Cecil Mills Collection - Wallet 3 - Part 10 of 17

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Hopping out & having a go at the  
Germans. We are somewhere near  
Armentieres, but I don’t know  
exactly where we are going into the  
trenches. We have had two days very  
tough route marching. When we reached  
our Billets last night after about 12  
miles of it, I was footsore & weary  
& aching all over with the weight of  
my pack. Struck a good billet tho  
& Madam could not do enough for me.   
Made a fire in my room, hot water to  
wash my feet and boiled eggs.  Of course  
I knew all her previous history by the  
time Thom Jules was taken prisoner at  
Verdun last month.  She reckons that  
was Tres Bon, so he was now safe until the  
end of the war.  When I showed her my  
Madam's photos & mon fils, she reckons  
Johnno was Tres Bon too?  That last  
photo of Johnnie Boy is just lovely Dearie  
we have got a lovely child.  Yeste We  
started the second days march at 8/30  
& stopped close to a Munition Factory  
for lunch.  Only women working there  
& they were the roughest crowd I've  
  
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ever seen.  The simply swarmed all over our  
Regiment & some of the remarks were pretty  
broad. This billet is rotten.  I've got my Platoon  
in stable at the rear & the Company Comdr  
& myself are upstairs.  It is a Cafe or [[?Estimanet (for Estaminet)]]  
Old Grandma is 98 & is in the next room to us  
with folding doors between, she is calling out  
the whole time.  Have just heard that we  
not going up to the trenches tomorrow -  
Sunday.   
My O. C. is just back from the trenches, he  
went up this morning.  He describes the Section  
as a perfect home and there is a farm house just  
across for you &Johnnie where you will feel at home.   
We go in tomorrow night.  Have seen some very  
pretty anti Aircraft shooting the last couple  
of days.  Today one of our Motors with 2 guns  
went along the road full tilt firing at a Taube.  
Old Taube had to get a move on.  The puff 
of shrapnel went all around him, but just a  
bit short.  He was a bit too high.  It was grand  
having a rest today, we were all dead beat &  
would not have been much good for another day of 
route march then stand to all night in trenches  
we had never seen.  Have had a great go in at  
the raisins and had chocolate every meal.  The  
chocolates had a slip on it addressed to [[Sgt?]] H. A.  
Burne.  Harry will never see it, for its gone.

50/
France
Monday 12th June 1916 

Dear Old Woman. 
Last night was my lucky  
night.  The mail came in with the rations. Got 3  
dear old letters from you.  The first ones written from  
Kempsey.  Now we are in the bally old trenches again,  
but as I told you in my last, our Coy. is the Reserve  
Coy. & we are very comfortably settled down already.   
I have got quite a palatial dug out.  It has a door, a  
window & many cracks in the walls, which are boarded  
all round, so no dirt falls in on me.  Nice wooden floor 
& the whole concern is as dry as a bone.  It has been  
very quiet so far, don't know whether it is the quiet  
that precedes a storm or not. Strafe can start so  
suddenly & when one is not expecting it at all.  Our  
guns make a splash & the Germs retaliate or Vice  
Verca, & there is the devil of a noise straight away.   
Got a nice letter from your mother, one from Percy.  
Perle Curran, Radford & old Joe Wilson (who used to  
give me the Essays he had written to peruse).  So  
glad the Kempsey trip was managed so successfully   
John is a perfect little wonder as a traveller.  For  
a nipper his age he is some traveller as Percy put  
it.  Glad he is such a success with all at Montrose.  
Though there are not a great number there just  
now.  Your mother said she thought the change  
would do you both good, specially John with his  
teeth coming along.  Fancy him walking along on his  
own now.  He must look an old character swaying  
about & trying to balance on his fat legs.  The snaps  
are very nice.  I think he & Bill Burne are very much

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alike in the photos.  All the chaps here that see  
the P. C photos of you & John reckon he is the dead  
ring of his Mum & not a bit like me, that is to  
stop me from becoming unbearably stuck up.  I can't  
see any resemblance to me at all, but you say he is  
getting like me more & more in his mannerisims.  
We have a jolly crowd in this time, 7 of us having  
our meals together, and we strafe one another the whole  
time. The most awful things are said to all and  
sundry, & it is against the rules to get the least  
bit snarly when one is given the lie direct in  
lurid language.  Our hobby at present is to  
invent "furphies", so now if one is really telling  
the truth no one believes him, not even if he took  
a solemn oath. This soldiering game is very 
demoralising, & you will have to correct me as  
much as Mrs Noss used to corrected Reg, when I get  
home once more. We have not had nice weather  
since coming in to the trenches. Very cold &  
wet. I am wondering tonight when the winter is  
going to start, if this is the summer. Yet about  
2 weeks ago I was wearing a "louse" shirt & [[tuss eve?]]  
one only. About socks Pettie, if anyone offers you 
 a pair at any time take them & send them along to me.  
I can give them all away to chaps that can do with  
them. Some of the boys are getting pretty stiff for  
socks lately. Well its Stand To now, so I must go for  
a stroll round my lines for 1/2 an hour & then I'll  
turn in. So no more just now old Sweety Heart, but  
Ill dream about you tonight same as usual, that we  
are all home together again & as happy as ever. 

