Letters from Harold Edward Elliott to his family January 1916 - June 1916 - Part 9

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you are satisfied with me dearie & love me millions
& millions. I love to think that you love me you dear
little sweet soul - that I myself & no other are your very
own man chosen out of all the world &  that I have not
since we wedded disappointed you that every year
you would still say "faure' to me again. You
would wouldn't you dear old Kate?  just all
the same in spite of all my funny old sorty
ways.  Little Sunshine lady know&  feels that I love
her this dear nice pet the little sweet mother of
my bairnies. Oh Katie are aren't you just dicklers gals
we had the dear little pets together they belong
so much to each of us & they love us both rare such
darlings themselves. Wont they tempt you & have me
more XXXX  XXXX XXXXXX wife. I was interested
to hear of Henry Clarkson's approaching wedding
Mother in her last letter seemed to fear Rod was
going to wed Miss Hall soon  & she said "I'll have
no sons then. They will all belong to someone
else" Poor old mum. I told her the wee ones
will like our place. It wasn't a bit of any
uninteresting letter you dear suffish & don't
you dare say it is again. I have that big
long old lille  I wrote the thing buit it is
all out of date so you won't be interested
but I'll send it along some day. if only to
show that I thought of you every day
 

& talked to you & felt very loving to you all this
time. Tell me do you know that
sometimes Lady dear or will you believe it
without seeing the letter. Do you think I
cheated not sending it along? As a matter
of fact also it got so big & fat that I
couldn't send fit it ^mtr in everyone at all also the censor on board
the ship may not have wanted & read it &
that wouldn't do at all. Here they take my
word that there is nothing dangerous in this
letter & let it go forward. Young "Bol"
Johnston has got his commission now
with the 39^th Battalion along with Charlie 
If you want to write to Charlie any more
his address will be 2^nd Lt B Elliot
59^th Battalion 15^th brigade, 5^th Division A.I.F.
I am very sorry to hear poor old ^ mr Trowbridge has
not been well. Give him my kindest regards
His letter not come along yet. I will be glad
to hear from him. I suppose he will be
Very lonely now. We march down to the Canal
the day after tomorrow Wednesday. It is about
57 miles & will be hot & dirty I think but
we have 3 days to do it or no we shall
be all right. I have a geegee horse of course the
Againe old Black Nagace He is very fat & full of
tricks & pranks & nearly has me off sometimes when
he shies at Canals & pieces of paper etc. By darling pet
millions of love & save some for me & the pets Nana & Baaby    Dida

Egypt.
2/4/16
My darling Katie, 
I received by the last post
before we left Tel el Kebir a parcel from
you all with loving messages  frm  my darlings Katie
Dear & Nana.  Then was a procales & a balaclava
& a little packet with needles & thread & all
sorts of handy thing upon it & a pair of socks
from my moochie lady darling. Thank you
dearie & everybody for your goodness &
loving kindness. There was a toothbrush 
too. You  need not and me anymore
socks or toothbrushes for quite a long
time. I have heaps of socks & three good
toothbrushes. You can sometimes send
me a tube  of Suthymol paste if you like
It is to get &  dear here.  I don't need
any clothes  of any kind either clasling
since I got my underwear that Mrs
Buckley so kindly sent on from London
We had to march to this place whose name
I mut not tell you. It was very hot
108^o & the men only had their water bottles
full with them. The first day I had an
awful lot of trouble. When the men felt 
tired they just stopped & wouldn't go on
i e. some of them did, the majority were all
right & you much should just have

 

-2-
said  heard your Dida Doa. When I had
the 7th I had to swear for 1. I had to near for I found with
^some the sacklers blighters they have given me
for Ballatin Commanders I had to
mrcar for 3. But I kept then moving
on & we did our 15 miles of desert.
Some men fainted & other got knocked up &
blistered feet so  we sent about 100 out of
the 4000 or so So back to the  Railway & came on
without them. The next day we were much
improved. Men did not till they feel
quite exhausted fall out on the march
& only halted when commanded to do so
We did our 16 miles & at the end were
stepping out bravely.  We only had about 30
who knocked by that day. The next day
we finished our journey without losing
a man but of the 146 who fell out in
the whole journey & had to come on by train
only 4 were bad enough to be sent to
Hospital. The other men were all well
enough to rejoin us here on arrival
The 14^th Brigade which is one of the
new Brigades also unger under General
Irving started two days before  & had a
very bad time indeed. I hear  that
many of them nearly died & dozens of
 

