Letters from Harold Edward Elliott to his family January 1916 - June 1916 - Part 1

No 2 Ward
Heliopolis Hospital
2^nd Jan 1916
My dearest Katie
I wonder whenever I shall get a letter
again. I let them know at the base as soon
as I arrived on the 23^rd Dec that I
was here but so far nothing has come for
me. Mrs Milne & Marjory came to see
me the other day & Mrs Crawford wrote
to me. She said she had had a letter
or postcard from you at Xmas. I hear
that the boys are all over here & are camped
at Tel-el-Kebir where Lord Wolseley fought
the big battle with the Egyptians somewhere
in the eighties of last century. There is not
much in the way of news. Charlie ^(my cousin) came
to see me yesterday. He is a private
in the 11^th Battalion. He joined in Queensland
but at Freemantle he & some others
got left behind missed the boat or
something & so he had to join the 11^th.
He has not been over to the Peninsula
yet. He is looking very well indeed
He had typhoid in Queensland but is
now quite fit again.
I am still getting massage
treatment. My feet leg doesn't give
 

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me much pain but whenever I attempt
to walk the ankle seems to give way. But
it is steadily improving. I get very
impatient at times when I let myself
think of it It is so like being chained up
by the leg here & there is so much
to be done in reorganizing the Regiment
while we have a chance that I
grudge every minute.
Well dear old lady this is not
very much of a letter but when I don't
get a letter from you I somehow lack
inspiration to write a long one back
again to you. But I must tell you
I love you & that I remembered
that we had a real anniversary of our
wedding i e when the Xmas day came
on the Saturday & the 27^th consequently
on the Monday just as it did the year
we were wed. It will be seven years
next Xmas won't it. - How time does
fly - xx But every year I have to tell you I am
more satisfied than ever with you for my
wife. Tell me dearie have I made you
truly happy? I hope I have little love. Oh just
 

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I would like to be with you xxx now dearie
asking you that  - taking your dear old
face between my hands & looking into
your bright loving eyes & collecting my
reward from your dear lips.
God Bless you now my dear darling
wife & my two wee bairnies. I am
longing to see the our dear wee mites little ones
again. I suppose the wee girlie will
be soon going to kindergarten or school
I wrote a wee letter to her the other day
& said I wanted to get a real letter
from her soon. Goodbye dearie
Heaps of love & kisses for you and
the wee pets from Dida Don
P.S. When next you write to Toke Tocumwal
tell them Charlie's address
is No 2883 Pte Charles Elliott
9^th Reinforcements
xx 11^th Battalion
3^rd Inf. Brigade A.I.F.
That will find him. He was asking
after xxx them 
HEE
[*2DRL/0513*]
 

Cairo 7th Jan 1916
My dearest Katie,
I have obtained my
discharge from hospital and although
I am still a wee bit lame I expect

to go along to Tel El Kebir very shortly.

Only a few of the 7^th Boys are there yet
but the rest of them will be along
very shortly. I have not heard whether
 Jack & Bob Smith have come over yet.

There are rumours of all sorts of
changes & promotions amongst the
different regiments but I won’t
expect anything till I see it in orders.

I have been told I am to get the old

2^nd Brigade & Col Forsyth will go back
to the Light Horse but it is all
talk so far. Also I have heard that I
have been given the C.M.S. but nothing
official has come through so far either
so I am not counting on anything
 

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I went out yesterday to Maadi
to see Mrs Crawford but I
did not see her unfortunately 

as she was out.
She is having trouble as her
boy Ian has been ill with fever
but is now getting better.

I will be going out this
afternoon to see wee Marjory
& Mrs Milne. I was feeling very
lonely for you and the wee people
last night Katie dear. I wonder how

long it will be before I see you all.
It is a very long time since I left you
& no letters for such an age. Only one
later in date than July & that was the

one that reached me in England.
Fortunately Jack had some later

letters which he showed me with
all the news about the wee laddie and the
Frog. Tell the little people I am very

pleased with them. I am wondering 

if you got the money I had sent
 

3.
to you a long time back but you are sure to have done so. I ought
to have had another lot sent to you long before now. I had about
£60 saved up when I went to England but I got there without
a stitch of clothes except those I stood up in & they were practically
in rags. So I had to get a whole new righ rig out & before I knew
where I was the half of my sixty quidlets pounds had vanished & before
I had left the rest had followed it & here I am again. Most
of the clothing I took with me from England to the Peninsula
went off with the Regiments luggage to Mudros & goodness
knows whether I will see it again. I have just got my
Sui Trunk from the Depot at Alexandria today. I haven't
opened it yet & hardly remember what is in it.
However I hope to save up again now & let you have
at least another ₤20. very soon. You are a darling to save up
so well dearest pet. But you are just everything that is good &
nice & loving- & all that goes to make up the dearest & best little wife
in all the world & I will never be half good enough for her.
Millions of love & heaps of tishes for you & the wee
ones from Dida Don
10^th Jan 1915
Dearest. I am back with the boys again & we are having a good rest I
haven't seen Jack yet but he is well also Bob Smith. Eric Walker is at Heliopolis
but I didn't see him. Your cousin M Ludd from Diggers Rest saw me in Cairo.
I have got such a dear loving letter from you telling me all about Geordies
wedding and the dear wee laddies wedding next - & how good the wee pets were.
It was very sweet to hear from you again. God bless you. My leg is getting on but I
am still lame. I have bound it tightly with adhesive plaster so as to support support
the ankle & I I have my ginger horse to ride. No news of promotion. Tell Mr Roberts
I have just received his letters which dated about 15^th Oct I missed
all his other letters. Tell him I will write soon
[*2DRL/0513*]
 

