Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, May 1917 - December 1917 - Part 14

here whom I can ^really trust anyone here to
look after things when my back is
turned. I was up the line this
morning on a bit of a hill. The old
Bosche spotted us & started firing
little whizz bang shells at us. We
scooted but the young officer who was
with me got a smack on the foot
with a fragment which went clean
through it- crushing the bones badly.
The poor chap had been wounded at
Bullecourt & got the M.C there
He only got back a few days ago - just
missed the big fight & he wanted to
be in the next one badly. He is
a fine boy not 20 & now I fear he
will be laid aside for long enough
I have had no cable from
you about the change of address
I had heard so much of the little
home & the orange tree that I
shall be sorry when you leave particularly
when you have all been so well
there but you are right as usual
We can hardly stand by & see our
darling pets health ruined 

I am wondering how poor
Lyn is. I had just had a
wee note from her thanking me
for my photo & telling me to

send Geordie back at once. It
is sad about him never seeing
seeing dear wee Jacquelyn at all.
It is a blessing though that she
came along to cheer up poor Lyn in
her grief. It must have been lovely
driving out with Mr Dent & wasn't
Gagy Dhusach a darling to thank him so 
nicely by wanting to give him all
the oranges I'd love to see the
dear wee body- my own little
daughter. Tell her this I was so pleased
to see the picture of her dear little
hand she drew for me. Tell her
Dida tished it he was so pleased
about it. I gave one of officers
going to London two daggers the
boys took from Germans in the
big fight.- One has a sort of silver
Tassell upon it - It is the badge of
a Sergeant Major of the German

Army.- I asked him to post them 

to you. If you like you can
give the Tasselled one to the laddie
& the small one to the Dhusach - but
they are not nice things - cruel looking
so if you dont think they are nice
things for them to have you need not
give them to them.
It is getting very jack frosty here
of nights now. Soon it will be cold
& ^with Snow & wet. There was a bitter frost
last year at the end of this month.
My two horses are still looking
well.  The mare was very seedy
during the Cold weather but is
very sparky now. Old Darky
seems a trifle stiff at times. Like
Dida he is getting old & these cold
nights shake him up. I have
not yet got the parcel. I hope it
hasnt been drowned
I dont think there is anything
I can do about Louis Collier's brother-in-law. 
It was at the first

Bullecourt fight a mad affair
when the British Division let us
in badly & a lot of the boys were cut 

behind the German wire. If he
was taken prisoner they will be
notified in due course - if not
he is practically certain to be dead.
The 18^th Battn is not only in a different
Brigade but is in a Different Division
& miles & miles away. If I have a
chance I will inquire, but I cannot
promise to do so - at least at present -
as we are just scandalous very busy. &
I have many things to think about
They should write to the C.O. of the
13^th Battalion direct. All I can
do is to ask him & they might
just as well do that as ^ask for me to do it.
But I suppose the poor people at
home clutch at any chance to get
news of their missing ones so I shouldn't
be sorting them. - But I have hundreds
of things to think about just now & I
get tired & weary of it all at times.
As you say it is a wonder I have
stood it all for so long & poor Geordie's
death & this worry about Mr Roberts
is just the A.B.F - the Dead Finish
Katie its a queer old world & if 

one did not laugh at times one
would go mad. And the men are so
funny - You know sometimes the
Bread gets wet & spoiled & they give
us hard biscuits to eat. - Sometimes
a little of the Bread is saved & they
give us that & make up the
shortage in biscuits. The men
dont like the biscuits a bit &
are very indignant at times when
they get only a small ration of
Bread. The poor Quartermaster's are always strifed.
The other day they were short again
& the Quartermaster Sergt was dealing
out the Bread.
One chap looked at his share
then hailed the Quartermaster -
"Look here - Quartermaster - is this
" my blanky bread ration or is
"it for Holy Communion"
Tell old Dent that Story. He will

appreciate it.
You know the whole place is
just a wilderness of huge
shell holes & all the farms are 

just heaps of broken bricks 

We send the rations up as
far as possible in long strings of
mules - It is a terrible journey
as the mules fall into the shell holes
& get bogged & are sometimes blown
up by shells & so on -
A long string were setting off in

the dark the other night - ^A party of all aged men One
of the men lookeding at them struggling

through & said replied  "Burke & Wills

"in this Blanky desert," Bill."
You know sometimes with all

the guns going off round you

some of them just monsters (&

the noise of some of them nearly knocks

your head off. at times). you cannot

sometimes distinguish between

the explosion discharges of  the our own guns

& the explosion of the Big Shells.