-3-
Ambulance waggons had to be sent out for them
and General Irving got a scandalous sorting serios reprimand
up over it. He used ^ try to be very important at
Tel el Kebir & reprimand cost me up for things that
I reckon he had nothing to do with - happenings in my
Brigade. The  ^ command as being Service to me that he uses a sort of tears 
inal General
until General McCoy came back. We 

are under the latter again now. Well
General Mc Coy was delighted the with 
the way we ^the 15^th marched in & congratulated
me several times. Well that was all
right. We marched into  camp with
only a water bottle full of water each
& we were promised a full supply by 6
oclock at night but none came & we
warned General McCoy & he kept saying
the water was coming & it didn't come
& the men were getting very angry &
finally I got angry & said that if
the water could not be sent I would
march all my men back to where there
was water because they would rioting
if kept  in the desert like this without
water. & they told me to see the Engineers
who had charge of arrangement for water
& do what I could. I saw him about
11 oclock & he assured me the water
 

would be out at 5.30 next morning.
I was up at 5 next morning &
when the water didn't come through at
5.30 I got on my horse & galloped up
to the engineers in Chief Col Carey an
Englishman Canadian & talked to him quite nice.
Now,  I said, it is a question of you can't
or you won't.  If you can't you arent
fitt for your job if you won't then its a
matter for a firing party for you. He
protested it was not his fault that it
was the Canal Coy's fault who wouldn't
give him enough water. Well I said if
that is so we'll have a firing party for
the Canal Coy So I posted off to see
the manas charge & talked to himr
quite some & suggested if there was
any more failure of the kind I would
cheerfully supply a firing party be
deal with him. He got quite
busy then & said that by the time
I got back to camp the water would be
there for me. He was in his pygamas
All the time. He was friendly enough
but didn't say "good morning" when
I went away in reply to my "good morning"
 

so I guessed he had it in for me & so I
ae quite prepared when General McCoy
sent for we to see him at 10 oclock
this morning to sort me again
Katie I in having tho from of my life, sorting
people & getting sorted but. The latter got
off me like ^ water off a Duck's Back because I
know I am right but what does hurt
is my inability in spirit of all I do to get 
rid of useless officers who are as danger
to the ones under them. This is cruel. If they
(the men call them the 'eads) believed in there men ^themselves I 
would not growl for I might ^ conceivably be mistaken but
to know that they unofficially agree with all
I say officially - yet  - sort me officially for
saying it officially - it is more that the
limit It is what I heard one of our boys
call on the Peninsula the A.B.T.
When asked what he meant by that he
said Well its worn than the limit. its the
"absolute blanky terminus" only he didn't
say blanky.
Well Katie dear darling love we all hope
to be sent on in a few week to France to
meet the other boys again but there is nothing
definite yet. Millions of love & tishes for you
& the dear wee pets frm Didda Dor.
 

Egypt
8^th April 111
My dear loving sweetheart

I have your letter
dated the 5^th April March. It is lovely  
to get one so late. - It just arrived
today - & to know that you & all my loves my dear ones
are well & happy I had a letter from
Geordie too & one from Baaby with
wee Dhuoacks letter in it. - the dear
wee mite. I am glad people like the our
wee laddie & poor old mr Trowbridge
must have very pleased when he told
him he loved him big. He must be very
lonely & sad. Do you know if his
Malcolm's business went to our
office or to someone else. I had
a letter today from a Mrs Taylor
at Albert Park. Her brother was 
Corporal Wright. He was killed in
Lone Pine throwing Bombs out of a
trench so as to protect the other men.
One went off & blew his head off. I
have written telling her all about it
& said you would like to meet her
as you like to see all my boys
people. I enclose her letter dearie
so you can see she nice. I am
 

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so glad you let me know about
the Silk your dear old pet love
I'll see get some soon. I wish
I could prewarned you enough your
dear old secret love for all your
goodness, I am still feeling a bit
sad at the idea of only boys going
into action with some of these new
Colonels. Particularly old Field. You
cannot believe that he could be
such an old fool as he is & so
conceited & with such a swelled head
that you can teach him nothing
at all. It is cruel, Since you
want that fat lilter so much
I will send it along quite soon
It will be all old news now my sweetheart
love but it will show you my thoughts
were with you always every day,
Now I've not one  teeny tiny very
new to tell because  I wrote a letter
to you just a couple of days ago
We are expecting to get away to France
shortl. Millions of love & kisses
to you and the dear wee pet love frm
Dida Don.
 

My dearest Katie, love
(14th April 1916
(Egypt
I had just closed up
your my last letter to you when I got the letter with
all the snap shots of the wee pets. There is me
that I am very much in love with i e the one
with Gaga & the laddie standing with their
backs to the Summer house. The laddie in
particular looks such  a dear wee merry rogue that
I want to kiss him every time I look at it. The
little lady is a bit stiff & her smile more or less
forced but she kooks a dear little pet too. I look
at it about 10 times a day to cheer myself up
a bit & I need it too these days. General
Birdwood got home upon me for sorting up
him & his Staff or that letter I sent to General
White of which I sent you a copy. All
tho & thier Brigadiers have been made Brigadier
General as from the 1st march except me
& so they are all above me although as
Colonel they were under me & here is the
joke of it all.  At present I am the only
one of them that has proved he can command
a Brigade in the Field. I told you about
General Irving's Brigade last time well
the other Brigades are in  the 4th Division
under General Cose & I would say nothing