Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his sister-in-law, April 1915 - December 1916 - Part 4

Wedding -- I enclose a 
cutting from a paper about
it. I heard the lady is
about a Millionaire or
will be when her old 
people peg out as her 
father just about owns
the "Anchor" Line of Steamers
& they have been coining
money for the period of
the War.
We are still "resting"
in the Same place. Very
pleasant here but am
getting pretty tired of it
We must get on with
the war & be done with it
I hate to think of idling
here through this beautiful 
weather & the Knowledge
than another of these awful
winters is coming on 
 

when we maybe much
worse off than ever for every
Comfort. So let us get
on now & smash them as
much as we can while
the weather is good. No
doubt though Genl Haig
Knows his job & will not
Stir until reserves of
men & stores have been
made up
I had a letter today from
Jerrie Campbell who said
that she had heard from
the Jacky boy that he was
back in France. Thats 
good isnt it. I saw
Bob Smith the other day
he is looking very
well indeed. My D.S.O. 
 

& Col Denehy's came out
in Orders yesterday. No
more room on the top row
so poor old St Anne will
have to be pushed off &
start a new row
underneath. The D.S.O.
gets the next place to
the C.M.G. . (A.V.C. or C.B.
gets right in front of the
C.M.G.) So you must
call me Brig upon your
letters Brig Gen H.E.E. C.M.G. D.S.O.
Getting quite an alphabet
isnt it. We dont put anything
for St Anne or any foreign
Order. It was bad luck
General Holmes being
Killed the other day
wasn't it. It was miles 
behind the front line too. 
 

with Mr Holman. I never
liked old Holmes much
but I am sorry he is
gone. Dont Know who
will get his job but I
hear that a British officer
named Gellibrand who
[[ ^who ]] is serving with us is
to get it. The "usual"
thing of course. No
Australian good enough.
I don't know that I have
any more news. I haven't
had a letter from you for about
An age it seems. So I
hope you will write soon
with heaps of "Stories" about
the Bairnies " in it. I
liked the last snap shots
Heaps of love & Pogues 
Baaby Dear from Dida 
 

France
18/7/16
My dear old Baaby,
Your letter dated
the 29^th May drifted in yesterday all by
itself. needless to say I am delighted
to Know [[ meet ]] it with all the news it
contained about the wee people. I am very
pleased with the two dear wee mites. How
much do you love them Baaby dear. Could you
love your very own any more than these two
I am sending Gaga [[ Dhurach ]] a postcard which the French
Government issue to their Army for use
I will put it in yours. Isn't that wee laddie
a funny little chap making love to Mr
Trowbridge like that. Does he smooge to
you & Mum & Nana the Same or is he
only good to his man. It is sad for them to be --
becoming acquainted with the possibilities of old
age & sorrow the dear little pets. Although it
is midsummer here it is quite chilly
today Very different from Egypt. I can
see it [[ s ]] is going to be an an awful place in
the winter. After every shower the
trenches are nearly full of water &
the mud is shocking. However it
dries very quickly & a couple of days 
 

fine weather makes things quite pleasant
The people are complaining bitterly of the
unseasonable weather & blame it on the
war. Their crops are looking lovely
but they will never ripen properly
with the weather we are having at
present. I am sorry I can't write
you a more interesting letter Baaby
dear but the old Censorship prevents
me. At the last Billet I was in there was
a wee nigh mite of a girlie about 2 or 3 who
was very shy. I gave her a fistful of pennies
one day & she was so shy she ran behind her
mother & would not say thank you
or "Merci" as they say or "Beaucoup
de Merci"  ie Many thanks but later on she
used to wriggle up to near a corner &
when she caught my eye she'd throw me
a Kiss with her little hand & then run
for her life. [[ ^{round the corner} ]]  A funny pretty little dark
eyed girlie she was. At the place where I
was first Billeted the old Doctor's lady I used
to practice talking French to them but here
all the country people seem very scared of me
I suppose they think I am big heap [[ ^very ]] important 
 

person but they talk to the boys a bit. We
all liked the people at the first place we 
were at they were all so friendly & Kind
Here they are not so friendly & take
us more as a matter of course. They have
had no doubt [[ ^had ]] hundreds [[ ^{of Thommies) soldiers} ]] of people who
were good bad & indifferent & they have got
tired of it. We live in their houses & the
Germans see us & shell their poor
houses all to gim Rags [[ ^ruins ]] & they have
no where to go & it is all very sad
indeed. There was one lovely farm a mile
or so from here like a queen Ann Villa
red tiled roof & all Brick stables [[ it ]]
with a nice garden. Also it had a wide
ditch all round it except where the Drive led
up to the from door & it was just a
battered wreck. Even the avenue of poplar
trees fringing the Moat were all torn &
shattered & dying from shell fire. I suppose
its bright red roof made it a good target amidst
its greenery. Well my dear thank you millions
& millions for all your goodness to me & the wee pets
& mum. & with a pogue from Dida for Bye. 
 

France
26/7/16
My dear Baaby,
I was delighted to get your
letter which had the 10^th June date on the
envelope but none inside it. Goodness Knows
where mum's went to. Oh the latest Censor
regulations say you mustnt put the
Division but only the Brigade. Will you
tell Mum. I forgot to tell her in my letter
to her which I have just closed up. I havent
a scrap of news. We have had the quietest time
possible since the big fight on the 19^th though
every day some poor chap is Killed or maimed
I go round the trenches every morning between
6 or 7 oclock to see how they are getting on
& my boys are doing splendidly. They are
Keeping the place beautiff beautifully
Clean & neat sweeping up all the Trenches
& casting all the rubbish away. It is a
pleasure to look at the place but it will be 
a horrible quagmire once the rains
start. Did I tell you I had Miss
M^cDonall's brother or cousin with me 
He used to Drill with me in the old
days when we were in the Carlton Drill 
 

room. He was a policeman or something
He was a splendid chap & on the march
either in Egypt or here he was usually
carrying some one else pack as well
as his own or sometimes two of them
when they got tired. I am glad to say
he was only wounded in the charge. He
will probably be made an officer if he
comes back again. Oh, about the Camera
I never took any of the plates away with
me. Baaby. But only used it as a film
Camera. So you should be able to find
them in some drawer or other at home
& the rubber bulb would not cost much to replace
I got a photo from Mum sure enough but it was one
of Sears, not yours at all. I like yours best I think.
that is the ones that came along before. I had
forgotten all about the funny little Lizards & the train
in the Desert & had to think for a couple of minutes
before I could recall what it was all about. Bye
the way that little toy train wasn't such a toy
train after all. The boys used to sit on its
funny little trucks & dangle their legs over the
side & act the goat until two of them tumbled
off & got Killed. Well Baaby dear that 
 

186 Gatehouse St
Parkville