Letters to Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott from various family members, September 1913 - September 1930 - Part 8

(2
Autumm tints at their best.
I did not bring Nurse with me
this time - She is rather 'exclusive' (!)
and does not make friends with
the maids, so it is rather boring
for her. Personally it is nicer for
me to have her with me, but I
don't like to see her looking bored
and miserabe - So she is now
having no end of a time in the
garden without me to check or
criticise her doings! She likes to
plant things as thick as mustard
and cress, and just in the places
they shouldn't be ; and is fearfully

hurt when I root them up again.
I have added a small piece
from the field to the Kitchen garden
in order to grow raspberries and
other things I had no room for.
Unfortunately the new ground is
so permeated with "scutch-grass"
(I don't know if you have that pestilental
weed in Australia) that I
shall have to waste a year in
clearing it with a crop of potatoes.
I hope I shall not be too aged to enjoy
the rasps: by the time I get a crop. I
 

Our youngest brother Alec, who is in the
J.C.S. came home in July, for the first
time since 1911; but only for 3 months.
He left last month to take up an
apointment as Head of the Income tax
Dept for the whole of India - It is
rather a new post, and he declined
it at first because he did not
consider the pay good enough. However
they Govt. of India sanctioned a rise
in the salary to what he wanted
and he then accepted it. He will
have to be wherever the Govt. is -
Delhi or Simla, and I don't know
how he will like that as he not
much of a society man- It was
a great treat & to see him again
after such a long absence- He had
altered wonderfully little, and
keeps in excellent health -owing I
think to his taking a tremendous
lot of walking exercise wherever he
is - I hope your mother and all
your family are well - The children
must be getting quite big-
I hope they continue to do well at
their studies - What is Neil going
to do, or has he not fixed on a career
 

(3
yet? I wonder how your garden
has been doing this year. We had
a very bad year for apples, pears &c
owing to the strong and piercing winds
in the Spring - Small fruit was
excellent and lots of it.
I hope the Dominion Statesmen have
been enjoying themselves over here,
and that their visit will have
good results - I fear we shall
have a General Election soon now
that Mr. Baldwin has brought up
Tariff reform again. It is a 
lamentable error in my opinion,
and would be anything but a
cure for unemployment - It must
mean higher prices, and high prices
are the principal cause of unemployment
already. The worst of it is
that either Ll. George, or a Labour
Govt might get in so the outlook
is not bright anyway. However
I dare say you believe in Protection
so I won't say any more about it!
I hear that Alicia Carter is suffering

v. much from rheumatic pains now

and finds it difficult to get about 

as she did. I am dreadfully sorry

about it especially, as she has always

been so active- I fear the 

situation of her cottage is partly

responsible- it must be damp I

should think- I must end

with all good wishes to you all,

and hopes that you are all

well and happy-

Yr.affecate cousin

Martha T.

P.S. what sort of a year has 

your Mother had for farming?

2DRL/D513

We had great difficulty in

persuading Lloyd to take a

proper holiday. & he really needed 
one as he has not had one

since long before the War.

We told him we were very

anxious to go a trip all 

together for once & this might

be our last chance, as if

Martin Whitworth gets a job

Patty will marry him.

So we decided to take the

Vulcan & do a motor trip

on the Continent, J. C. driving

us, & that we could go &

see some of the places he

was in during the War.

in France & the Asiago

plateau in Italy also

we wanted to see some of

the Italian Lake & to get

as far as Venice if

possible. & Lloyd said he could

not take more than 5 weeks!

Nov. 11^th 23.
My Dear Harold

I want to be in time

with my good wishes for

Xmas will year & hope you

& yours will spend a very

Happy one. I hope you &

Katie are well & the children

flourishing. I expect they are

great Companions to you now -

How is your mother? give her

kind messages & good wishes

from me when you see her or

write, please - I can't remember

when I wrote to you last. I

find it very difficult to find

time to sit down to write

a comfortable letter there

is so much to do & see to.

House keeping gets more &

more difficult & I spend

a great deal of my time

hunting for Maids & interviewing

them. They never seem

to settle down for long now.a.days

The Health Insurance

is responsible for a good deal

They can always get their
'panel' doctor to say they are

"run down" & "need a rest" &

off they go & take a holiday,

being paid to do nothing -

I would give anything to be

living in a small house

that we could run with at

most two maids- With all

the unemployment it is

impossible to get the right

sort of handy man to look 

after fowls & rabbits & do

odd jobs. and I am

seriously thinking of giving up 

my creatures in consequence -

It is a pity as I have acquired

rather a rabbit reputation!

I am sure you heard of poor

Little Gertie's death which

even now seems very hard to

realize - The baby girl is

living & doing well & is a

great interest to Lily & Coster,

as well as her father. He

is much more cheerful now

poor fellow - but Lloyd saw

Lily yesterday for the first

time for months & thought

her looking very bad, so very

thin- I have not been down

there since we came back

from aboard as I brought 

home a cold & cough & did

not want to give it to them.