A newly joined officers was with

an old one crouching in a bit of a

trench the former just about blue

with fear. Said he to the other

after a tremendous crash near

them - "W-wa was tha that ours "

Yes said the other with a grin - its ours now 

"Its a present from Fritz."
The nervous one laughed at
the joke & his fears went from
him. Courage is a queer thing
like that. A whole lot of it is
custom. Lots of the men think I
am brave. But to this day I cannot
help flinching a bit when a shell
crashes near & I ought to have got
accustomed to it by now & the
involuntary flinch is such a fool
thing - it wouldn't help one a bit
you cannot dodge a bit of shell.
I had three letters from you this time
darling. I think I ^have got them all 'cept except
those that are drowned & they tell
you about them. Sometimes they are
very slow coming along. Some of my
officers got letters of the same date
as these & some later last week but
that is the fault of those gawks of
girls in London. The bulbs in the
garden must be lovely. I would
like that. I sent you £50 by last
Mail. I hope you got it all right
It will come through the Defence people 

as the last lot did. Poor Geordie sent
me back nearly all the money he borrowed
a few days before he was Killed & this enabled
me to send it to you just a little later than
I intended. I wish you would get a letter
from the Trustees Coy telling you how much
we owe now. I am worried lest Roberts
may have kept any of it. If you get have the receipts
direct from the Trustees that will settle it -
I am so disgusted with him after
him being so ungrateful to me. because I said
that as business was sure to be bad & he would
have to get someone in my place I would not
want any of the profits of the business while
I was away & then to play this shabby trick
on me. I am afraid his wife will be
broken hearted. Les Stillman ^her nephew did very
fine work. I have sent his name on &
he will likely get the M.C for it. It is
too bad that Geordie ^likely will lose his [[brass?]]
now. Poor little Jacquelyn would have
been proud of it some day.
What has become of poor old Miss
McGacharn now. The Tonkin's could
tell you. Perhaps if she has no place
on hand she would come along for about 

10/ a week & her board & teach the
little people. It would be better than
letting them slip back.
That was very kind of Mr Gilpin Katie
to give so much to our Depot. I must
write & thank him. I've never yet
done so even for the shirts. I kept
his address for a long time but the
shirts were so long coming I am not
sure if I still have it & I forgot to
keep my promise to write to him & thank
him for them.
I am disgusted with the men people in Australia.
Surely these battles will bring people them to
their senses. We have driven the Bosche
back & back but I doubt if we can
do much more. Some of the Battalions
are not 100 strong when they should
be 1000 & yet they expect us to
go on. The Bosche rushed over thousands
from the Russian front just as I
said he would & more are coming.
Some of the prisoners told us they
were at Riga & chased the Russians
20 miles & never once could they get
even near enough to them to fire a shot 

so we have to Br Keep on fighting like
this to help Skunks like those.
This will get to you about Xmas I
suppose dearie. I will wish you
all sorts of good wishes for Xmas & New
Year darling & hope that we will
have a real "Versary next Xmas.
but it seems to be pretty remote
at present.
"Tristmas Dearie ?
Tell that wee laddie - Ill be after
him for that stretcher when I come home
my word I will. But perhaps if he is big
heap nice to me I'll give him the one I
have now to sleep upon for his very own.
Ask him would he give me a big heap
love & tish for it & shake hands with his
dear loving hands. - Will he give Dida
his little hand - & he never told me if
I could call him my "laddikiss" like
Mum. But perhaps that letter was drowned,
I had a letter from Major Hewitt. He
is settled in his plantation in the
Solomon Islands but still longs to be
in it with the boys. Millions of love & tishes
from your Very own Dida Don.