Letters from William George Blaskett to his family, 1915-1916 - Part 15










The battalion.
Now dear Mother I will
close this tale of woe to
with fondest love to you
all from your loving
son
Will
PS Parcels not yet to
hand. Am afraid I
shall miss a few letters
from you now being
away from the
battalion.
19-5-16
1st A.S.H.
Ismailia
21.5.16
My dearest Mother
It is only a few
days ago since last I wrote you
but that letter was some days
overdue. Unfortunately I was
not able to write last Sunday. I was
having rather a rough time with
the beastly wound. It is much
better now. The poisoning is
practically all out.
I am going to ask
the doctor to let me out in a few
days so that I can go away
with the Battalion. Capt Roberts
our OC is a great chap & told
me even if I couldnt use my
hand for some time I was to
get back as soon as there was
no risk attached. So I'm going
2
try my "blarney" on the
doc. In one way I am glad
it has happened. I was reading
the other day about a
lad, who before he went into
action was not afraid, but
was "afraid of being afraid". That's
exactly how so many of us felt.
Now I know my nerves are
good & I feel ^more confident than
before. We were down in the
trenches on the Sinai Peninsula
since beginning of Aprii
& I think it did us all good.
We got used to trenches
& the fact that Johnnie Turk
was pretty close made things
exciting. Johnnie was very
wary however & didnt attack
in any force.
I have been reading a very
nice book since I have been
here, entitled "The Broken Halo"
by Florence L Barclay. If you
get a chance, read it. In fact, I
think you had better keep
some money out of my next
pay & buy it as a present
from me. Will you do this.
I am sure you will enjoy the book.
How are Charlie & dad?
Both keeping well? Have
had no letter from you
lately. Suppose there's a batch
for me with the Battalion.
Did you hear about the 9th
Light Horse making a raid
on a Turkish well. Its was
South Aust. boys in it & they
were very successful.
The well was at the place
where Moses struck the rock.
There is plenty of water there
even today. It was about
40 miles from there where
I was wounded.
Now dear Mother, how are
you keeping. I hope your
health is good, & that you're
not worrying to much. Dont
worry about me I'm bound
to turn up again Right as
the Bank.
I hope to be able
to tell you next time I
write that I'm on my way
to F____.
Now I must close (as I have
run out of paper) with fondest love
to you all, & trust me I shall
soon be back with you safe & sound.
Your loving son
Will
28th May 1916
Ismailia
My dearest Mother,
Please notice the date on the
head of this letter. Read, mark, learn &c, for I
would have you know that on that date
some years ago was born the best mother
any boys ever had (also note she is infallible, like the Pope). I am not at liberty
to mention her name (owing to the Censor) but
when I tell you her initials are E.B. you
might guess who it is. Anyway, joking apart,
Mother, I am sure I need not say how
much I wish you good luck & many many
years of happy life. It has brought me
luck today, for there was some difficulty
about me leaving here to join the battalion
as a special ^order has come out that men in
hospital now are to go back to base details
which very likely would mean having to
join another battalion altogether ^& possibly becoming private. You can
be sure I was pretty miserable at hearing
this, but today Dr Powell came round,
& said he had a letter from the CO of
the 48th Bn & I was to go back to them.
No doubt Bill is at the bottom of it,
he's a sport & so is Capt Roberts our
Company Officer So, either tomorrow or Tuesday
I am to be sent to the 48th again. Col Powell
told me, that in the letter they said it didnt
matter if my hand wasn't quite right
as there wasn't any risk in coming out, as
they could find me clerical work to do
for a while. The hand is healing splendidly
owing to the good treatment & my beastly
strong constitution, dontcherknow. So there
is no risk whatever although in
the ordinary course of events I should
not have been discharged for some days.
I wonder what you are doing as I
write this? If is just 1 pm so would
be about 8 30 with you. You would
be back from church & perhaps talking
off your boy so faraway. It is nice to
know that you are thought of & prayed
about. It keeps one cheerful.
The doctors & nurses here are splendid.
Sister Rees in our ward is splendid. She
reminds me of you, although she is not
very much like you. She is older than
most of the sisters & consequently more
(see back of page 1)
3
sensible. She ^has treated me splendidly while I
have been here & she's very clever. When I
came in my hand was swollen up with
the poisoning & was pretty painful I can
tell you, but what a change it was
after the way the AAMC orderlies dressed
it. I could hardly feel her do it whereas
in the Field Ambulance I went through
agony every time it was dressed. All the
sisters are kind, but this one was exceptional
something like you; a little bit short tempered
sometimes, also something like ____ but
there, you'll box my ears when I come
back if I talk like that.
They tell me the names of the men
in this hospital go into the Casualty
Lists, so I suppose I'm recorded wounded.
I hope not, anyway, as I would not
like you to worry about it at all.
About parcels & papers, please dont
send any more, they never arrive; spend
4
the money on yourself, mother. I'm afraid
some of these parcels never leave Australia.
I wouldn't mind if some fellow in the
same circumstances as myself got them,
but I do object to coldfooted shirkers
getting them.
I am hoping the war will see an
end this year for many reasons, but especially
so Charlie won't be old enough to
come. Not that I'm unpatriotic, if I was
I wouldn't be here, but I dont
want Charlie to have to go through what
I have already gone through & what yet
lies before us. One of us is quite enough. I
have seen so many young boys of his
age here, crack up on the hard work
& the not very high class food. They may
have looked big & strong when they enlisted
but they are not fully developed enough
to stand what is required of them. Now
dearest mother, I must finish this letter with
fondest love to dear old dad, & Charlie &
your dear self. From your ever loving wounded hero
Will

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