Correspondence from Keith McKeddie Doig to Lewis Maffra Grant, 1917, Part 1

60^th Batt. A.I.F.
France.
7/1/16.17
My Dear Louie,
I'm now beginning to receive
the papers/bulletins & Arguses). which
you've been posting me. re conscription
& really I got most interested in
it and I did enjoy the Bulletins
scathing comments re the people
with frigid feet. I'm just afraid
that we cannot mention Australia
with quite the same ring of pride
as we used to. However I suppose
you must be tired of it all so I'll
get on with news on this side.
My hand is a little bit shaky. for
I've been spending the last few days
mostly in bed as I've had my first
little touch of sickness - but they've not
sent me to Hospital & won't if I can help it
Started the New Year cleanly, that is to
say I had a bath. We had our

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New Year dinner in the same place as
we had Xmas dinner. Three roasted
fowls bought from Madame - tender they
were too. and a plum- pudding from.
Vict government House (State). This pudding
was sent to Harry, my batman, who
was a "buttons" there. He. looks after
me. very well and is even better than
my B'rd Meadows batman. He's a boy
about 20 & was thro' The Peninsular
& the way he feeds me, folds my clothes
makes my bed, finds all sorts of little
things. to make life worth living is
a. revelation. He is very anxious
to drive my car after the war but
when it. I told him I would. not
possess a car for perhaps years
he said he would be my gardener. Then
I said I perhaps could not give him a
living wage but he said that didn't
matter as long as. I was his boss. So I
must look after ^him eh?
The day after New Year's day we shifted
from our billets and came to fresh billets

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here. which are cleaner compared with
the last but we're moving back to
the line again in a few days. Honestly
dear. I am not in love with fighting but
not for one minute would I wish to
shirk my job and it's a case of
hanging on; There's going to be big
fighting in France soon but I'm pretty
sure these peace negotiations are the
beginning of the end. Did I tell you
I struck Ross in our last billets
He was just on a visit to HQtrs
& I only saw him for a few minutes
He looked very well. & fit.
I got your letters dated. 9^th & 10^th too.
for which many. thanks my dear.
but. no parcels. H They must have
been on The Arabia;
Do you remember me telling you of
our padré - the one who was up in the
Aid Post with me. Well, we were all
greatly pleased. to hear - that he was
awarded the Military Cross. for work he

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did in July - very fine work too. He is
an R.C. & he & I generally get
billeted together. He is really a
fine chap. and one of the few
padrés who. make themselves
useful & is not afraid of coming
up to the front line.
I've got a big bed to sleep in
and here the good lady of the house
supplies clean sheets, and at night
when I crawl into bed it is to find
a nice hot water bottle there which
Harry. has placed there for me. Such
is life in billets. If I had been
a bit brighter I would have been
riding around the country to see it
a bit but I'll have to wait I'm
afraid. I'm getting quite good on a
horse. I don't mind now if he trots
or canters - what a dare-devil I
am to be sure.
In France they make every thing &
every body work. The horse if he is not

5
pulling a cart is walking up an inclined
moving plane all day. His weight
causes the plane to move. & so he
works a thrashing machine or something
else.
Diagram - see original document
Horse keeps walking up
the plane but of course his weight makes xx the plane
slip down each time & hence on & on he goes.
Capt Hughes is still
with the 59^th & is now keeping
very fit & well.
Well Louie my dear. girl I am afraid
I've just about come to the end of my
news. I asked my Aunts to send two
cables to Aust. at Xmas - one to you &
one to Mother but they've just written to
say they only sent one. I'm sending
on their letter to Mother. and you
must ask her for it for Aunt Jess
has given a most excellent description
of Xmas & she is explaining in it

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why. she only sent one cable so dear
you must not be severe with me.
Remember me to Floss & Mr & Mrs
Dreverman & Allan - & you know
what to give Mick.
Keep. smiling dear. It's a
long lane that has no turning
and the corner might be just
a little way off. Cheeroh.
Lots of love & kisses from your
own loving
Keith

On Active Service
7/1/17
Miss Louie Grant
413 Park Street
North Carlton
Melbourne
Australia
K. McK Doig

France.
18.1.17
My dear Sweetheart,
I started off with a pen, but ink ran short,
so now I'm writing with the "Federal Manures" pencil which you
gave me ere I left that sunny land of the South. You
would be. charmed by the view about here.. Snow has
been falling for the last two days and everything has a
covering four or five inches thick of beautiful white.
I just wish I had my camera here to take a snap of it
needless to say it's mighty cold but the boys are having
good fun Snowballing each other and that warms them up
a bit They made a Snow man outside my AMC hut
and put a German hat on him. I was out just
now & found they had cut this Snow Fritz's head off.
Of course we're right out of billets now & well up among
the "crumps" and shells. We came back from
billets in two stages & at our last place I found
out that Ross was not far distant so I went over
to see him. He was very well. but of course he
has a lot work to do here. for it's very. rough. on
the animals in this weather. Next day we marched

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along to here. Fritz greeted us with a few
shells as we marched in but he only got one
of our chaps & he was not badly hurt. In a
couple of days we move right up. front. so
I've been busy getting things ready for then as
it is there that my work. commences in earnest
and one must have every thing ready before going
up. My batman (Harry) will of course. accompany
me. and I have leave all personal arrangements to
him and he takes what he thinks is necessary and
he very seldom makes a mistake. Did I tell you he
was an excellent little cook and has a happy knack
of always. producing just what is wanted at exactly
the right moment. And then my sergeant is an
excellent fellow with a keen liking for his work and
a very cool hand in an emergency. So you see
all should go well. Of course the padré always
accompanies me and he again is an excellent fellow
extremely useful wherever he goes. He it is who saves
all the fat from our meat and with an old tin
and a bit of bag for a wick makes the
"slush-lamps" which are so useful in the dug-out when
our supply of candles runs out. Then again he & I

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help to keep each other warm at night by sleeping
together and sharing blankets: Such is this
military life - a life not taken for preference, but
nevertheless an excellent thing for discipling
disiciplining oneself. There's a lot of truth in what
they say - that after the war, we will be able
to xxx dig ourselves in in the back yard after
if no. room is available in the house:
I'm keeping very well - quite recovered from my very
mild influenza which I had when I was in billets
I told the others that the thought of the front line bucked me
up. They say there are quite a number of men
in England who are "malingering to some extent"
and this has given rise to the following story about
the Australian Army. The story goes that the whole
Aust. Army will go home in three boats:- The
first boat will carry the Staff (of course they never get
hurt because they don't go up to the front line). The second
boat will carry "The Malingerers in England". and the
third boat will carry nothing but identity discs
I sent you a post-card ^photo of myself & the padré
taken when we were in billets last and I hope