Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, July - October 1916 - Part 13

Codford. I saw our Depot Battalion.    
I stayed in Camp overnight & then
got a motor car & went over to Lock
Hill Camp where I saw Brig Genl
McNichol who looks very well indeed
also Connelly. I did not see Capt
Fraser or Capt Symms V.C. or Lt
Dunstar. V.C. all old 7th Boys that
I would like to have had a word
with. Brig Genl Forsyth is there
also. He has broken down in health
a good deal I hear. I then went to
Sidworth in the car. This is where
the big Aust Base H.Q's are. I forgot
to say that coming from Codford I
passed the old prehistoric monuments
of Stonehenge. From Tidworth I
went to Salisbury. I then caught the
train & went south & spent the night
with Mrs Carter a sister of Mrs Edwards
at Christchurch. I visited her last
year. Poor lady she lost to eldest
son is the Battle in the North Sea.
I met there her boy's widow &his
 

three little children the youngest
such a dear wee chap. His father
died without ever seeing him. He
took quite a fancy to me. He is cutting
his teeth & gave my finger real hard
nips with his gums. They are very brave
both ladies. Young Mrs Carter has been
very pretty but we looks thin & worn
but has a lovely bright smile at times.
Like my sunshine lady. Young Mrs
Carter was a cousin of her husband &
like the Edwards girls She is 3rd cousin
to our pet. She was very interested in
their pictures. The next day I returned
to London. I found there at the Hotel a
note asking me to dinner with MIss
Coster Edwards. They (the other Aunt another Mirs Edwards) were in town
for a week. I was anxious to see
Violet that evening so I could not
go but on my way to Princes Square
I called in & saw them & arranged
to dine with then the next night
& take them to a theatre afterwards
with Violet. I then went on to Violets
 

place but found her out of town. I
then went on to Mrs Merrylees place
at South Kensington which is not
far from Princes Square. The
next day I spent visiting various
Hospitals where I knew my boys
were & saw a number of them. I am
sorry that few of them were making
any satisfactory progress towards
recovery. It will be a long time
before most of them are fit if they are
ever fit at all. Quite a number are
down for return to Australia. One
Major Hewitt promised to call on you
His right arm is quite useless & will
never be better as his shoulder
blade was simply shattered to bits
He was one of the best of the old 7th Officers
He came out like Bartin & others as a
Sergeant & got his Commission on the
peninsula. He got the Military Cross
& I have just got him made Major
although as he is unfit for service now
it was hardly correct. But I recommended
 

him before I knew his return to duty was
impossible so my conscience is easy.
I am sure you will like him. I am
glad poor Mrs McKenna will get to
know you. You are such a kind nice
lady that you will cheer all those poor
lady's up I as sure. Don't you worry

about a house for Didda. You may be

sure he will be pleased as long as he

finds his dear old lady & pets safe. A barn

would do quite well with such dear loving

sweethearts waiting there for him. I was
very homesick when my holiday came
to an end & I had to start off back
to France. On the Saturday night I
went to a dinner at Mr Charles
Buckleys house. He is a brother to of Col
Buckley. I met then Miss Nancy Birdwood
older sister daughter of the General.
The former is about 18 or 19 Very fair
& rather pretty. She is supposed
to take a lot of interest in Australians
& is a nurse at the Australian Hospital
at Harefield but I am not connrced
convinced
 

altogether that her interest is genuine
I will tell you all about things her sometime
I hope. Well the next morning ie.
Sunday I caught the train to Folkestone
Had to wait there all day for the boat
& got to Boulogne late at night. I got
a chance to run out & see Jack Geordie at
Wimereux. Dr Norris is there too but
he doesn't I didn't see him. Geordie
& Eric Woods (who is now a Dr - You remember
he used to play full back & kick off so
splendidly for Varsity) are coming up
to this Division. We They ought to
arrive here today. But I dont know
if they will be allotted to this Brigade
or not. Dr Hardy who is a Ballarat
Doctor & is our Col. in charge of the Meds
for the Division may fix that for us though
Eric Walker is in Hospital at
present. He has as a touch of pleurisy
So far as I know he has not yet gone
to England but is in a Hospital near
here. Charles Elliott is at his own
home in England. He had what is
 

