Letters to Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott from various family members, September 1913 - September 1930 - Part 5

6
spoil, but "the bally lot"
and as you know that cant be
done. We have just got over
a great Railway strike which
was settled a week to day
Moulton is still in Regents
Park in command of the Lorry
section. Two thousand men
were held in readiness there
ready for any emergency
happily they were not wanted
and the trouble for the moment
at least, is at an end
I hope you had a safe and
pleasant voyage home and
found all your dear ones well
and I am sure secured a
 

7

LANGHAM HOTEL,
LONDON.
hearty Welcome from all and sundry
I hope you will pardon my
referring to the events of the great
War, but I would like to do so
in order that I might tender
you the heartfelt thanks of all
your family connections on this
side; for the great service you
rendered Your ^ King and Country and to
assure you, they will remember
with feelings of both pride and
gratitude all you did and were
able to accomplish in that
mighty struggle.
 

8

Should you by chance hear of
a good firm of Drapers requiring
a London Agency to buy for them
and generally to transit their
business we are on the "qui vive"
we could finance them to the
extent of twenty thousand
pounds or more.
All our men have come through
the war and are back in the
old positions, we are returning
the men who took their places
and are now anxious to expand
our business and are looking
for a good firm in Australia
or elsewhere - Closing with all
good wishes & kindest regards from
the family circle believe me
Your affn Uncle
J.A Scott

[*2DRL/0513*]
 

enjoy it. The Seymores have gone to Biskra so I

expect ^ theywill meet there.

Anne is pretty

well again after

colds. I have

asked her &

Beatrice Barker

to come and

spend a week

here for a little

change - I hope

all is well

with you & yours,

and that 1921

is being a formidable

year.

yr. affecate

cousin

Martha T.

Mortonhampstead

Devon:

England

Jan 31^st.

Dear Cousin Harold,
I was v. glad to get yr. letter
wh. arrived on Christmas Eve - many
thanks also for the Debates; and for
the packet of picture-cards, wh. also reached
me on Dc. 24^th - Your scenery is wonderfully
beautiful, and I quite realise
how paltry & insignificant our tame
England must seem to people from
overseas. At the same time no feeling
of envy rises in me. I wouldn't have
little Dartmoor other than it is; and I
would not change our English copses
for your forests full of tree ferns for
anything. I know they are simply crawling
with snakes!. I used to get an unfailing
'rise' out of Lloyds sisters when Emily
& I were travelling with them in Switzerland
once - wherever the scenery was
particularly superb I used to say solemnly:
"Now doesn't this remind one of the
moor?'! Australia is certainly a country
to be proud of. This year is going very fast.
 

I fear I must waste my time dreadfully.
I always seem busy and yet get through
so little. The weather has been absurdly
mild except for a fortnight of sun and
hard frost before Christmas. This January
is said to be the mildest on record.
It may not be wholesome for man or
garden but it is certainly pleasanter
in these times when one can't have
roaring fires all over the house. I
had rather a poor time during the
frost. As on previous occasions, we were calmly
left without any water-supply. Nurse
& Kitty had to toil up hill to a spring
some distance away. for drinking water,
and boil the same for washing up. In
former years, when this happened I was
not well enough to take any step in
the matter and letters to the Parish Council
were treated with scorn. This year I
made a fuss, and finally wrote a
very firmer letter full of all sorts of
threats - and I don t think it will
happen again. I always understood that
Morton was the most uncivilised place
in England and the people most uncouth
but I never realised it till I came to live
here. Same people called Betheme who bought
the Chalmers house last year, and came
from only 4 or 5 miles away, are now
realising it too; Mr. Betheme told me
 

