Cecil Mills Collection - Wallet 3 - Part 9 of 17

3/ 
Got a stray letter from my old pal Jimmy  
Good the Chemist today. It was just addressed  
Brigade (you know our Brigade N°) Tel El Kebir  
dated 12th March, but it turned up only about  
3 weeks late. But the Post Card from Edie Russell  
just addressed to Tel El Kebir took the cake in  
finding me, not much cake at that. We got  
rather a nasty shock on Sunday morning when  
we got Saturdays English Papers, & read the a/c  
of the Naval Battle. It looked as tho we had  
got an awful belting, tho the leader in the  
Times made one feel optomistic that we were  
to get a lot more information yet about the  
German losses. The C.O. told me tonight that  
word has come through that the German losses  
are very heavy. If the Blighters had only waited  
a bit longer for our Battle Ships to come along there  
would not have been much of the German Fleet  
left. Goodness only knows when the Riot is going  
to stop, over here one only knows what is going on  
in our own little sector & that is of the give & take  
nature. There is not much doubt that the Huns are  
getting short of a lot of different items, but the Troops  
will be the last to feel any shortage in the food line.  
Here we are living well. The French hens lay plenty 
eggs even tho we do pay about 2 1/2° each for them.  
I can eat eggs & bacon for Breakfast easily now, but  
I would love about 6 of Gilbertsons meat chops one  
of these days just for a change. We never by any  
chance get mutton. The ration of fresh meat  
is always Beef. 
 

4/ 
Well old Darling suppose you and the Boys are  
just about thinking of going back to Kinellan  
again.  Hope you have thoroughly enjoyed your  
stay at Montrose & that you are feeling very fit.   
Thought my legs we hard when I was out in the  
Sinai Desert, but got quite a shock last night.   
Just felt my calves & gave them the usual bit of  
a scratch after taking my [[Pullees/Puttees]] off & then  
stiffened my muscles out. Gee, they went all sorts  
of shapes, thought something must be the matter,  
but it was only odd muscles sticking out in places  
I did not know about. They are terribly hard all  
over.  It is the walking that does it.  Am fairly fat  
again can catch a handful of flesh from round  
my ribs, must weigh about 10 stone 10 now.   
There is not much [[Bengy?]] in it either.  Well old  
Sweetyheart, am going to bed early tonight, it was  
nearly 2 this morning. Went to bed at 9 o'clock  
on 3rd June, got the pip & hated everyone & that was  
the only place available where it was possible to be  
by myself.  Hope you got my Cable in time, but  
anyhow you would know where all my thoughts  
were & I know where yours were, because I had  
them with me, but I wanted more than the thoughts  
I wanted you.  Good night old girleen, such a lot  
of love to my own two. 
Your loving husband 
Cecil 

47./ France. 30. 5. 16 
Absolutely nothing doing last couple of days -  
the whole Battn doing fatigue work & my  
Grenade class is smashed up - for the time being.  
It is very disappointing as the men were taking a  
keen interest in the work & getting on nicely.  
Just a wee note to let you know I am O.K. -  
feeling as fit as ever. 
49./  5. 6. 16 
No luck yet with mail - nearly all the bags had  
to be sent back to Calais to be resorted; in a  
frightful mess, 3 or 4 Bgd's together. They should  
be back in a few days & and another mail with them.  
Last Sat afternoon we had a very instructive gas  
demonstration. We went along to the school & they  
turned on gas force as strong as it is possible for  
the Huns to send it to our trenches. We all had  
our gas helmets on & I must admit I did not  
notice it at all, except that it brought out the  
taste of the chemicals in our helmets pretty  
strongly. It is the mixture in the fabric of our  
helmets that kills the chlorine in the gas. This  
talk about prussic acid gas is all nonsence, it  
cannot be sent over in a cloud at all. It is too  
light, & rises at once. We had some fun with  
the tear shells. We have a sort of motor goggle to combat

 49/ 
O.A.S. Abroad 
49  
Mrs CB. Mills 
C/. Dr A Burne 
"Kinellan" 
Dalley St 
Waverley 
New South Wales 
Australia 
  