Tel El Kebir
Egypt
16 January 1916
My Dearest wife,
I have received a whole budget of
letters from you but some are still missing
E.g. Over in the Peninsula I got a number of letters
which you wrote in July. The the next first in the
batch I have just received is dated 5^th Sept
So that I have had none of the August
letters at all.
The next one is 31^st Oct 1915. Then the next is
the 14^th Nov 1915, then 23^rd Nov, then 28^th Nov from
Berwick & lastly one written started on the 10^th
Dec at Berwick & the last finishing up
at home on the 14^th Dec which brings one
very up to date doesn't it. I was delighted
to get the snap shots of the wee little people - they
are just lovely. Also I got a post Xmas card from
you - So didn't I have a big fat read & weren't
you a good obedient darling girl to keep on writing
as I told you to the old address. Now all
the people who wrote to me at ^care of High Commission
of Australia have missed me. It is lovely splendid to hear all
about the our wee pets again after so long. Hasn't
the wee laddie grown? Do you think he would
know me now? the dear wee boy. Doesn't he look
a merry little rascal standing on the stool? Wee
Dhusack looks ^to be doing penance on her stool
she looks so serious. Her hair must be
 

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very nice just now. It looks so soft &
fluffy & she looks to have such a lot of it too.
Jock came to see me the night before last.
He is a Sergeant now and looks splendid. He is
letting his moustache grow again. I like
him better with it. Did I tell you I saw Cousin
Charlie. I have arranged for a transfer of them
to the 7^th Battalion. I think Jack will do
all right where he is. he seems to get on
very well indeed with Bob Smith who it is
practically certain will be Colonel as brouch
has practically got the kick out. Anyhow brouch
has been sent away to some other job and
Bob is getting running the Battalion. Unfortunately for
us militia officers the staff have developed a
bad habit of sending getting in British officers or
the Higher commands & beating us for ^all the
bigger job. It is about the limit if you contrast
the way our men have fought compared to
some of the British Regiments & it was
us who taught our men to fight - but
we are not good enough it appears for
the Higher Commands. It is pretty extraordinary
When I was raising the 7^th I would have
none but local officers & all Australians
& there was no more famous regiment on
the face of the Peninsula than the 7^th Regt
yet promotion seems as far off as ever.
There is no sense in grumbling however &
one thing is certain. I would be no happier
with any other Body of men than with my
own. I feel they have every confidence in
 

(3)
me. You are not the only one who has told
me that the boys speak highly of me. Naturally
I feel more pleased than if I had the highest
Honors conferred upon me. My only hope is
that I shall continue to merit their esteem
to the end. We are gradually building the
Regiment up to full strength again
We heard yesterday that Sir Ian Hamilton
latest despatches were out & that many
Australians had been honored. Perhaps there
may be something in them for me. But you
mustn't worry if there is not. So long as
the Boys are pleased with your old man me
I know you will be. There are such a lot
to deserve honors that it is hard to
know where to draw the line. But Egypt
is just swarming with British officers eager
for jobs with the Australians now they
have proved themselves worthy, & when we
were in Cairo before they had no sort of use
for us at all. Queer isn't it & what is
more they are getting them the jobs too.
Before we came here I was told by a pretty
high up staff officer that I was getting
a brigade but since we came here there
is no mention of it. However better like
 

(4)
the Honor list it may drop along
some day. And while I will of course
accept it I know it will add
fourfold to my anxieties & worries. It 
is hard enough having the lives of 1100
men dependant upon you. How
much worse to have 4000 whose lives
depend on your word. Geoff McCrae
is away in Hospital sick. He had rather
a bad attack of influenza. ^Major Stanley Coldman
who was with me in South Africa, xxx went
through all the fighting ^in Gallipoli but on his return
here got pneumonia & died in three
days. I am cabling to Mr Roberts about
the Frankston land. I agree with you
It would not be wise for you to involve
yourself if anything happened to me. So
I will try to get Mr Gardner to pay you back
the £25 or £30 I put in with him & let him
take it all over himself. I don't know if
he will do this. I will remember Mr Sutherland
when he comes over. Fancy you picking up a
boy in the train. Katie I x am Shockified at you.
I had a very long interesting letter from Mr
Roddick. He said you had been overpersuaded
by the Reporter to publish my letter to the Argus.
I hope my dearie wife you did not think I was