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 on the meat. I have

shown all the letters ^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 om up w the true iteration. that 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 insisted nothing 

^new or original at all.

    So you see Katie if I can defeat the Germans

with such a slight loss & 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

appear 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 housewife

saved just say her old man [[/]] [[?]] & try to be

content.

      Your other letter started on the 9th March

& finished on the 10th March -Oh before I forget

Jack Proctor arrived in France a week or so

back & has put 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 I 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 Moons

return. I am sorry he wouldn't go one

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 in a saddle girth. Some of the men

like & wear them like that.

    Of course it is not suitable for the laddie to

war 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 hHelmet 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 pe 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 your & the wee pets my darling

from your very own 

Dida Doo.

All the Colonels are well &

happy including Brig Genl [[?]]

Col [[?]]

                                            France

                                                9/5/18

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 pressies

we take however being as

news of fresh preparations

for a renewed attack on

a scale greater than ever

We estimate we killed &

wounded some half million

of the enemy but what

is what when he is prepared

to stake 2 or 3 million to get

his object.

    Hunderstery told the Bernstag

or German Parliament that this

offensive would cost 400,000

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

already to victory - so you see

we have much to accomplish

yet before the war is ended

   And our ranks 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 of 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 Violet & 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 [[?]] 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 suite each

year but when so many hundred

of officers were clamouring for

new suits the Hughes Govt widdled

& 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

extra but they can get theirs

made fairly well pretty cheap

but if we get them from a 

Tailor then ^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 'm not

the only one takes down - the

British officers themselves as I

say and squealing at the cost

of things.

   I dont think I have much

more to tell. One of Uncle

Jim's Scout's daughters

Mrs Young has lost her husband. 

He was Capt Young of the M.A.S.

Corps. He died of fever in

Mesopotamia. Poor girl was

wed only a short time before

he went away & she as a 

little boy - a nice little

fellow. Before she married

she was doing well as an

actress although her people

re 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 or surprise when

you find them wearing a

smile on their lips. Uncle

Jim 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