Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, March 1919 - May 1919 - Part 1

Dourlers

France

1st March 1919

My dearest Katie. Here I am back in France

again. I am feeling a good deal

better since I got back. The weather

in England was very bad & I felt

better as the result of the new

change back here than I had

done over there while I had "the

blues" most of the time. I was pleased

to get your cable just before I left

that you were all well. I had

been worrying quite a lot about

the silly old "Dogs Disease" as the 

boys call that sort of Influenza

that you have got out there

now. It is still bad over

here. One of the 37th officers was

buried today who died from it

& Col Scanlor is away ill

from it. It is a nice bright

day here today & I can

here a cuckoo calling so I

suppose the Winter is over now

They have it very cold here

during the time of war in England

& were skating on the little

 

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lake in the Park here. Towards

the end of the cold weather the

ice thawed & many got soaked

through by the ice breaking with them.

On the 6th of the month we

are to move north into

Belgium close to Charleroi

& I don't think that I shall

be kept on much longer after

that. There has however been

a great deal of delay in

England owing to strikes &

out of 18,000 to go back

to Australia as yet only 5000

or so as I hear got away during

that month so in view of

that fact it is somewhat

unsafe to prophecy. i hope

we get some more mails from

you soon but I hear that

strikes in Australia are holding

up the Shipping out there

too. The whole world appears

to have gone a little bit mad

these days & what will be the

ultimate outcome it would seem

beyond the will of man to foretell

 

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I saw Uncle Jim Scott before I

came away. He said he though

that in one of those boxes of curios

sent out to you there may have

been some papers of his. You

know I had left those boxes

at his house in Hendor & we

were not at all sure that we

did not empty one of them

& that he used the empty one

to keep some papers of his when

he went to live in Brighton.

If that proves to be the case

will you please pack it up

& send it back to him as

they are his family papers will

certificate of marriage etc etc.

He was going to write to you

about it. I suppose if these 

papers did reach you

you would wonder whatever

they were all about.

He & his wife & sister in law

are about to go to Jamaica

to look after their business

there as far been his custom

 

 

returning to England about June

next.

I am getting tired of England

though lots of people there have

been very kind to me but it

isn't home after all. I am afraid

I shall find it very strange

too to be back in Australia

again now. Here is wee Dhurach

today nine years old &

poor old Thonbridge & many

other's dead & gone. All the

boys I sent over here to get

Commissions have rejoined

except Ine's Jack. I hear Jack Proctor he

got ill over at Salisbury Plain

just before coming over which was

very bad luck. I hope it does

not prove anything serious.

Well dearie pet I have no

more news now. If you see

Mr Lyne tell him I called in

his Aunt Mrs Howard. I

also saw Mrs Lyne's cousin

Corpl Linton in London. He went

away gassed & got a job at the Pay

office in London. I think this

[* will do now. With all my love & many kisses

darling for you & the wee pets. from your very own Dida Don

 

Dourlers

France

5/3/19

My dear KatieThere is very little to

write to you about. - Ine's Jack has

come back to France now & is

looking very well indeed. He

came to see me the other day -

Another boy who was over

in England doing the same

course with him said that

he did well & was very popular

with everybody over there. He

had a dry sort of humour

that people appreciate

very much.

I think I told you that

I we will likely move

about the 10th of this month

across into Belgium. At

first I thought it would

be close in to Charleroi but, for

the time being, I now understand

that we shall be some 25

Kilometres away from that

Town still. From what I

hear also we shall not be

by any means so comfortable

 

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about there as we are here

I don't know quite how long

we shall be staying there

but as I understand some

26 000 men are being shipped to

Australia from England this

month we should move across

to England about April which

would make it early in June

that I would be leaving there

for Australia all being well &

no strikes or other troubles

intervening. Did I tell you

I received your cable all

right? I was glad to know that

the 'flu had passed you all by.

According to the papers it has been

very serious out there. Oh. one

of the officers brought me a ticket

out of a 15th Brigade Comforts parcel

with the laddie's name on it.

One of his men had got the parcel

It rained very heavily yesterday

We were to have had a Parade

yesterday to enable Genl Tivey

to present & the 59th Bn a medallion

 

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won by them in a Rifle match

with the 6th Battn Charrues [[?Aguire]]

of the French Army some time

back but it was so wet

that I had the Parade cancelled.

In the afternoon Capt. Ellis who

is writing a history of the 5th Div

came to see me. He has been

reading up a lot of documents

in the Records at the War office

& he told me several items of

interest about the Battle at Fromelles

This action it appears was ordered

to be fought by Field Marshall Sir

Douglas Haig himself so when this

is published it should cut

out all blame from poor old

Genl McCoy. I hear that he

has been far from well of late &

is returning to Australia his place

being taken by Genl Rosenthal

who is greatly in favor I hear with

Genl Monash.

This is just about all the

news dearie. I missed seeing

Glori Fisher again whilst in London

 

I sent her a postcard to the address

she gave me on Thursday but as 

she was out of Town I she

didnt get it until her return

on Monday. She wrote to me

to Berners [[?]]. This followed

me & [[?Welnyn]] & has only just

reached me as it followed me over

to France. Wasn't that bad

luck? However I may see

her when I get back to

England on my way home

unless of course we are shipped

direct from Havre as there is

some rumor that this will be

done in the end but I don't think that

is very likely.

Goodbye Katie dear old

lady. Forgive me for all the trouble

I cause you. i am very sad about

everything. With all my love

from your very own Dida Don.

 

Dourlers

France

11/3/19

My dear Katie,

I am leaving here in

a couple of days time. The

Brigade is marching into Belgium

My Headquarters will be at

the Village of Bartenson in the

night of the 13th Inst 7 next

night on is at the Village

of [[?Buroon]] which I hear is

a wretched hole so I am

likely to regret this place

very soon now. Today I got

an order from [[?]] Tivey

Major General that after the

next draft leaves which

will be on or after the 17th Inst

I must be prepared to hand

over the Remnant of the Brigade

on the 18th Inst or later if

the draft is delayed & he

will administer it from

thenceforward. poor Separate

instructions will be issued

later as to what is to be done

with myself & my Staff except

Capt Lay who is to remain with [[?]]

 

 

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It looks as if it would not be

so very long therefore before I

am on my way home to you.

And what a happy journey

that would be for me if only

that scoundrel Roberts had

played the game. Now I am

shrinking from it like a child

from a scortching fire, but it

must be faced.

I enclose a letter I received from

my cousin Miss Torlenton also

the enclosure she refers to. I

had a parcel from James'

mother the other day with

some socks in it.

Ine's jack is very well.

He is getting a job to help

run Sports for the men whilst

they are in France. He won't

get away until nearly the

last as he has to serve three

months yet before his Commission

is confirmed. Murdoch

Campbell has left for home

I hear - you may see him if he