
heart For me you are the one perfect woman in all the world. Perhaps
I am a foolish old person to think that of you -but if so I hope
I shall always be foolish for it makes me very very happy
& I don't think I am foolish a bit. It is only that I
know you for what you are in all your goodness sweetness
& loving tenderness - my own wee darling wife- The onlush
true love that ever I had in all my life - All my
 

2 Omit
heart is going out to you in your lonliness  my [[xxd?]] one
I hope you will feel my love go out to you & wrap itself all
round your true little heart & comfort you & cheer you
till I return to take you in my arms again- to look into
you dear bright eyes & sunshine face & klss your dear lips & cheek
& chin all away like my little Dhusack pet pays she will
do to Dida - Bless her darling little heart- She is a true xxxx
mummy in heart though the may be a dida in her looks.
Tell her Dida sends her heaps of tishes & love. We had
such a long interesting day going through the Canal
our Parson pointed out the spot where the children
of Israel crossed the Red Sea when Pharoah was 

after them
-He says the Red Sea went up much further in those days
than now. The Indian Army have detachments guarding
the Canal all along. About a mile or so from the
Port of Suez. which is a pretty little place - just a grove
of trees although all around is desert. They bring just
xxxxxx water in a canal there from the Nile & all along the canal
Trees & Date palms grow. I had some dates fresh from
the tree this morning  They were very nice & juicy
something like a big brown plum but with the date
xxx flavour of course. The first troops we saw were
Baluchis from Baluchistan.  - Fine big me. Then we
saw some Ghurka's They were easily distinguishable
by the fact that they wore slouch hats like ours_↓ &
Knickerbockers (instead of Turbans^↑) & ^instead of long baggy pants
like the other Indian troops. Also they were much
P.T.O.
 

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more like Japs. In fact if you could imagine the Japs
a bit bigger & stronger looking & with [[faces]] rubbed with

burnt cork you'd have a real Ghurkas. They cheered
us too. "Hip Hip Hooray" & we cheered them too
Their English officer  called out from the Bank
that we were to relieve them in a fortnight
I hope not. It will be very dull indeed sitting
there with nothing to do. I wonder what became
of your other letters that I see you put England on
them. That was not good. There should be no address
on them except what that which I gave you viz ^ Lt. Col H.E. Elliot
C.O. 7^th Battalion. Au 2^nd Inf Brigade Australian
Imperial Force. That will find us much quicker
so I expect your earlier letters got taken on
to England but as we met the England ^ last Australian mail ^ place here
we got them out of here by good luck.
At a place called Ismailia about half way
along the Canal we saw a very big camp
of Indian troops I believe some 15000 or more.

Later on we saw a brigade of them in another camp
are about 4000 men. I understand they
have had a few skirmishes with a few
Turkish raiders from the Eastern side
ie. [[Arabia?]] which belongs to Turkey.
The British have flooded a vast stretch of
country near Port Said on the Eastern
side of the Canal which effectively prevents
an enemy approaching just thereabouts
but further South the land [[?]] & so it
cannot be flooded effectively. Port Said
is a hive of Industry. Abxxxxx of Niggers
[Go to Back of P]

fairly swarm round about the ship, trying to
sell all with of things from silk handkerchiefs
to all sorts of horribly wicked disgusting photographs
that would horrify you to read about let alone
look at. I don't think many of our men bought
these last. I only saw one man do so. A lot of
empty bottles were thrown over from time to time
& the local bottle who were in a boat with a long
net & a long rope scraping them up off the bottom
also bits of coal which had fall over the side
while your we were coaling & the noise they make
shouting out while loading the coal
would almost drive you crazy. I was
very interested to hear about Bob Smith
coming out. If he has not left when this
reaches you tell him I shall be very
pleased indeed if he comes along with us.
From what you say it is evident that the Bairnie
has come along. No doubt you told me about
it in an earlier letter, & I hope it was a
[[?]] laddie like ours. There is as yet no
news of our departure from here but it will
probably be this afternoon. We ought to get to
Alexandria Sometime tomorrow. We then go
by train to Cairo & thence march out about
10 miles to a place called Atele  MENA where
we are to camp for a bit. We have about
30 sick men mostly men who are recovering
from measles. Well darling this will be
all for the present. I may add some more
later but whether I do or not you will know
that all my love & every thought is yours for
ever & ever by bonny wee darling [[ himoshine?]] lady.
God bless &  keep you always safe for me -
Little lovie Katie wife - Tell me you love me that you
want to put little head down or me & kiss me.
Lord.- Big mullin knows that you put all your
heart into like you know how. Because you are
my onliest wife dear & if  no one else has this
right to kiss me like that have t & if you 
[* don't do it -Dida has to go  without &
that's  isn't 
it - when Dida liked to be loved & kissed so hope you will save
a few for him won't you darling pet.

Your own husband

Dida Donssy *]
 

Mena Camp
Cairo
My darling wife
Egypt
I posted my last letter 10/12/14
to you in Alexander. I gave it to a policeman
on the Station and asked him to post it. I hope
he did so. From now on I will number my
letters on the back of the Envelope. This will be
No 1 & you can then tell whether any have missed
you or not. The same day that I got your letter
we came on to Alexandra but we didnt leave
the ship untill Sundry the 6th Dec. I let some of the
officers go up the town but did not go myself.
so I can give you nothing in the way of a description
of the town it. On Sunday morning we left Alexander
by train for Cairo. We left at 10.40 am &
arrived at 2.30 p.m. I think the distance was about
110 miles but I am not sure. I will look it up later
on. We had a fine view of the country which
is almost a dead level all the way and
under intense culture & irrigation all the
way. Of course as the niggers here are all
heathen the fact that it was sunday made
no difference to them. They were all out
working plowing with bullocks,  & ^ or buffaloes old wooden
plows or going to market with Donkeys or
camels just about buried under huge bundles
of Sugar Cane, Cotton Maize etc/ There
are no fences at all only irrigation ditches