[[PlsPPlarky?]] 
PASSED FIELD CENSOR 2964

50/  France  
9th June 1916. 
Hulloo Old Dear, 
Taking a bit of time off this  
afternoon to write a wee note. Seeing as how  
I'm O.C. of D Coy today I can do what I like.  
Promotion is very rapid isn't it. The Boss went  
away on his leave last week, which made the 2nd in  
Command 1st, then the Senior Sub went away to a  
Snipers school, that made me 2nd in command, & now  
today, the present Boss is away having a look at the  
trenches we are going into tomorrow so I'm Company  
Commander for 1 day only. I know the place where  
we are going into. It is right where I have had all  
of my fatigue parties for the last 6 weeks. Our Coy is  
not going into the front line trenches, we are in  
reserve for the Battalion. It is a real home where  
we will be. Nice & dry & good dug outs for the men.  
The only bad part is if we have to go up & reinforce  
the front line during a Bombardment, it will be  
pretty solid going up, in the open, as the  Communication  
Saps] would be death traps. The war seems to be  
going pretty well for us lately. There is no doubt we  
strafed the German Fleet pretty badly the other day.  
The Russians appear to be doing particularly well on  
the Eastern Front & today I heard on good authority  
that 25000 Germans had  surrendered at Verdun after  
shooting their Officers. Hard luck about Kitch, but  
still that is the luck of the game & he has done his  
job. Someone will carry on his work now it is going.   
It is a great thing for a man to die in the Zenith of  
his fame, because there would be plenty of carping  
critics later on. Any a quantity of people can

2/ 
criticise & pull down others work, but can do  
nothing in the way of construction, to replace what  
they would pull down. The mail so far has been  
most disappointing. Got a Bully 6.4.16 & the  
Daily Telegraph from your Mother of about the same  
date, but the mail has not returned since it was  
sent away to be resorted. There is a mail due  
again tomorrow, so I may have some luck then.  
Hope you are getting all mine O.K. By the way,  
have any of them ever been opened? I nearly got  
shot the night before last whilst on one of those  
fatigue jaunts of ours. Bullet just missed my  
neck, so I nearly got it fair in the neck. If it  
had only given me a bit of a crack, not a very  
bad one you know might have been luxuriating in  
a London Hospital by now. There is one thing  
rotten about our Hospitals according to chaps  
that have been in one, they give the patients  
poultry about every day, wouldn't I get sick of that.  
The mob that we are going to relieve tomorrow  
did a great little stunt as they are called, a few  
nights ago. Under cover of our Artillery they  
sneaked across & raided a section of the German  
Trenches. Blackened their faces & hands so they  
would not show up white when the flares went up 
& armed with [[Brub?]] waddies & Australian Curses  
they broke loose. They killed all that waited except  
four who laid down & howled, these they took prisoners  
collared everything they could carry away & then went  
quickly home again. Just as they we reaching their  
own parapet one Germ said Me no want to go.

3/ 
One of our chaps said alright you - (casting  
aspersions upon his mother) take that & smashed  
his head in with his waddy. They don't stand any  
Back Chat on these excursions. We lost 2 wounded  
on the return journey, but they were both brought in  
& as they killed about 30/40, besides gaining a  
good deal of information, it was most successful  
adventure. The chaps that were in it reckoned they had  
the time of their lives. Well old Dear Heart, don't  
know how the mails will go from the trenches, so  
if my letters are not quite as frequent for a while  
you will know what is the reason.  Anyhow I'll  
Cable you again about the end of the month. 
Love to all at home & my own Dear Two, for you  
both, you know all the love that continually goes  
across to you at all times, & in extra supply goes  
with this letter if it were possible, but it isn't.  It does  
seem a long time since your last letters came but  
tomorrow thank goodness there will be the good old  
familiar envelope for me 
Your loving Husband 
Cecil 

3.  
One of our chaps said alright you - take that  
& smashed him in the head with his waddy. They  
don't stand any 'back chat' on these occasions.   
We lost 2 wounded on the return journey, but they  
were both brought in; & as they killed about 30/40,  
beside gaining a good deal of information, it  
was a most successful adventure. The chaps that  
were in it, reckoned they had the time of their lives.   
Don't know how the mails go from the trenches, so if  
my letters are not as frequent for a while you will  
know the reason.  Anyhow, I'll cable you about the  
end of the month. Love to all at home. 

50/ 
OAS Abroad 
Mrs C. B. Mills 
C/- Dr A Burne 
"Kinellan" 
Dalley St 
Waverley 
New South Wales  
Australia  
  
Passed  
Field  
Censor 
2964 
H. Houghton