Letters of James Stuart Leslie Ross, 1916-1917 - Part 2

589 Pte J.L. Ross,
2^nd A.F.C.
At Sea,
28^th Novr 1916.
Dear Mum,
Still at the above
address but expect to reach our
destination in a couple of weeks now.
We have been experiencing a bit
of tropical weather a couple of days
being pretty hot. There are hundreds
of little flying fish in the water.
They are just like birds, some
flying about 50 yards.
At our first port of call we were
given leave and had a very
pleasant time. We only stayed
a couple of hours at the second,
hence did not have time to land.
There’s very little to write about now
for a time, so please excuse brevity.
Be assured that I’m in the best of
health & enjoying the trip. Hope Self &
Dad are keeping O.K. Best love from
Les.
 

At Sea
21^st Decr. 1916.
Dear Mum,
Still at sea but
am writing this for postage in
England, where I think it will
evade the censor. Therefore I
will give you the full facts.
I wrote an account of Durban
which I gave to a man in
Capetown to post for me.
We left Dbn on 16^th M Novr
& arrived in Capetown on the
morning of 19^th On account
of plague & small pox epidemics
there we were not allowed
off the ship & left the same
afternoon about 2pm.
Crossed the line on 27^th
on the 29^th we pulled in at
Freetown in Sierra Leone (on
West Coast of Africa) where a lot
 

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of transports & war boats were
held up. The stoppage was most
unusual & unexpected but was due
to the activity of German subs.
One was reported to have been
within 10 miles of the port.
We were there for 15 days - leaving
on the 14^th Decr. On the day that
we left, there there were over 30 ships
held up there. Our convoy consisted
of 5 troop-ships & 1 aux. cruiser
Being in the tropics, the heat
was rather oppressive. Our ship
was, happily, pretty well provisioned
& we were supplying other transports
with meat. As there is practically
no wharfage at Freetown, we were
anchored in the stream, hence
disembarkation was very difficult.
I was lucky enough to get on shore
twice. It is a town with about 35000
natives & about 700 whites so you can
see its a black man's town. A lot
of the freed American niggers were
sent there, hence the name.
 

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Some of the nigs are pretty well
educated - they even work the telegraph
& cable lines.
We got plenty of tropical fruits there -
oranges, bananas, cocoanuts, paw paws
etc.
I got some post cards of the place
& will send them to you when
I get to England. We expect to
arrive about Xmas day.
On the day we left Freetown
our vegetable supply ran out.
up to xxxx that The Convoy
has been zig-zagging all day today -
changing direction about every 10 minutes.
The trip on the whole has been
very good. The tucker, at times could
have been better, but we got along
alright. Up to our arrival at Freetown
only 10% had not been on sick
parade & its considerably less now. I've
been very fortunate as I've not
been on one since enlisting.
Ere you get this, I trust you
will have received my cable.
[*Will wr write again as soon as we arrive
With love to Dad & self from Les.*]
 

X
 

SOUTH CARLTON,
Nr. LINCOLN.
Wed 4^th Jany (16.)?
17
Dear Mum,
Here we are at the above
address in Lincolnshire. We are attached
to the R.F.C. here and are now called
the 69^th Squadron RFC, but the old
address will still find us. I sent a cable
yesterday and I suppose you had worked out
our position on the map. If not it is
in the North East Midlands, about 25 miles
from the coast.
We arrived at Plymouth on the 28^th
Decr and came here through Bristol
Birmingham Nottingham etc.
Plymouth about 10.a.m. Left Boat 5pm Entrained 8.20pm.
Travelled all night & arrived at Lincoln 10.30am.
So we didn’t see too much of the
country. This is a new Camp & its not
too comfortable yet. They are still building
it & it will be a big Camp soon.
X.
 

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SOUTH CARLTON,
Nr. LINCOLN.
It will be a station in the coast
defence scheme watching for Zeps. They
have been right over the camp a couple of
times & once dropped bombs about a mile
away. That was about 3 months ago.
The camp is situated on a pretty muddy
spot about 4 or 5 miles from town (Lincoln)
We walk in every now & again & get a
meal up till today. nearly most meals in camp
have consisted of a slice of bread &
tea. I was down to at the village
tonight (Sth Carlton) & had a good meal
of xx Ham & Eggs etc. They get bonsa
ham & bacon up this way & good vegts
(xx Brussels Sprouts etc. They country
is typically English – hedge & fences,
old fashioned wind mills, haystacks, stone
fences etc. I am enjoying it immensely
& thriving a treat.
All the towns & trains are
screened - no lights showing at all -
on account of Zeps. This even
applies to towns on the west
 

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SOUTH CARLTON,
Nr. LINCOLN.
of England. I had a letter from Aunty
Tilly & she enclosed Aunt Ems address.
I had a note from her today & she
would like to see me if possible. The
Crocketts also wrote & would like to see
me when in London.
We haven't got our 4 days leave
(which Austlns get on arrival) yet, but expect it
eventually.
After our 15 14 days in the tropics we
expected to feel the cold a good deal here,
but it hasn't been too bad so far.
It is only light here from about 7.30 am
to 4.30 pm which seems a bit strange.
I got a letter from you today & also the
swanky Xmas card & the Wattle. I have
addressed this letter in accordance with the
card.
Well Mum I must close now as its
almost lights out & I must make my
cobber's bed as he's in town Love to
all from Les.
Its very inconvenient here but will write
better later on.
Can't even get a wash in Camp water not
laid on yet.
 

Blenheim Barracks,
Farnborough,
Eng,
SOUTH CARLTON,
Nr. LINCOLN.
21.1.17.
Dear Mum,
Up to the present I've received
rather little mail from you - nothing later than
the middle of November. These delays are
unavoidable as they appear to send a mail
round the globe a couple of times before they
decide to give it to us. I have received a couple
of very late Xmas cards & the views of Moruya
O.K.
Will now try to give you an idea of our
movements of late. As you know our Squadron
has its headquarters at Lincoln. We stayed
there a fortnight, then it became necessary
to send the various tradesmen to different
Schools of instruction. We had hopes of
getting to London but that's been knocked
in the head, as the boys ^(the Poms) made the pace
a welter & wouldn't overwork themselves.
So it turned out that we were sent to the
Wireless School at Farnborough. Its only
 

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35 miles from London but we cant get away.
The Barracks are at present in Isolation
for measles. When that is lifted we may
get out. At present the soldiers are not allowed
to travel in the trains at weaks on leave
as the new economical scheme has cut the
number of trains down, hence it is
impracticable.
When coming thro' here we had a couple
of hours in London. We hadn't time
to see too much but as we were "all eyes"
it was better than nothing. I was very
much taken with the Tube Railway. Its
electric & goes like blazes. At present in
England one is limited to 3 courses when
dining in hotels, restaurants etc but they're
talking of abolishing it.
We're only 1½ miles from Aldershot - the
Military centre of England here. By this
mail I'm sending you a few views thereof,
under separate cover.
We are in very good barracks here.
We live in big "huts" made of brick