Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his sister-in-law, January 1917 - April 1919 - Part 10

Tel. 35 Welwyn.
Digswell Place,
Welwyn,
Herts.
24/11/17
My dear Baaby,
I am so sorry to hear
you had those old Bilious
Attacks. I hope you are better
now. It is very sad about the
parcels too. But never mind
we are not nearly so badly off as
the Germans at home especially.
It is simply wonderful what the
women are doing over here – munitions
making and farming motor driving
& so on so as to let all the men
go out to the front. Regarding
sending money I dont think
that should be done at all.
although I Know Tivey’s
Brigade gets a lot but the men
are really well fed. The socks
are undoubtedly a great
comfort. It is more the fact
P T.O.
 

2
that the parcels Cheer the
men up than that they
actually want the parcels
from necessity. that The
fact that the people at home
are thinking of them is what
really counts. I do not
think gifts of money
would ever take their place
in this respect. I am
quite a lot better now [[ th ? ]]. I
hope to get back to France next
Tuesday. Charlie [[ ^Colonel ]] Mason came
down from London yesterday
to see me. That was very kind
as he is over on leave & his wife
is here. He gave me all the
latest news about the boys. I
shall be glad to be back though
it is very nice here. Major De Rain
is here also Frank Tubb one of the
old 7^th officers. His brother who won a
V.C. was Killed. This one has the M.C.
Gagy [[ ^Dhurach ]] is getting pretty tall isn’t she
They both seem good little people
as Kiddie go don’t they. I
 

3
enclose a letter I got yesterday
from Mrs Edwards. I think
her son has gone to
Italy. It was bad luck
that General Maude
died in Mesopotamia
just at this stage was it
not. He seems to have
been an exceptionally
good man.
Dont Know any more
news Baaby dear so
bye & heaps of pogues
from Dida
 

France
19/1/18
My dear Baaby,
Just a sperrik [[ ^{little bit of} ]] a letter
dated the 11^th Nov. came along from you today.
Poor old nana. It is very sad for her but
we must try & Keep the Germans somehow
from winning. If its my turn next Baaby
try to think that all these things had to
be to prevent the Germans owning Australia
& from doing the things to our little
ones & women which they are doing today
to these poor wretched Belgians &
Servians. The world must have been
Very wicked to have drawn upon
itself such punishment – perhaps it
must continue for years to teach us
true repentance. Certainly one sees
no general sign of Repentance anywhere
at present. There is the same cheating &
everything else going on – Business as
usual – Certainly one could scarcely
deny the justice of our punishment
as a people. Certainly if you are
to get any of us back at all there
must be a big Change in the attitude
of the people of Australia. They
will have to realize that their
existence is at stake. I wonder
will they leave it until it is
too late to do anything except
submit. I haven’t got much in the way 
 

of news. A lot of the wounded men & officers
are I believe being sent back home now.
Today it is quite warm though cloudy.
It will probably snow again though
as I see that in England & Scotland
the snow has been very heavy & the Frost
very severe. Loch Lomond is just about
frozen still. It is too much to hope
that Germany will be frozen Stiff.
Those madmen the Russians are just
finding out that the Germans are
playing with them. & will swallow
them piecemeal – one of their precious
new republics after the other. But they
all [[ ^{seem to} ]] hate each other so badly & all
are getting paid with German money
to fight each other that there is no hope of recovery.
Truly the world has gone raving
mad. I think that this year we will
have an awful time of it, as just; as I
said would happen, all the guns & men from
the Russian front are being piled up
against us [[ ^here ]]. The people in Belgium who
still remain, anywhere neare the front
are being pu carried off from their
homes to make room for these thousands
of troops to come in & live there.
Bye Baaby dear Keep on praying hard
for all our poor boys. I’ve no doubt that
we will account for quite a lot of
[* Germans before they finish with us. Million loves
& pogues   Yours Very sincerely
H E Elliott *]
 

Belgium
14/2/18
My dear Baaby,
A lovely fat letter came
from you today dated 13^th Dec. giving me
all the news about the wee people & the
party at Elwood. I am glad the wee people
can be happy still. I think too that it
is better that you should be out &
about too. It is useless to brood over
these things. We must just muster
up our Courage & face them. Poor Mrs
Roberts. I had a long letter from
her. It appears this is not the first
time her husband went wrong & both
herself & his mother had to come to his
rescue at different times. I am
delighted the bairnies got such good
reports from their School. Gagy [[ ^Dhurach ]] is
getting on very nicely but the laddie is
not so bad considering he is so
much younger than she is. I don’t
seen to have much news Baaby dear
I met Frank Fischer some time
back – I told Katie about it in a letter.
We are not yet right in the line but
in Reserve close up. We shall soon be
going in though. The London papers
have just announced that Russia
has made peace finally – although
Germany has possession of a deal of their 
 

