Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, January 1918 - May 1918 - Part 17

stop or even make them pause until
they had the whole town & its garrison
in the bag & they were our meat. I have
shown all the wires orders & messages I sent ^during the action to the War
Correspondants Bean & Cutlack & I think
they will do me justice & see that the credit
is not stolen from me.
Not that I could care for I say there was nothing
wonderful at all about it – but I would like them
to own up to the true situation - that I alone said what
could be done & insisted on doing it.. If they will
do that I am ready to admit that I got it all out
of the ordinary text books. I invented nothing 
^new or original at all.
So you see Katie if I can defeat the Germans
with such a slight loss to my boys & ^so buck
them up with their Victory so that they 
 

would cheerfully take on the whole German
Army themselves – & if no one else in sight
appears capable of doing that – well don't you
think my place is here – whatever sacrifice
it may require from me.
I dont want to claim any credit ^myself darling
Its just you & all the good mothers at home
praying for me that "I may have courage
& wisdom worthy of my station" that
has done it all. So my dear sweet brave wife
must just say her old man Knows best & try to be
content.
Your other letter was started on the 9th March
& finished on the 10th March – Oh before I forget
Jack Prictor arrived in France a week or so
back & has put in an application to come
to this Brigade & in a few days will be
over with me & I will see what I can
do to help him along. 
 

You can tell Ine am very glad indeed
to have him with me. I am glad poor old
Grandma is getting cheered up a bit. Do
you think she likes our little people now ?
And are they very nice & gentle & polite & good there ?
I was very interested to Know about Moon’s
return. I am sorry he wouldn't go to an
evening but can sympathise with him
It would be a bit of an ordeal especially if
any wanted to Kiss him. He is a good boy.
I am sending the dear wee laddie by
this mail a waist belt which one of my
soldier boys – my groom Pettigrew in fact
made for him by collecting the Regimental
Badges of all the troops we have met lately &
mounting them on a Saddle girth. Some of the men
like to wear them like that.
Of course it is not suitable for the laddie to
wear but it will do as a collection for him 
 

I am registering the packet so as to make
it safe. I'd like to see the wee rogues face
when he sees it. He'll look a picture
with the German Helmet on his head & this
belt round his little tummy. Don't tell him
it is coming but just surprise him &
leave it somewhere with a ticket upon it from
Dida – Oh yes if it would only arrive in
time for his birthday that would be something
lovely. I shall be delighted to have Moon
back with me. I don't know what to do
about the roof of your house. Of course we could
not be paying for it our lease being so short
I fear you'll just have to Keep your eyes skinned
for some other nice little house nearby. Today
is very very quiet hardly any shelling at
all. Bye my darling sweet pet love. you're
just the life & joy of my heart & life my own dear
sweet loving little pal & mate. Just my Very
own sweet love.
[* Heaps of love & millions of Kisses for
you & the wee pets my darling
from your Very own
Dida Don
All the Colonels are well &
happy including Brig Genl Stewart &
Col Marshall *]
 

France
9/56/18
My dearest wifelet
Today is a glorious
bright warm day & there is
hardly any shelling at all nor
has there been any for several
days past.. Every aeroplane
report we get & every prisoner
we take however bring us
news of fresh preparations
for a renewed attack on
a scale greater than ever
We estimate we Killed &
wounded in the last great
Battle some half million
of the enemy but what
so that when he is prepared
to stake 2 or 3 millions to get
his object.
Hindenberg told the Reinstag
or German Parliament that this
offensive would cost 4 00000
German lives. As the almost
constant ration of Killed to 
 

wounded is 1 to 5. – he must
certainly have calculated
on 2,400,000 casualties as the
price he was willing to pay for
Victory & they told him to go
ahead to victory – So you see
we have much to accomplish
yet before the war is ended
And our ranks ^are getting thinner
& thinner as the days go by –
I wonder will the people in
Australia wake up before
it is all too late. I had a
little note from Johnny Avery
He is going home for Discharge
He is afraid his mother would
worry herself to death if he
were ordered out to France &
of course he might be sent out
any day if he remained in Service
if they should get short of Doctors
over here. I guess Violet will
be glad. I shall be glad too 
 

There will be less work &
worry for Flory & Mother
with Violets Kiddies off
to a home of their own.
I enclose a cutting from a
paper showing that the British
Officers are squeaking about
the prices of Clothes now just
as I am doing. The British
Govt gives an officer £50 allowance
for his outfit on getting his
Commission, Ours gives only
£15 & £5 a year afterwards
This was supposed to be for
extras only when we joined as we
were to be allowed a new suit each
year but when so many hundreds
of officers were clamoring for
new Suits the Hughes Govt wriggled
& offered us exactly the same
ready to wear clothes that the men
have to wear. There is nothing
to prevent the men getting clothes 
 

made to order if they like to pay
either but they can get theirs
made fairly well pretty cheap
but if we get them from a
Tailor their ^hands & mouths are open
like a shark for our money.
Since I became a General
I have noticed this in particular
They seem to have all a special
piece for Generals somehow
I guess too they put it on
a bit hot to Australians also;
who dont Know the proper
prices of things.
I send this list to you so
you can see that I'm not
the only one taken down – the
British officers themselves as I
say are squealing at the cost
of things.
I dont think I have much
more to tell. One of Uncle
Jim's Scott's daughters 
 

Mrs Young has lost her husband
He was Capt Young of the A.A.S.
Corps. He died of fever in
Mesopotamia. Poor girl was
wed only a short time before
he went away & She has a
little boy – a nice little
fellow. Before she married
she was doing well as an
actress although her people
are well off. – She was very
fond of Acting & will no
doubt go back to it now.
Cousin Nellie is very clever
at taking parts also – they
are rather alike & Nellie's
little girl resembles Mrs
Young more than she does
her own Mother – both have
the same sort of languid
sleepy eyes that you always
get a feeling of surprise when 
 

you find them wearing a
smile on their lips. Uncle
Jim ^Scott is out in Jamaica
looking after his businesses
there. His firm Nathan & Godfrey
of whom he is Managing Director
have a Shop in every town
in Jamaica – you Know the
Kind – General Store like
we have at home – Then they
buy all the Country produce
Sugar & rum & all that
sort of thing. They must
make a lot of money out of
it. There is no Godfrey now
& Young Nathan the heir to
his father's business is a
Captain in the British Army
Uncle Jim is one of his
Trustees & the Management
of the business is entirely
left to him.. He seems