Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliot to his family, November 1918 - February 1919 - Part 1

France
6/11/18
My dearest Katie,
I have not a
lot of news for you. We are still
in rest areas but expect
shortly to be moving forward
again in fact the old 1^st Div goes
forward today. At what point
we shall meet the enemy of course
I cannot say. The Brigade is likely
to remain where it is for another
10 days or fortnight. Genl Hobbs
asked me whether I would like
to go on leave. I told him that as
I was feeling quite O.K. I preferred
not to go. I want to save up for
you good. I hope the £30 I cabled to
you the other day gets to you all
right Mr Shields has not got away
yet as I have still the Box of
Cartridge Cans for you here. I
am arranging however for the
Boxes that are with my uncle Jim
Scott in England to be sent out
in a transport & they will be
left with you for you at the 
Naval & Military Institute  Institute Queen Street ^Melb where
you can get a carrier to call
for them. If you leave before they
arrive tell Baaby to look for 

them. I enclose a letter i got
from little Mademoiselle Brunah
They are back at home now. The
sister is away for a year  to
a Boarding School at Versailles
I had not written to her for a
long time and as she had
read in a paper that the 1914
men from Australia were getting
leave she thought that I had
gone too. Her father has
recently received a Decoration
which is similar to our Royal
Red Cross medal. In the early part of
the war he was captured & did very
good work in on outbreak of Typhoid
fever amongst the patients. It
is great news this collapse
of the Austrians but the Bosche
over here are still fighting very
hard & it will I fear be some
time before they give in unconditionally
which is the only thing any good to
us. I have not heard from Ine's
Jack for a long time. He should
very soon have completed his
course over there & be coming back
to us. This is just about all
there is to tell you. Oh Ronald
Dickson's brother (there are two 

brother over here) died suddenly
of pneumonia following or Spanish
Influenza a week or so back. He & his
youngest brother who is in the
AS.C. are both all right so far
Col Denehy  in view of the chance
of speedy peace has decided
not to take leave but to see
the thing out to a finish. I
don't know whether Bert Layh
will be allowed to come back
seeing that the 60th Baltn has been
disbanded. But then are a
lot of dud's in England who ought
to be sent home now replaced
by good men who are out of a job
because of the disbandment of Bns
there are a lot of duds too in the
camps at home who might well
be replaced in the same way
I think this is just about
all the news that have at
present. Bye & millions of love
& kisses as for & the wee pets
from your very own Dida Don 

France
My dearest Dhusuch
12/11/18
Isn't this just splendid
news we have now. The old Kaiser
had to run away from home
to save his skin & we have
driven all his nasty old soldiers
right away out of France
& Belgium for always
And won I'll be coming back
home to my little Darlings.
won't that be just lovely - & I'll
see how big you have both grown
 - You were both such wee baby things
when I went away & now you are
almost grown up & can talk to me
just like grown up people.
What a lot my wee ones will
have to tell me about when I see
them.
I am delighted to hear you are
still top of you class. It was very
sad having to leave [[Stolemurch?]]
& the nice little school there &  
all. I hope you have another nice
school to go to now.
Goodbye my dear little lady
Soon be home & then we will have
such a happy time - no more war
at all. Heaps of love & tishes from
your very own Dida 

France
15/11/18
My dearest Katie
I have just had a
mail in with four dear loving
letters from you dated the 25^th August
the 11^th Sept the 7^th Sept & No 25^th August
Wasnt that a lovely to get all
at once. I am sorry that there were
no photos with them. But now that
thee are no submarines to fear we
ought to get our mails so very much
quicker than before that I should
soon have the photos. I got your
cable about the new address and
I am now wondering whether you will
make the try as Peace must come
pretty soon now. Whatever you
decide upon doing will be quite
all right for me but all the same
I an hoping to see you very soon
now.  Capt Doyle was been promoted
to major now so has Ronald Dickson
I told you all about my wound long
long ago so I wont repeat it again
I am so glad you were not alarmed
by the cable. Then was never any
need to go into hospital for
a wee slight wound like that Katie &
I like t be near my boys.
It will be hard luck for Jane's
Jack wont it - I dont suppose
they will make mind him an officer 

now. And he must have

been just about ready to pass

his exams. He left us last 

May I think or June. I got the

little people 's postcards, tell them

I am delighted. They write very well

now don't they. I think the

laddie's writing is very like

Dhioachs very clear and firm

It is much better than his big round

hand that little Alex Peastor

writes. I suppose there was

a great show in Melbourne on

the Armistice being announced.