Wednesday Afternoon. 
On Monday night about 11.30 we all had to turn  
out. Got word there was to be a strafe & there was.  
Our Artillery picked out a section of the German lines  
& poured it in good & solid. Then a party from our  
side raided the trenches & captured all sorts of  
men & machine guns. It was a very successful  
raid. The raid was on our right so we did not 
get any of the German Shells in our particular  
section. We had all the fun of looking on. Its a  
good thing a man can sleep in the day time. There is  
dashed little night now. It is not dark until 9 O'C  
& dawn breaks about 2. Yesterday I had a big trip.  
Had to go about 2 miles past our last Billets to  
the Field Cashiers Office to fix up the Battn pay.  
Rode a bike part of the way & it was very mucky  
& slippery when the bally spring in the saddle 
broke when riding along the cobble road so I had  
to foot it! On the whole I preferred walking to  
riding on the cobbles, they shake the inside out  
of one. How despatch riders manage to race along  
on Motor Bikes beats me.  Our O.C. arrived back  
from England yesterday. Poor old "bloque". He had a  
good time of course & now is bucking into it as  
hard as ever. He is a snorter to work. Jolly good  
news from all fronts yesterday. If things keep  
going like they are at present, the war will not  
last much longer. The Russian Operations are  
absolutely collossal. The Canadians at Ypres won all  
their trenches back yesterday. We can hear the bombardement  
from here easily. It was without cessation for 24 hours,  
big guns at that. There has been awful fighting there. 

Now old Dear to go through your letters yet once  
again. It was nice for you to meet some one you  
knew on the trip to Kempsey, but you nearly always  
meet someone who you know, or who know your  
people when travelling. As usual, I notice Mither  
looked after the Commissariat part of the journey with  
here usual amount of success. Glad you liked the  
snap of me in the shorts. was very keen on it myself, &  
hope you got the film safely also. Glad to hear Jack  
Dight has enlisted, he out to make a good soldier.  
Tho I hope he will never have to leave Australia, hope  
it will be all over before his training is completed.  
That Britain prepared Picture Show must be good. My  
O.C was particularly pleased with England during his  
visit. He travelled round a good deal. He says one does  
not realise what England is doing by just visiting  
London. It is in the manufacturing districts one  
sees the real activity. He says England is Khaki from  
beginning to end. He also says Billie Hughes has done  
a great deal of good there. He has quite convinced the  
British people that this War has got to be won quickly.  
That it cannot just drag on for ever, or else the whole  
country will be crippled financially & otherwise for  
generations. Quite agree with him. Would like to have  
one big go in for my part & settle it for ever at once. 
Fancy those old snaps there being on the window at  
Montrose. I remember them so well. You had on an  
old felt hat, blue with white spots dress  & white canvas  
shoes. That was all a good while ago, about the end of  
1906 or beginning of 1907. Hope you were able to get help  
quickly. It is pretty rotten being without a man to do 

the odd jobs with the horses &c, for your G’father is too  
old for that sort of thing.  Re your question about 
Canteens.  Once troops are under Imperial rules and regs, 
there are wet canteens if conditions allow.  At the camps 
about Cairo there are properly run Canteens under the 
Military.  They were also being started at Tel El Kebir 
just as we left.  Out on Sinai it was of course 
impracticable.  It took all the available camel transport 
to take water & food out there.  Here in France the 
British Expeditionary Force Canteens do not retail liquor. 
It has to be bought by the dozen, but the local people 
run Estaminets or Cafes, & sell Beer & Wine  They are  
open to British Troops from 11 to 1 & 6 to 8.  In the  
trenches there is a rum issue now & again, every morning 
at Stand To in cold weather.  It is one of my numerous 
duties to deal out a tot each morning to every man. 
They drink it neat & on an empty stomach it does 
warm them up.  Intermittent shelling going on all 
round.  Ours are floating over our heads & Fritz is  
bursting any old where.  Hope Fritz does not land  
one on my old dug out, as it is not any good for High 
Explosives.  Its only shrapnel cover.  Old Con O'Sullivan 
is a cheerful old cuss isn't he.  That was quite a  
tactful remark he made to you, silly old blighter. 
Does old Teddy still play Tennis with his old flat 
feet.  New mail started to come in last night, there 
was one from old Perce Eville, could almost hear 
him saying the things that were in it.  There will 
be 2 weeks mail from you, as Perce's letter was dated 
30th April, so Im waiting up for the Mail tonight old Girl. 
No more now, until tomorrow old Girl.  With heaps of love to 
you & the Boy. 
Your ever loving Husband 
Cecil

Send on to Ethel. then 
to Percy - Some of the  
Trees [[shading?]] that you gave 
me - Influensa - Mr Gard 
Just going to work - 
Dad 
Tuesday. 2.30-

51 
O. A. S. 
Abroad 
  
Mrs C.B. Mills 
C/. Dr A Burne 
"Kinellan" 
Dalley St 
Waverley 
New South Wales 
Australia 
  
Passed Field Censor 2964 
GE Blight