Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, May 1917 - December 1917 - Part 6

a brother of one of the boys with
me & a Ballarat boy was
killed. He was in the flying
Corps & tackled the Raiders
on his own & got shot.
I saw in the orders that
Jacky boy was back in
France again. I Saw Geordie
at the Kings parade. He
is getting quite fat.
Had a letter from Bert
Layh. He is in Scotland
& he tells me he is greatly
improved & wants to get
back to his Battalion
which Mason is running.
I am not altogether
pleased with Col Marshall.
He lets his officers go in rather
too much for drinking & acting
the goat to please me altogether.
I see a possibility of a row
 

with the little "Jimmy Courtney" General
Wieck is going away soon
& "J.C." the General wants to push in a
friend of his into the job. My
opinion of him is that he is a
"Dud". If he turns out to
be [[?]] I can promise him
the hottest time he has had for
a long time & he or I will
go pretty quick. There is
a rumor that we will go back
very soon to the place where
the little French lady who
sometimes write to me & whose
^letters I send to you lives. Wouldn't it
be strange if we were sent back
there again? We liked the people
there better than any we have
met in France & we would
like to go there again very
much. Bye Katie love &
God bless & keep you all. Millions of
love & kisses for you & the wee pets from your
very own Dida Dor
 

France 21/7/17
My darling Katie pet,
I think I've been
neglecting you something scandalous very much these
days but we have been moving about a lot -
First of all on Monday we moved out here
which meant a march of about 13 miles so
that we could do our training without

treading on crops for round the other
place we were at practically every foot
of the ground was cultivated & old madam
at the farm used to be quite [[?]] if
we walked on her cow paddock &
burned the grass. Out here we are
again near the old front line where
all is ruin. In the village where I
live all the people were deported
by the British twelve months ago owing
to the danger of shell fire^but & they are
all now coming back to it. I am
living in a rather nice brick house
which belongs to the village notory or
solicitor. He is of course away at soldiering
but his wife & a dear little boy just about
5 years old & her mother have come back
now about a month & have things pretty
comfortable although several big shells have
burst in the backyard one knocking down
about 10 feet of the brick garden wall &
nearly all the windows are broken & the
 

walls of the house have big gashes in
them where fragments of the shells hit them but
apart from that the house is as good as
ever. They have a maid a girl from the
neighbourhood rather fat & untidy looking in
dress but very bright & smiling with very white
good teeth. I haven't seen such a merry face
since I left my ^own sunshine lady — well we
got here on Monday. Then our old General
[[?}} ordered us to march to another
place 17 miles away where the Engineers had
built pontoon bridges over the River & he
wanted us to practice the mules & men &
& horses going over them, as sometimes they
sway about & the animals play up & capsize
Also if men keep step going over it is
very dangerous as all the weight coming
down together sometimes causes the gear
to break — so they have to be taught to break
step while crossing and to halt if the bridge starts
to sway until it settles down again.
My boys did a very good march there. This
was on Thursday & we marched back
yesterday (Friday). Today I am giving them
a rest & the Battalion have mostly marched
over to a little river about 3 miles off & have
a swim. Also we have got warm baths
rigged up for them which will be a
great blessing during the rest of our
stay. It is almost certain that our
 

next move will be back to where the little
French lady the Doctors Daughter who sometimes
writes to me lives. She will be astonished to see
me as she has not written since xxx just
after Xmas. I sent you her last letter,- &
of course I have not written since my reply
to her letter then. It would not do to let our
movements be known even to our best friends
over here. The boys are just looking splendid
and I am certain they will do splendidly
next time we get into action. I had a
letter from Bert Layh during this week.
He is somewhere up in Scotland & hopes
to be back soon as he is much better.
Colonel Denehy's & my D.S.O's came out
in yesterdays "Times". It appears it
was for all the fighting in March & April
when my boys took 13 villages in 3 days
thus my D S O was granted & Denehy's
was for the Bullecourt fight. I understood
it was in connection with the Bullecourt
fight that I was to get the decoration
as I planned the Scheme in the beginning
but I suppose it will stand to my credit
towards the C.B. or perhaps a bar to the
D.S.O. I don't care though now if
I don't get another decoration all
the rest of the war but I was I must
confess rather keen on getting that D.S.O.
because I felt I had been done out of it
unfairly in Gallipoli that being a [[complete?]]
 