At present we have not the bad

idea what is to the done with

us. We may be sent up in

the Thine to do occupation

duty or not. I hear Billy

Hughes is ∧ going to hurry us off back

to Australia as fast as ever he

can get there is nothing definite

at all. Today Genl Holt has gone 

up to have a Conference with

General Monash and we should

hear something very definit on

the subject after that. The

wearter has vecome dry & settled

again with very biting frosts

in the mornings. I will 

write & tell you as soon as I

have any news at all. I have 

not heard from Mr Roddick for some

time & he did not mention the business

Fancy Dhusach being a stone heavier

than laddie still. In the photos

he looks nearly as big as she does. 

He will catch up through when they

come to be about 12 or 14. Girls mostly 

develop at first faster than boys. 
It sure enough is a very great

comfort to me to know that I have

the respect of my boys. It is

far more to me than Birdwood's

favor which I might have got

by sacrificing their lives

without question. I am so

glad you got my letter from 

Ullapool & that Nana got the

Heather all right. Perhaps after 

all you will he be here for the 'versary

dearie 'cause the ships will come

quicker now. I hope the photos

turn out well dearie but I am

sorry you didn't have one

taken of yourself for me.

Doesn't matter much if you are

coming or not but it will be sad 

if you don't come. 

Millions of love & kisses my dear

little loving lady from your very own Dida
Don

France
21/11/18

My dearest Katie
As I have not had
any cable from you about coming over
I lave just about given up all hope
of seeing you this side of the waters.
I suppose there will be all sorts of instuctiona
placed on people wanting to come to England
now as they will want all the space
on the Ships going back for troops for many
months & it would not do leave people
stranded in England at that time.
The news that we were going to
Germany turned outto be premature
We are not going at least for the present
& of it is doubtful if we shall go at all.
It appears that Genl Foch has
concluded that the Hun army is now
so demoralized that he can afford
to take chances & save money by
moving only 50% of of the force he originally
intended to move to the Rhine up to that
River.
It begins to look as if the war was sure
enough over. Oh Katie, young Jack
Roberts came here today to see his
cousin Len Stillman. I had little to
say to him. He looked well. He said
he had been in France since about
∧ the end ∧ last September - just about when we
had our last fight at Billiwurst. He is 

now a full blown Lieut in the Flying
Corps. I have no idea how long it
will be before we are to be sent home.
I expect I'll have to start out
& look for a new job soon. I am
very fed up with Birdwood & the rotten
way he has always treated me from
the start.
No one did more to make the A.I.F. than
I did & got no thanks for it from him
that for the A.I.F.. he would never have
been heard of in this war.
I haven't the teeniest tiniest
bit of news for you Katie darling. I dont
know what one's Jack will bo doing
now but I dont see how he can
get a commission now. It is real
hard luck for him isn't it. All
promotion of officers & non coms is
now stopped at any rate until we
see whether Peace is to be made or not &
if as we hope Peace is made it will
of course permit any more promotions
at all from being made.
I enclose a news sheet that I
intended to post to you some time back
but it got missed. Do you want me
to come home to you Katie very much?
I seem to be a ^ bit of a failure altogether at
whatever I try. I don't do just the
[* right thing somehow & yet I am always doing
my best as I see it Millions of love & kisses my
faithful wee wifelet from your own Dida Don*]

Huppy
near Abbeville
France

 24/11/18
My dear Katie
We are just packing
up here to go north. We get out
at Le Catian after what promises
to be a wearisome train journey
commencing at 8.40 pm tomorrow
night. We have to march about
8 or 10 miles to Abbeville tomorrow
afternoon. Whether we will go on
into Germany or not no one
at present appears to know
At first we were told we were
to go later that we were not now
there are vague rumours that we
are to go after all.
Anyhow I am glad to go with
of this as I am getting sick of
the sight of the place. There is
nothing to do & everything you
want to buy is terribly expensive
now eggs 5d each & apples the same
while you cannot look at Chickens
or the like at the cost they are
I enclose a News Sheet giving the
Allied terms of the armistice as
agreed to by the Germans & now in
progress of being carried out though
with many squeals as to their harshness
& yet all the time even now they
continue to treat than who were