(2

the people here seem like a different race.
I hear from the Chalmers, who are now
at Bath, sometimes. The young airman has
got into the Air Force again, and is now
engaged to a nice girl - the other one is
still at his old job in the overseas Department.
I miss the old people v. much,
Mrs. Betheme is a consumptive invalid &
I fear not going to recover though she is
v. hopeful herself, poor little woman.
I was v. much interested to hear how
the children were getting on. It is
strange that the same differences in
character wh. you remark on in your
two, I have often noticed in other
people's when there are just a girl and 

a boy, when they are young - I suspect the
boy will shake off his dreaminess

as time goes on and develop perseverance
and when he is old enough to realise
that that is a requisite if he wants
to excel in anything. I am v. glad
little Violet has the spirit of emulation
it is good for clever children I think.
In the college where I was educated
no competition was allowed except for
Scholarships. ie. no prizes were allowed,
there were no 'places' in class, and unless
you chose to rival your marks, no one
 

knew whether you did well or ill. I believe
the idea was that competition is discouraging
for those who am not lucky enough to be
brainy and yet may work harder than
those who are,  and perhaps more, that
work should be done for the works sake.
I think there is something to be said
for both plans, and of course the girls
in each clique competed amongst themselves

to a certain extent. Unfortunately
for me my particular friend in most
classes was much the cleverest girl
in the place, and I don't believe my
marks, ever topped hers, or even equalled
them. Are you thinking of bringing Violet
up to a profession? It would be nice for
her to make use of her brains. I suppose
Neil will follow in your footsteps
I thought the cartoon you sent v. clever.
It was a strange Bill to try to bring in
in these times, but I suppose it was to
please the populace. Our Labour people
are behaving in [[m]] v. badly just now
over the unemployment problem. And
they try to cover their selfishness towards
their own matters by passing ridiculous
resolutions about re opening trade with
Russia and handing ₤2- per week
with extra for dependents to every
man out of work. The Labour
leaders can't be so ignorant as
 

(3

not to know that that sort of
thing has been tried before with
disastrous and demoralising effects.
The mass of the working men of
course couldn't be expected to have
study economic (or any other) history
so are easily deluded. Where they
think the money is to come from
too, goodness only knows. I am glad
the country is beginning to take
steps against the prodigality of the
Govt. People are joining the new
Anti Waste League in swarms, and
if there were a General Election now
I don't believe many besides the
Anti Waste and Middle Classes Union
candidates would have much of
a chance. A representative of a new
Company ("Standard Housing Co.") in which
I invested a small sum, came to
see me the other day. I asked him
if they had, or were likely to have
any difficulties about Labour; and he
replied that they had not, because
they only employed non- Union men.
 

He also said that the trade Unions
had had their day, and the working
men were breaking away from them
because they found the policy of the
leaders was doing them more harm
than good. I hope this is true.
Ireland is still in an awful state
and one cant see any end to it-
the Irish agitators an absolutely unreasonable

and probably being backed
up by the Vatican, and certainly by
Germans & Bolsheviks. the Edwardses
are settling down, I think, but the Hall
is uncomfortable and in-convenient
compared with Oerog. (excuse this blot!)
I dare say Lloyd will
be quite happy there as it is his old
home, but I think Emily and the
young ones will never feel quite the
same affection for the place. Alicia
having seen her son Alec, & his wife, off
for India & Harold Hammersley also,
is now going for a months trip abroad.
They (Martha goes with her) are to start
for Algiers on Feb. 4th and will also
spend a week at Biskra. Alice is
so fond of travelling & thinks this will
be a good time to go while the can still
see, and move about - so I hope they will
[*2DRL/0513*]
 

[*not been formally announced, no-one like to question Lily

on the subject.

Gertie is away

so I haven't seen

her. I expect

she is just

amusing herself

little wretch!

I hope Mrs. Harold 

& the children

are well, also

yr. mother &

sister- I hope

little Violet is

not outgrowing her

strength. Emily

sends her love.

yr.affecate cousin

Martha T.

Trevor Hall

Nr. Ruabon
May 12^th .21

Dear Cousin Harold,
I was v. glad to get yr. letter, wh.
reached me on March 2^nd; and to hear
that you had been having a change
and were the better for it. I expect
you find a more sedentary life rather

trying after so many years campaigning.
The children must have enjoyed
the place you described with all the
wild life. I always pity children who
don't take any interest in birds and
beasts & flowers - they lose such a lot
both then and in later life. I hope
the season has remained favorable
for farming purposes - I suppose the
whole prosperity of the country depends
practically on that. We have had
a wonderfully fine Spring- In Devon
we had enough casual rain, I think
to satisfy the farmers; but am not
sure about other parts of the country.
Hence, after lovely summer weather it
has been raining the last day or two