Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his sister-in-law, April 1915 - December 1916 - Part 13

such a big fat letter you Know
for one of two sheets even if h [[ ^it ]] had
a one page continuation next day.
But never mind this time. I will
add send a teeny timy little
one tomorrow to give the latest news to
Katie before the mail closes. Bye now
& heaps of pogues.
from Dida
P.S. Glory be I didn’t Know I’d
written all that. Must be a terrible
lot of skite. If so blame the shell
Shock which blew me up & made me
dippy or something. Perhaps it
filled me up with gas & it had to
come out again. Perhaps I’ll sleep
better tonight if that is so. Tell
Katie I won’t do it again so she
musn’t be jealous if your letter is
the fattest this time 
 

France
20/12/16
My dear Baaby,
Heaps & millions
of thanks for your photo. It is a very
nice one isnt it. I liked [[ ^all ]] the photos
Doesn’t Gagy look a great big girl
standing up like that with the wee
laddie at her feet. Nana’s shawl
looks nice too. When I read your
letter – it was handed to me before Katie’s
three came along – I could not make
out who “Mrs H Anne” was. Mr
Essendon Henderson was an old gawk.
Of course I meant the letter. Did
you ever see such fools as people are
I wish you meant it about the war being
over by next march. It is well Known
here now that Russia very nearly gave
in to the Germans a little while ago
& a special embassy was sent off in
post haste by the British Govt to Keep them
from giving in. A nice look out it
would be for us at this side if the
two millions of men German has
facing the Rushi Russians were loosed 
 

to come across here at us. It would be too
late to have a new Referendum in
Australia then. After we were well
licked here Germany could not very
well be prevented if she asked for
Australia to be given to her as part
of the terms of peace. We would see
how those lovely Anti Conscriptionists
would get on then. They do a lot of
talk about fighing when the Germans
come to Australia. They ought to be
here to see what happens to a land
where war is being waged in it.
Now Germany is at it again
offering all sorts of things to Russia
if she will only make Peace
separately. A nice job the British
Government has to convince the Russian
Parliament we are doing our best
when not a single colony except
New Zealand has passed Conscription
It is all very well for Australia but
the poor wretches in Russia now
have been unable to sell any wheat
for three years & therefore have no 
 

money to buy either clothes or any form
of food & they can’t live on just wheat
for ever & ever. It is to be hoped that
they send some of those wonderful
Labor men over to the big conference
to be held in London to hear a few home
truths. We are a mighty long way from
being out of the wood yet & it would
drive you ratty [[ ^mad ]] to hear [[ ^read ]] the fool talk
of those people in Australia who don’t Know
& will not listen to those that do.
I think I have told Katie all the
news this time. It is still very 
cold here. On the 2^nd Jan 1917 we
do a two days march away from here
to some country at the Bach where we
can do a little training whilst out
of the Line. It will be pretty muddy
sure enough but we will see something
of the Country. All the trees are quite
bare of leaves of course & most of the
country is covered with water so
it is not very cheering as you may
guess but it is far better here than 
 

in the dreadful wilderness of mud
in the front line trenches. I
enclose a cutting from a paper
showing where the water has been trickling
down into a dugout where men sleep
& got frozen as it fell. And the poets
speak about “Sunny France”. I wish
I could borrow a good old Midsummer
Australian sun & set it up in the
Sky here to teach them what a sun
is when it likes. The Anzac boys
in Egypt seem to have being giving
it to old Abdul lately.
Bye now Baaby dear. Heaps of
pogues for the picture & heaps more
just for yourself.
from Dida