Letters of Gerard Henderson Cowan, 1916-1917 - Part 4

No 6733
22 Reinfs
11 Battalion 
Fwd Australian Camp
Darrington
24/2/17
Dear Dad
I wonder how you all are, however I hear there
is an Australian mail in so I ought to hear something
in a day or so. Mail from home is the one thing that
keeps me going.
How did the crops turn out this last year, they gave promise
of being very good, It is funny to see farmers here ploughing
in the snow, I much prefer Australian conditions of
farming.
There is very little to write about here.
There are 800 Australians laid up here with mumps.
A rather strange thing happened. I was wondering
wher where Frank Cockshott was, he is in 6/44 so of
course I had not seen him since leaving the
Argyllshire, wl well I was across having a wash
in the bathroom a few days ago, someone
pushed past me to go to another bath, I
looked round and there was Cockshott
with his face all swollen with mumps, He
grinned and said, "hallo you here too,". We had

a bit of a yarn. I have not seen him since
as I have been laid up, and have not bean
out.
Jen Gracie, Miss Wilson and Uncle Earnest
du Boulay, write to me every couple of
weeks or so and Miss Wilson sent me a parcel
of eatables, I have also had a couple of letters
from James du Boulay and one from
Aunt Bertha.
Youl might th tell mother this, to tell Mrs Maclean
(if she thinks fit) not to let Clive come
on any account unless he is ^passed as absolutely
fit by the doctor, this climate has killed
too many Australians already. I have seen
great big fellows that looked quite strong
get ill go to the hospital and die.
A fellow called Ley a cousin of Mrs Herberts died here
a little over a week ago. He was in our unit and
was an awfully nice fellow,
Well I hope I get a big bundle of letters from
home by this mail.
Well love to all
your affectionate son
Gerard 

No 6933
22 Reinfs
11 Batt
3^rd Brigade
A.I.F.
Reply to No 6733 March 7 1917
Dear Dad,
I expect by the time this reaches
you, you will be well on with your ploughing.
Did the crops give a good return this year
I had a letter from G Gould junior. He said
Mr Gould had just finished stripping your
crops and was doing his own, but the crops
were not turning out as well as was expected.
I don't know whether he was referring to
their own or ours.
Did the red rust trouble you all at all
this time.
I wish it did not take quite so long to
send a letter from here to Australia.
If I write it is between three and four
months before I get a reply.
Weather is frightfully cold again today.
In this country the weather is never 

For God. For King & For Country

Y.M.C.A.

H.M. FORCES ON ACTIVE SERVICE

PATRON

Y.M.C.A. NATIONAL COUNCI.

H. M. THE KING

xxxx certain, one minute the sun is
shining and it gets a little warmer
half an hour later it is either raining or
snowing and if a wind, that would freeze
the face off a clock, blowing a gale.
Let me know how everything is when you
writes write, how all the stock are and
everything about the place.
Well I must close now Dad,
Best of love
Your loving son
Gerard.
P.S. I have posted my diary  it should go by
the same mail as this, I hope it arrives
safely. 

[photo-see original document]

HANDLEY-PAGE MACHINE, 
FITTED WITH SUNBEAM-COATALEN ENGINES
Its immense span will be 
appreciated when compared with 

the size of the  spectators 

Advertisement - see original document

March 21 1917
My dear Gerard
I am so glad you managed to run down 
and see Aunt Bertha, and
her home at xx Broadstone, and she was very pleased to see you and have a talk about W.A. &c.
She told me that you would like to see Donhead, so I wrote to Mr. H.
Blackburn who bought it, and he says that he will be very pleased to show

it to you any day you can run over, and that he would put you up for a night
if you can get leave long enough; I expect you will hire a motor bike for
the trip for you will get lovely roads; Run down to Salisbury - then run
along the lower main road towards Shaftesbury, 
until you reach the village of
Ludwell, about 17 miles from Salisbury - then ask anyone, and turn down to
the right, and one mile from Ludwell you come to the iron entrance gates of
Donhead on your left hand; It will be very nice for you to see the old
home; I hope you have quite got over the Mumps now, and that they are not 

spreading in the Camp
Your affecate Uncle
Ernest du Boulay
P.S. If you go by train, Semley 
is the Station, 4 miles from Donhead. 

April 17 1917
My dear Gerard
I am so glad to hear that you managed to see Donhead the other
day - but what a rush you had to do it; I wish you could have had time to
go round and see the woods, and especially the Pine trees that my father
planted there, and of which he was so fond; But perhaps you may be able to
go there another day when you can get a little more leave, for I am sure
that Mr. Blackburn would like to put you up there for say a night:
What a lot you must be learning with all these Instruction courses !
you must be quite a complete soldier now, I am sure; We hope that you may
be able to get leave just to come and spend a night here before you go away
abroad, for I expect they will give you leave then before embarking, but
I am not quite sure about how things work now;
Walter sent me a capital song he has just had printed called "You sang
to me" and I am hoping to get some musical friend to play it over and
perhaps sing it, but it is very hard to find anyone to do this now that
these Pianolas have come in - our young people will not take the trouble
to learn music now; I do hope Walter is doing well with his songs.
With our love
Your affecate Uncle
Ernest du Boulay 

June 10^th 1917
Dear Mother,
As there is so little to write about
I am afraid the family will have to be
content with one letter at a time.
I have had no letters for sometime, except
one from Miss Wilson, she wrote saying she
had not heard from me since I left England
which was rather strange as I have written
twice. I suppose the letters must have gone astray
somehow.
Among my last letters from Australia was
one from Machell. I he sent me a xxx
several snaps I expect you saw them, they were
good-oh, I hope she sends some more.
I visited the Mr Collison a day or so ago
He has been in France ^since December and 
has ^been unlucky enough, or lucky enough 

to have been in
hospital all that time and is not too well
yet. You might tell Helen I delivered her 

message, Mr Collison sends his kindest regards
and says he is still fireproof.
You remember Stephen Smith who used to be
in Geraldton, well I met his son a few days
ago. I was walking along trying to find our
O.C. when I met a tall sergeant. Hallo, your
name is du Boulay isn't it, no I mean Cowan. I said it
was, but could not think who he was, gave me
a surprise to hear he was a son of S. Smith.
I think it must have been my resemblance
to Digby that made him recognize me,
because it must be 10 years since I have seen him
and I have changed a good deal in that time.
Some time ago I had a days leave into a French
town.
It was fairly interesting, but the majority
^of streets were very narrow and dirty. There were
however some very fine buildings, most of
which I managed to visit. The Cathedral ^was well
worth the visit. It was a very fine building
and had some very fine carvings in it
Unfortunately the best of them were sandbagged
for protection.
Well I must close now as I have to go on
guard and and want to have a swim first