Letters relating to William Arthur Allsopp - Part 4

I sent you a paper saying that Jack
Sides had been killed and it wasnt
untill I had posted it that I found
out he had been mixed up with another
fellow but at the time of writing Sides
is still unconscious, and not reported
to live but he is very popular in his flight
and if hoping can do any good he should
live.
I met a fellow the other day who knows
Mick pretty well, a fellow by the name 
of Basil Morris who said he used to
knock around with Mick when he was
at the Capitol. he is a couple of squadrons
ahead of us and should be out of here
soon. Mick would know him as I knew
him as soon as I saw him.
I am enclosing a couple of snaps
taken one of the track through the rockies
and the other of one of these montrous
engines they have over here. It was taken
at Banff, while we were waiting for some
of the boys to be rounded up, and if you
look closely you can see me on the
front and a snow capped hill in the
background. Dont be surprised if

you receive a paper from me without

a letter, as now and again I get a fit

and post one mainly for Jack's benefit and

Also to let Sheila know in case she hasnt
heard that blondie has another baby

and Daisy a set of pups.

     Up to date I havent received any

word at all from you but most likely

will receive some next week as another 

batch of letters from Australia arrived

on Sunday but it will take a little

time for the letters to be censored. Paper

and periodicals get through pretty

quickly arriving anything up to ten days

before the letter so you had better send

me a Northern Daily Leader now and 

again Mum.

      I had a bit of luck when we

first arrived here. And met a woman

who delights in finding fellows who can

appreciate good food like another fellow

And I can and every now and again

she rings up when she thinks we might

be getting a bit sick of camp food and

out we go to a feast that reminds 

me of home even going so far as to 

make a dinner of it it, which she is

a Canadian and used mostly to

snacks and a light tea, or supper as

they call it, is definitely going out of the

way to please us so you can see the

food question doesnt worry me at all.

          How is Pop going - pretty good I hope.

And also that you are still your

usual self. Id better close now Mum

so give my love to the family and

remember me to the neighbours, and 

lots of love to yourself.

                    Love Bill

I have written to Bede but it has to 

go a long way round so next time you

write to him you had better remind him

to write as he is sure to forget.

[[?]]

 

                                              411063 Allsopp W.A

                                                RAAF.

                                                Base Post Office

                                                Canada

                                                 14 September

Dear Mum,

             Received another letter from

you the other day and was indeed

pleased to hear from you I hold

the record for the lowest number of

letters received in the flight - up to

date receiving four and the boys 

call me "nobody loves me, Allsopp".

but then some of them think they

are hard done by if they dont

receive ten letters a mail.

      It's funny that you haven't

received any letters, as I got one from

Rene with yours and it was addressed

to Winnipeg whereas all yours have

been addressed to Ottawa, and yet

I wrote there to you before I wrote 

to Rene. Anyhow maybe they're on the

way. I haven't received a reply to

the letters I wrote to Bede at Pamlu

so you had better shake them

up a bit. Rene was telling me she has

lost a lot of weight and had

had harness reshaped or something.

And ended up signing herself "Ghandi".

but still sounds as bright for al

that. There's a feller in the same

hut who knew the Connors pretty

well and he received the same

news about Norman and Eileen

the same time I did and was telling

me about a few of the parties they

had been to. Anyhow Eileen will

keep him quiet.

     Have been pretty busy lately

doing a bit of study for one of our

examinations and got three subjects

over alright but still have a few

to go in the next months or so. We are

a pretty well advanced squadron

and are almost looked upon as 

veterans and most of the fatigues

are passed onto the younger squadrons,

so we are pretty free but to counter

act this our eave has been cut

down to 10P.M. at night instead

of 12P.M, and things have toughened

up generally around. Most of the

boys from Tamworth have passed

out, so I dont see the old paper so

often now, but still follow the

horses in the Sunday Telegraph and

in the Anzac review (over the radio

on Sunday morning when I'm in

camp. That fellow sides from Dengower

is still in hospital but is doing pretty

well and should be out soon.

You should receive this letter before

we shift to another station so

in case you are addressing your

letters to Winnipeg start addressing

them to Ottawa again, however I 

will send you a cable when I

am transferred telling you if every

thing is OK.

       I have been seeing a lot of the

countryside the last few weekends

and it seems to be composed of

forty per cent water with the rest

pine trees. Still it is very pretty

with everything as green as could

be and plenty of wildlife such

as deer etc, but cant hold

a candle to our scenery, but still

its pretty hard to compare. How

I would like a stinking hot day

about 110^o, and then a quart of

beer to cool off with, but I

suppose will have to wait

for good beer again until we

get to England. I was going to ask

you how tobacco is with Bede,

As it very cheap here, especially the 

makings, a half pound of the

best costing about 3/-, while the

cigarettes for fellows overseas

are almost as cheap. Its funny

you know, this place being so

close to Virginia, yet only a small

percentage of the tobacco comes

from there, and when the fellows

hand around the place captain

xxx ^people say "what Virginia cigarettes"

and reckon they are extra good.

I just remembered that I sent Therese

a post card, when I wrote you my

fourth letter about ten weeks ago, &

so is she hasn't received it the

mail must have gone astray

I have been posting the Saturday

Evening Post for a couple of 

months now, so let me know if

you get them as we sometimes

think that they might toss papers

overboard as excess baggage

We haven't had any Aussies

here for a couple of months now

so dont know how things are going

at home, but if Rod should be sent

here to Canada for training cable

and let me know as we usually

get to hear how the and where

the boys are going; and if they

pass through here they get a

few hours leave in the city,

I might be able to see him.

    I haven't received that parcel from

M^rs Edwards yet but the other day

a fellow landed down with a bundle 

of papers addressed to a lonely

soldier, c/- of the Catholic Padre, A.I.F

Canada and threw them to me.

And when I opened them found

them to be "Far Easts" and "Messages 

of the Sacred Heart" but they

were a bit too light reading

    I suppose Mick and Theresa are

again taking up their positions

under the fruit tree as it should 

be warming up there now. WE

hear over the wireless that it

was the coldest weather for years

in N.S.Wales, so I suppose you had

plenty of frosts close to snow. It has

warmed up a bit here but still

damned cold at night and in the

morning but we wont get snow for

a while yet. The fellows who were

flying the other day struck snow

upstairs and it was colder than

any day we struck at home, but

they reckon the thermometer has still

got to fall about 50 degrees before

were through.

    I was asked by a fellow

to by the name of Niall Byrnes to

be remembered to Josie Burns if I was

writing to anyone from Reglins so

you can tell There's a xxxx to tell

Josie that he was asking after

her. He used to be a commercial

traveller for shoes and he and

I and a few fellows went down