Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family January 1915 - May 1915 - Part 10

Printed letterhead - see original document.

7/4/14
My dear wife,
We have safely embarked 
but have not sailed with
the promptitude that we were
led to expect there seems
a probability of lying here
some time off the harbour
The officers are lodged with
the utmost luxury all or
nearly all having a double
berth cabin to himself but
the men are most uncomfortably 
crowded. A new mail has
arrived & I am hoping to get
a letter from you today.
Colonel McNicoll has taken

over his command. The

6^th Battalion are with us 

on this ship but th 280

of my men under Captain

Major Mason are on another
ship. They have already

[[drain?]] off into the habor
We have lain at this wharf for
two days awaiting the completion 
of of our supplies which will be 

placed aboard early this

morning. We have no horses
aboard this time all our 

horses having been placed
on another ship with the

grooms & drivers under

strict [[?]] to look after 
them Sunday. -
We are safely anchored
off a beautiful little island

whose name I must not mention. We had lovely weather
all the way across & only a few of the men were seasick
This morning is simply beautiful. Sea & sky as

calm & blue as a perfect spring day can be at
home for of course it is spring here now. We are
in a fine harbor crowded with shipping with little
peaceful villages & windmills all dotted on the
hills around us. No sign of war at all except
th little gun boats patrolling the mouth of the

harbor & the Torpedo net stretched across on
mooring buoys also a across the Harbor mouth. Our
mails which we did not get at Alexandria
have now come aboard & I am hopeful of
getting one from you before I close this letter
I was not very well during the last week

at Cairo but I am now quite well again
All our letters from known will be read by
the censors here or [[?]]. You will understand

God bless you & the two little pets.
Your affect husband
HE Elliot
[*2DRL|0513*]

Printed letterhead - see original document.
P.S.
Your letter of the 
11^th March has just been

handed to me. I am glad
you liked the shawl & 
things. It was a joke about
the necklet & Glory but think
you did quite right. One
never knows. If I had been
better off I'd have sent one
each. Never mind I'll send 

her a lock of the Kaiser's moustache
from Potsdam when we get there
I am delighted to hear that the

wee ones are so well & hope
to hear of your trip to [[Healerville?]]
in your next letter also that
the balance of the things I
sent you from Egypt have
arrived. I took a great

fancy to the tent work
tapestry when I saw it
 

in the houses. I like it
particularly well under
electric light. Some of 
the designs look wonderfully
bright & pretty.  I think
this is just about all the

news. oh. young Ken Walker

is a Sergeant now. Lyn
will be pleased. I am hoping
to hear the Geordie got

through his exam all

right -

Your affect husband.

H E El
[*2DR|0513*]
 

Printed letterhead- see original document.

[*not pay all of it on the 1^st June if you are
short. The ^ [[trunlect?]] will take part on account
Love to the wee bairns & both grandmas & yourself.
A mail or part of one came on from Alexandria the
other day but I did not get a letter at
which I was disappointed. However I am
sure that I will get one soon.
Your affectionate husband

HE Elliott*]
13/4/14

My dear Wife,
We are still at the same

island as when I last wrote but during
the interval all commanding
officers were taken on board a
battleship & taken round
& shown our probable landing
place. During the observation we
were shelled by the enemy but
he proved a rotten bad shot
& his closest shot was a full
400 yards away. However they
cleared us off the upper deck

in case of accidents. It was
a wonderfully interesting trip
The battleship was guarded

throughout by little torpedo
boat destroyers on the inner
side between us and land
 

-2-
to prevent submarines approaching
& we travelled at about 20
knots an hour so that the
enemy had at least some
excuse for his bad shooting
We were about a couple of
miles off at the time.
I expect before you receive this
you will have learnt by cable
whether we really did attempt 
to to land & where & with what

success. At present we are
not allowed to tell you anything
about that. Thanks for the little
message at the end of your last
letter. I would reply fittingly but you
know the censor man (who for the
time being is Capt McKenna) at

has to read all this & he
might smile. I will keep the

reply then for a more auspicious 

occasion but in the meantime

you can guess it by writing your
 

-3-
own message on this & imagining
I have done so - making the necessary 
changes of course. Did I tell you
Capt Mason is now Major & Lieut
Layh. Captain - My boys are moving 
up are't they. Lieut Johnston

(who with Capt Mason & their
men are on another ship) is
reported to me as being rather
seriously ill with a septic
throat & may be send back
to the base hospital. We are to go out 
on another  Battleship today 
to further reconnoitre the 

coast for landing but whether
it will be the same part or not
I cannot of course say.

21/4/14

Still in the same place &
nothing to report. We landed
on the island the other
-4-
day and I am enclosing a few
of the flowers I picked in the

fields. It was very beautiful. The
fields were a mass of flowers of
all sorts  daisies & clover & 

poppies & different varieties of
wild [[?]] etc. The air was full  
of perfume. At was  The landing

was done from boats by way of
practice. Some of the men were
very awkward getting down
the ladders & one fell into
the water & lost his rifle. Fortunately
we had aspare one aboard
We have as yet no direct orders
for our departure & as on this
date it is raining & stormy
it maybe that we will be still
further delayed. With
regard to the insurance
premium you although it

comes due on the 1^st June

you need not pay it until
the 30^th June, after that they

charge 6^d a month. With regard
to the interest on mortgage you need
[*2DR|0513*]
 

22/4/14

My darling wife,
I have just received a
note from Belle telling me that
you were operated on & stating that

Geordie was writing to me to tell
me all about it. However Geordie's

letter did not come to hand & I am
quite in the dark about how it all
came abou.
I was naturally delighted to know

that you were doing well but naturally

6also I shall be anxious until I have your letter
telling me about it. I was wondering
why I had not got a letter. Poor old lady
I hope you did not have much pain. Belle
did not tell me what doctor you had
gone too. But from what she said
I understand you are in [[someones?]] hospital 

It was so splendid of Mrs Galpin to give Belle
 

-2-
three months leave in that you would not
be worried about the wee pets children. I got the
funny little letter the wee lady sent me.
And what a joke her imitation of the fat

lady by stuffing handy hanks into the
breat breast of her frock. We are still at
the same place as when I last wrote but

I doubt if we will be here longer than a
couple of days. There is very little news
to let you know about & for what we
could tell you the censor will
cut out. So it is better not
to write it at all. I wonder will
they send your brother out here  to us 
or  will the new contingent go straight
to France. I am wondering also whether

Major Smith will leave with that lot.
I am beginning to doubt whether
he is very anxious to come after all.
Capt Permegal has been left
behind in Egypt to his great

[*2DRL|0513*}