Letters to Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott from various family members, September 1913 - September 1930 - Part 14

wishes, and to say how pleased
she is to hear that you are "advanced
in your ranks"- (her way
of putting it!)-
 

baby about a year ago &
I must stay & look after it
this time.
I also paid a visit to my
sister Martha & I feel as if
I wrote to you while there, but
I fear I may have only talked
of doing so!
I expect you all felt rather
flat after all the Festivities
in connection with the Duke &
Duchess of York's visit-
It seems to have been a
tremendous success. What a
nuisance the shipping strike
must be - I think the Devil
must be getting more & more
active in these days & bent
on preventing any country
from recovering from the War.
We had a tremendous gale
here about the end of November.
It was the ^worst one any of us
remembers. Four big boughs of the
old cedar came down, & half a

Dec.4. 1927. 

My dear Harold.
Here we are nearly
at Xmas again before I
have half realised it! and
I must send you a few
lines of greeting, & good
wishes for you all for a
very happy Xmas time & a
prosperous year to come -
I don't think any of us in
England will be sorry to
see the last of 1927. It
has been a disappointment
all through as regards
weather. We had no 

proper Spring, Summer, or
 

Autumn and seems inclined
to be disagreeable to the
last. We are having such
dark weather now I don't think
we have had a glimpse of the
Sun for about 10 days.
There has been very little
frost here yet, but it is to
damp & cold that it cannot
be good for anyone. I often
have to have a lamp in the
middle of the morning yet
there is no real fog.
People put down all the
unusual weather to the
eclipse! but I think they
are forgetting that. We are
lucky in being too high up
for floods which have been
awful in some parts of the
country - I paid a visit to
My Sister Mrs Carter this autumn
& luckily had a fine week there
as my job was to re-make a
bit of rockery for her. & I managed
it. I did not think her as well as
She ought to be. She looked white
& tired. She will do too much.
Her daughter Martha Hamersley &
her husband Harold Hamersley

& 3 Children Anne, Tim & Sam.
are coming to us for Xmas.
Which is very jolly. We shall have
a little Gramophone dance for
the Children on Dec. 23. 6 to 10 o'clock
as they are all at School &
all like dancing.
Poor Harold has to go off to India
very soon after Xmas. He is in the
Army Science Corps a Major &
has got a very good job. Inspector
or something? of all the Motor
transport of India. With H.Q.
at Simla. but he will be
travelling about all the time.
The horrid thing is having to be
parted from his family. Martha has
been out in India with him a
good deal but she had another
 

an English car. likely to last
well. Carter goes in for
foreign cars which look more
swagger perhaps. He is always
changing his, but this one has
got to last us to the end of
our lives probably.
I hope you are all very well &
the children gaining honours all
the time at their Schools -
Please give a kind message
& Xmas greetings to your Mother
& sisters for me & to Katie
& the children. Lloyd joins
with me in very kindest
remembrances. When are you
coming to England again?
Yrs. affec.ately
Emily J. Lloyd Edwards
 

2.
big beech by the front gate
& 300 other trees about on the
estate. Also the boiler Chimney
of the Works has blown down.
& went through a nearly finished
roof. Of course it has nearly
stopped the Works besides
the actual damage & loss.
Lloyd & I meant to go out
to Cypress to see Patty
early in the Spring but I
fear he thinks we ought
not to go now. I shall be so
disappointed, principally
because Lloyd has had no
proper holiday or change for
years & years! & needs one
badly.
 

Patty & Martin will be
dreadfully disappointed too.
Cypress is a fascinating
Island Patty has turned into
a great gardener out there &
does wonders with her garden
Martin works at it too when
he has time- and they grow
lovely peas & tomatoes carrots
etc. though they are so high
up. They have peas till about
Xmas which is wonderful.
They are having a very dry
year. Which is very good for
the Asbestos output, but very
bad for the country & crops
down below. I believe there has
been a drought all about the
Mediterranean on the Riviera
etc. this year - too. It is curious
that we should have had
so much wet & cold.
I hope I shall hear you
speaking, on the wireless some
day. Being able to hear Australia
Makes it seem much nearer
which is very nice- Soon it will
be nearer still when flying facilities

are greater. Did you hear of
My Sisters Allie & Martha flying
one evening for a short time
& enjoying it. Some time ago. I
think they were very venturesome.
One still hears of so many
horrible accidents, but soon I
daresay it will be Safer than
the roads. I suppose everyone has
Motor cars in Australia now.
Are they generally Fords?
We have at last got a Saloon
car & I must say I am very
glad as I found the other
with canvas cover only, very
cold last Winter especially
When my eye was bad.
The new one is a 6 cylinder
Austin. It is very comfortable. &

Dene House, Selborne Av.