2
Country & wont give it up. Trotky
has told his army to go home. I
expect all the time he is in the pay
of Germany as suspected all the
time & probably it will end in
the Germans collaring a lot more
of the Country. I got notice yesterday
from Messrs Berry & Co’s London agents
that £ 310 – something had been sent to
them by Berry’s for the Brigade. I called
a meeting of the officers & it was
decided that as it would only run
to about 1/6 a head for each of the men
in the Brigade that it was no use
getting parcels over in England & Sent
over so we are having the money
sent over. We propose on Anzac
day (25^th April) to give them all
a dinner with the help of this
money and get them a pipe or
cigarettes to equal value & hand
them out at the time. I suppose
the Concert funds will come along
in the Same way since I hear parcels
cannot be sent now. Katie hasn’t
told me about going to see Odgers
yet. Only that M^r M^cQueen had asked
her to go & see him. I dont remember
very much about him. My boys get of’fended with 
 

3
me at times for sorting them up but
they always seem to know after they go
away that it was for their good I am
trying all the time. One officer a
Colonel too was sent home just the other
day before the Referendum he called
a parade & asked them to vote no
because if they Kept up a good
supply of reinforments we would
never be taken out of the line at
all but Kept in Constantly. The
blighter was never Known to go into
the line or out of his dug out ever if
he could get out of it so he’s no
loss to anyone. I suppose like
Dick Courtney he’ll be given a good
job on his return home. I did not
get to Know about Jacky boy’s death until
about the 23^rd or 24^th Oct. I wrote then
& told you as much as I could find out
of the particulars. I had a letter from
Nana today she is very sad. I will write
to her soon. Tell Mum to tell M^r Roddick
that I have seen Ellis Harlem. He was
our office boy when I left He has grown
a lot but is very young still. He has
been taken into Norman Marshall’s office
as a typist & is doing Very well. It
is a fairly safe job too. As soon as our 
 

4 -
recruits start to run short the 60^th Battn
has to be disbanded & the remainder
of its men sent to the remaining units.
That is not required yet but all the plans
are ready so Norman Marshall will be out
of a job unless some other Colonel gets
sick or wounded meantime. Col Mason
was not at all well so I persuaded
him to take over an officer School for a
time & Jack Scanlon one of my old 7^th
boys is temporary Lt Col in his place
Perhaps Bert Layh will come back
again & if so Scanlon will have to go
back to Major again. Or if this
disbandment of the 60^th takes place Marshall
may become Col of that [[ ^{the 59th} ]] Battalion in
place of its his own. No more permanent
promotions are to be made so a lot of
people will be disappointed. I am
glad Eric Walker got safely home
again. I should like to Know how he is.
Will he get better ? I am delighted
to hear Mr Trowbridge is so much
better please give him my very best
regards & good wishes for his future
health. Poor old Miss M^cLeod. I did not
Know she had Cancer. It is Sad. I have not
seen anyone you Know lately. Bob Smith is away on leave
in England. Heaps of love & pogues from Da 
 

Belgium
26/2/18
My dear Baaby,
I have received two
letters from you dated the 30^th Dec ‘17
& 3^rd January ’18. with bundle of photos
I like them all & think the postcard
one of the Bairnies is not at all
bad. The little people are getting
grown up. I think a lot of letters
are astray yet. I have a beastly
snifly cold in the head today.
I am sure it is just living in
these blessed dug outs with bad
ventilation. It [[ ^One ]] gets heated up &
then goes out into the Cold wind
& of course gets [[ ^the ]] sniffles. Things
are pretty quiet generally but
men get Killed all the Same. A fine
officer boy of mine named Cronin was    [Alfred Cronin, Lt., 58^th Bn., d. 1918.02.24]
Killed a couple of nights back
Also a German minenwerfer
or as we call them Trench Mortar
landed a shell the same night
into a post with twelve men
in it & Killed 7 & wounded
the rest. They are beastly