I don't care a bit about any of the others.
It is of course almost certain now that
either in the course of the war or at the end
I will be given the C.B. So I shall have a
whole alphabet after my name if I live. Not that
they will do me much good but perhaps my dear
old lady & the wee pets will be proud of them.
When I was last in London I told a Lady
that I didn't care tuppence for them & that
they were to me only reminders that to win
each of them for me many many of my
brave boys had died. She said "But I know
somebody who will be very proud of them." xxx
I expect [[??????????]] lady
 

I think I told you that I saw in the orders that
Jacky boy was back with his Brigade again but
so far I haven't seen him. Geordie is still going
along all right & Eric Walker & Col [[?]]
Col Stewart. Col Denehy however I fear is likely
to knock up one of these days. He is just
too anxious. I think he worships his Battalion
& it really is very fine but I believe he
thinks of [[?]] days & dreams of it at night
The heavy losses it suffered at Bullecourt
to worried him & he looks very old & [[?]]
Its a bit too much for him I think. I am
very lucky indeed to have Battalion
Commanders such as I have & they
all think their Battalions are the
best & I myself think there is mighty
little to choose between them & that
there is no Brigade anywhere to compare
with it & I am gradually, or "it" is gradually
proving to others that what I think of it is
not just "skite". So dear little woman
thank God in your prayers for all his
goodness to your old man & ask more than ever
for [[?]] for him in his command of it so
they be not sacrificed. Millions of love & kisses
from your very own Dida Dan.
 

France
25/7/17
My dearest Katie
Big heap I was very pleased today me to get
Lovely a long letter from you dated the
27^th May. Having missed the two or three
letters before xxx ^which evidently got drowned quite a lot of
your allusions to things mentioned before in
those letters seem very odd & of course I don't
know what you are talking about.
E.g. I've no idea who Lt Charleson is - never
heard of him that I know of. - Also I didn't know
of the Bairnees concert but I gather that Dhusach
sang or something & the laddie clapped [[to ?]].
I do hope the German Helmet got there safely
and wasn't drowned. That would be a pity
wouldn't it. I'd like to see the laddie's face
when he gets it. My poor old Katie - I am
longing to be back with you & I am very sad
just now. I have lost Major Wieck who has
gone up to the 3^rd Div. & my Staff Captain got

to others [[?]] in their place. I protested
by but it was no use to our little [[?]] General
Courtney. I am so disgusted [[?]] them
that I seriously thinking of sending in
my "resignation" to General Birdwood & tell
him that I am afraid Staff officers
like this will only bring disaster on
my men. It is [[?]] abominable & there are
any quantity of good men but these
blighters have money or influence or
what not behind them & they are pushed
 

onto these places for which they have no more
fitness than a Tom Cat. I am glad you
met Mrs Barton. I thought she would be
nice but always thought of her as elderly of
course. Old John [[?]] Gilpin was very good indeed
Katie pet. I believe young Bob Johnstone's wound
is pretty bad still his arm I think was badly
broken. We are still resting. All the Colonels are
well & the boys are just splendid. I think we'll
soon be going into the line again. Isn't the news
of the Russian breakdown something scandalous dreadful.
Just when we were hoping they were going
to do better too. I gave Baston & [[?]] & some
of the other boys one of my new photos to send
to their mothers. I thought perhaps that their
ladies would be pleased. I will probably send
one to Sam McKay but the worst is
they are terribly expensive in London &
I cannot afford to send many. I sent
Mrs Marshall one & I gave one to [[?]]
Denehy & Layh so their ladies will get
them one of these days, I suppose, unless
they get drowned. I do hope you like
yours, everyone says it is very good of
me. And I told you the D.S.O. award came
out - Oh yes it was just after I had closed
up your letter that the paper came xxx
[[back?]] & so I put it in. Baaby Belles. Col
Denehy's came out in the paper at
the same time too. I am delighted
 

to be able to get some rewards for my
boys. I had a letter from poor ^Lieut Topps father in
law. He wanted me to get his Stars etc. but Topp
is buried at Bullecourt two months ago & all
his kit was sent away at once to the
Base in England. Goodness knows what
happens to it on the way but I know there
are bitter complaints about theft whilst on
the voyage. Anyhow I cannot do anything
at all. Poor Topp was killed whilst
fighting so well in that Bullecourt fight
where ^all Denehy's men fought so splendidly.
I wonder did the account I sent you
of that fight ever reach you or did it get
drowned too. I think it would just
about miss the boat that got sunk so you
should have it. all
I heard the stench from the bodies about
there was so awful that fever broke out &
both us & the Germans had to fall back &
leave the lines. Darling pet if I ever get home
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. I am
delighted to tell you that the result of my
asking for Baston just as when I asked
for Jack has resulted in him being given
the M.C. & now he has been put into
training for Staff Captain. It is a pity
he has ^not had such a little ^better Education. He
would have been splendid but I have very