We have actually been

having a holiday all together

for the very first time!

We saw very new & [[bald?]]

German one somewhere- In

a big hole near the Fort of

La Pompelle there is still

a rusty old German tank

sticking its nose up -

The Fort was all knocked to

pieces of course-

I hated seeing the trees along

the roads all broken or

cut down in many places.

We passed through Soissons &

went along by the heights of

the Aisne. I was very glad to

get away from the War areas-

but glad to have seen them,

now, I could not have borne

it before. I think people

are very brave. Who have

ploughed & cultivated the land

again. It must have been

a dangerous thing to do.

I had no idea France was so

well wooded. We passed

through many lovely forests etc.

We picknicked every day

2.
We had had no summer

hardly any sunshine, & longed

for some warm weather too.

It seemed a larger order for the

time, but we determined to

try it & we actually did

everything we wanted to

had lovely weather & only

3 wet days so it was a

great success. Lloyd looks

ever so much better, quite

rejuvenated & we all kept

well till I caught a cold

about a week before we

got home When it was much 

colder. which as left me

a cough, but I am much

better -

I think we did a wonderful 

trip in the time, & saw a

very great deal & the countries

England Northern France

Switzerland & Italy, as we

went right across them all.

We were very comfortable in

the Vulcan which went

splendidly after the first few

days & gave very little trouble,

though some of the roads were

bad. We crossed to Boulogne

& stayed at Abbeville a

night, then Amiens, & J.C. took

us out to Albert &

where Beaumont Hamel &

Serre were . I remember

you talked of Beaumont

Hamel & told me how it

was pounded to pieces.

It was extraordinary to

see - nothing but pounded

bricks. Overgrown with weeds

& brambles. There was any

amount of rusty barbed wire

every where which was being

collected & made into bales &

the ground was being made

tidier by degrees. In Albert 

lots of new houses were being

built. but there were lots of 

ruins. We saw many other

villages where the people

were still living in the

same circular Army huts

with windows & doors put ÷

& in all sorts of makeshifts

Reims Cathedral seemed

only a shell but a great

deal of the outside is all

right, & the Statue of Joan of

Arc in front of it was

untouched - It was very sad

seeing the War parts & the

great Cemeteries. which 

are very well kept - & the

English ones have flowers & plants

 

We went home by Bourges, Chartres

Loreux etc seeing the wonderful

Cathedrals & then also stayed at Blois

a few days where Allie, Mrs Carter

met us & saw some of the Priests

old castles on the Loire.

Blois, Chambord, Chaumont

Cheronceaux Amboise et -

I feel as if my mind had been

enlarged a little. I have been

such a limpet for years.

Poor Allie writes that she is

crippled with rheumatism

since she got back, she was

complaining when we met her

but full of energy - By going

this trip we missed my

brother Alec whom I had not

seem for about 12 years. He

was only at home a very short

time & has gone back to take

up a good appointment as

Head of the Income Tax departnt

or something  of that sort. His

'beat' will be all India &

Burma he says ! He hopes to

come home again -in3 years &

I suppose will then retire-

by the side of the road ÷

pleasant places, Sometimes

for tea as well as luncheon-

We were away 38 days & stayed

in 27 or 28 different hotels!

I don't think even the Americans

could beat that.

We stayed at Basle one night

& early in the morning heard

a machine gun. There were

troubles in Germany, strikes

& riots just then & the frontier

was quite close - We stayed a 

day or two at Lucerne. it is

lovely & then had to cross the

St Gotthard. There was too much

snow we heard so had to

put the car on the train &

go through the tunnel - The

snow has come earlier than

usual into there this year

& I think we are going to have

a hard winter. We have had

some snow a day or two ago.

So went & stayed a few days

on L Como. L Garda &

L Maggiore & loved them

all. Maggiore the best.

It is beautiful - It was warm

there & very hot on L Garda

We got to Venice all right &

spent a few days there. I

so wanted Patty to see it

as it is so different then any

other place. I had been there

before I married - Patty  was

delighted with it. It was very

nice & hot there. & we were in

a very nice hotel on the Grand 

Canal down at the entrance.

We had stopped at Vicenza

2 nights on the way & J.C.

took us a wonderful trip up

on to the Asiago plateau there

he & Humphreys were in the

last part of the war. It is very

high & road up a Series of of

sharp bends. as the plateau rises

abruptly from the place. Then the 

top you can see the whole plain of

Lorrbridge in a clear day & we had

beautiful views especially of the

Austrian Mountains behind it -

We found a cemetery up there where

there were one or two R.W.F's!

a beautifully kept one, with lots of

plants & even gentians planted

in the grass. So photographed it

& shall send it to the relatives -

Patty & J.C. took quantities of

photographs which are very good

on the whole. On our way back

we saw Milan Cathedral the

Cortisa de Pavia one of the most

wonderful buildings in the world

We went over the Simpler &

got into a snow storm at the

top so missed the wonderful

scenery & went down the Rhone

Valley in pouring rain. At
Geneva it was fine & very interesting