know a French Fever. He is just
about all right again now. It will be
a great disappointment to me
if they don't pass conscription
in Australia. Here the boys have
to do far more than their share of
the work because we are not up
to full strength & the more there
are of us the quicker the Germans
will be beaten. I hope that the people
out there realize that if the Germans
win part of Australia may have to be
given over to them. Geordie looks well
He told me he saw Jacky Boy a week
or so ago. Jack was down on duty
for a day or two in Boulogne. He did
not know Geordie was there & both got
a great surprise. Well now darling pet
I must say goodbye. We are for the
first time since the 10th July being taken
out of the Front line for a rest.
This will be very soon. When we are
fresh then we will no doubt do some more
fighting. We have had very great praise
P.T.O.
 

from everyone here for the amount
of work accomplished during
our time in the Trenches.
We have quite made a name in
this respect as well as in the
fighting. I haven't had my
St Anne medal presented yet.
I met quite a lot of the old 7th
Boys in London. They say that the
7th is not the Regiment it was. It
is only Bastin who keeps their reputation
up at all. Col Jess & Major Hart
are very clary of going into the firing
line at all & the men notice the
difference. All the old boys would
come over to me if they could.
I had a letter from Mason saying
he would like to come over to me
but I think it will be difficult
to get him across. Well dear

old sweetheart God bless & keep

you always Millions of love & kisses to

you & our sweet loving darling pets

from your own Dida Don
 

France
24/10/16
My dear Katie
You have been greatly neglected
but unavoidably for we have been on the move
Another big Battle will commence very soon
The roar of the guns is continuous by
night & by day. I can compare it
to nothing that I know of unless it
be the boom of the sea in a storm
breaking or the a rocky coast but
every now & again there is a huge
booming roar that somehow does
not fit in with anything in the way
of sounds that I have ever hear
It is one or other of our monster
Guns breaking in & the general
din like the voice of a lion above
the Jackals yelping round him
The drums of ones ears seem to
be continually vibrating to the quiver of
the air whilst the Bigger one shakes
the earth itself with its din.
We are camped on a bare slope &
it was a wonnderful sight last night
to see the camp fires of this vast Army
 

blazing east & west & north & south
like the lights of some huge city.
whilst on two sides the glares
from the guns lit up the sky like
glares of distant lightening.
By day the place with its white
chalk trenches scarring the
hillsides & the tents that crowd
every hill & valley it look like
the pictures of old digging days
of Ballaratt Bendigo. The traffic
is something to marvel at in the
main roads line & lines of motor
vans guns & horses & men. I've
seen nothing to compare with it
at all except Regent Street

London on a Saturday morning
about noon. But there is more of
this. We had one or two bitterly cold
nights. One under canvas which
was very cold indeed. Now we have
canvas shelters into which the men
are crowded. I have a funny sort
of hut made with Galvanized Iron
 

like a huge water Tank 20 feet long
& 14 feet wide cut in half & a wooden
floor put in & the whole of the inside of
the iron is lined with boards. It has
windows of oiled silk let into each
end & one end has a door. It is very
warm & comfortable. Toda This
morning it wasn't frosty but there
was a dense mist of fog. I had
a long walk a couple of miles further
up to our front to get a view of the
land but the mist was too dense
to allow of any view. If The country
where we came from was very
sad & desolate looking owing to
the ruined farms. Here one misses
that aspect for then are no ruins
at all simply heaps of smashed bucks
which have lost all resemblance to
buildings & the whole place being
covered with camps & troops there
is much more life & the same neglect
ruin & decay is not so apparant
or so saddening. There does not