Low Fell
Gateshead
Jan. 6th

[* P.S. Mother is sending

"Annie Swans Annual"

to Katie with love *]

My dear Cousin Harold,
As mother is not well at present, she wishes
me to write on her behalf to express her
warmest thanks & appreciation for your
good wishes & most generous gift of a case
of fruits, tinned & dried, which arrived
quite safely this week. The beautiful
Xmas magazine & "The Pendulum" sent by your
dear wife have come to hand only this
evening, for which also mother thanks her
exceedingly
I can imagine how she will devour the latter,
as any paper giving an account of your doings
she treasures & is as proud, as though you
had been her own son, whenever you get
distinction
Let me also partake in the pleasure of your
new honour & give you my heartiest
congratulations on your promotion to "Major
General", & hope you may be blessed with
good health & strength for many years to
carry on your great work.
I trust you will forgive the seeming
 

2

negligence on the part of mother not writing you
before this to send Xmas Greetings & all kind
wishes for 1928. & I know how deeply
sorry you will be to know the reason.
Issie has now been ailing for months
with violent attacks of pain & refused
the advice of us all to see a doctor,
thinking he might advise an operation.
Her idea was that if this took place
mother would probably not be so well
nursed, as she tended her like a child &
devoted her whole existence to her.
The result was that in the end she
had to he rushed away to a nursing
home at a moments notice, & the surgeon
on examination found she had a tumour,
which must have been growing for about
seven years. He told me beforehand
we had not to build ourselves up with
any great hope for her, as he very much
feared it was malignant
She was in such a weak state, never having
been able to take solid food or digest
scarcely anything for weeks that she had
to remain there for nine days before
they could touch her.
To our horror on operating they found
 

3

it impossible to remove the tumour, as it
had not only become malignant but had
attached itself to stomach, bowels & other
adjacent organs. They merely drained
the tumour & told us these was no
possible hope for her life to be saved.
She is suffering horrible agony, poor
darling, even worse than before the
operation I think, in spite of the fact
that they are doping her all day with
morphia. It is really heart breaking
to see the poor dear soul in that
state & unable to do anything to
relieve her. If she had passed away
on the table it would have been a
blessing for her sake, but it is only a
question of a short time & we are all
praying that she may soon have rest.
Mother is, of course, almost consumed with
anxiety for her, but has no idea of the
real state of affairs, & I hope, dear Harold
you will spare her this knowledge when
you write.
It is going to mean a great upheaval here
probably the house & furniture will be sold,
although mother speaks with such determination
to remain in the old home.
 

4

This on no account could I allow & will
never consent to her living alone. She must
come to me in Manchester, as I understand
her ailments & how to treat them & would
give her every care & attention & see to
make her as happy as possible.
She is really wonderful for her age, 78 & I
don't see why she should not live for a
long while yet & enjoy a peaceful happy
old age, although it will take time to throw
off her sorrow, like the rest of us.
Issie was in our family you know "the
flower of the flock - the kindest, most
unselfish & most self sacrificing - simply
living for other people, & she will be a
terrible loss.
I am glad to know you are all well &
that your children are doing so well at
school.
Issie told me that Violet would probably
come to England for the advancement of her
music. If so, I should be delighted
to have her to stay with me & would
make her most welcome.
My address in Manchester is
"Wynthorpe", Barnfield, Urmston.
With kindest regards & best wishes to
you all from the family here. Your affect Cousin
Minnie
 

Trevor Hall
Trevor

Wrexham

North Wales.
Jan. 7. 1928.

My dear Harold.
I have been intending to write
for the last week or two, but have had
a very strenuous Xmas time and could
not find time. In the first place I must
thank you very much indeed for your most
Munificent present of Empire Victorian fruit, which
is a delightful present to have. It is such
very good fruit too which pleases me very
much. Some little time ago I was asking
specially for Empire fruit in one of the
principal shops in Chester. They showed
me such poor stuff that I was very angry
about it, as they brought me beautiful
stuff that was not Empire grown. & made out that
if I wanted Empire fruit I must expect it to be
inferior! They were evidently pushing Californian
[* & I am sure he will 

enjoy it when he has 

once started & will be

interested in everything -

I have just had a 

Jan 10. photograph of your Mother

which I am very glad to

get & one of Violet

very tall young

daughter. in some sort

of fancy dress. She will

be like her Mother.

I must stop now &

write my weekly

letter to Patty.

She will be excited when

she hears we are really

going out to see her. & sailing

the Ranpala P & O

from London. Feb. 17th. Yr affec Cn

E.J.L.E. *]