Letters from Charles Edwin Gatliff to his family, January - September 1918 - Part 1

N^o 46               France 1     
25.1.18

Dear Father & Mother,

I have been back with the

battery five days but have had no

xxx xxxxx spare time, in fact most

of it has been spent away from the bty.

Will write later & tell you all

the news - this is just to let you

know that I am back & know Hal is

I see him every day. He is

looking very well. We go back

into the line in about a week- 

as it will be somewhere near where

we were before we came out to rest

it will be on a quiet front We 

have received letters from Tom. One of

Hal's subalterns has just gone

across to the RBAA for 6 months

he will be able to look after Tom

My captaincy has just come through

at last - as from Jan 10^th At 

present I am still with 50^th Bty

& in command.

Have to rush away to a 

parade

Fond love to all

Yours 

Chas

N^o 47       France 1             
27.1.18

Dear Father & Mother,

Now that we know we are going

into the line again soon we are trying

to get as much pleasure as possible.

I have been to three dinners, one at BHQ,

one at 49, & one at 51, since I have been

back. I have also had an odd meal or

two at Hals Officers Mess having been

over there for three days on a court of

inquiry. Have been ay BHQ another

day, auditing canteen accounts - I am on

brigade canteen committee. Last Tuesday

there was a presentation of medals to the

artillery by General Birdwood & yesterday

we were reviewed by General Hobbs

who was accompanied b General B. Brown.

So, as I have been in command for the

past week, you can guess I have been

kept busy getting the battery for 

the review & for going back into the line.

Major Thowthwaite rejoined the battery

last night so I am now carrying out

my proper duties as battery captain &

second in command. Now that I

have been promoted I don't know

whether I will stay with this battery.

47                    2                 1          
27.1.18

The battery captain posted to this battery

Capt Goldsmith is at present at a school

in England & will most likely get leave

after it, so we do not expect him back

for a month. Both the C.O. & his O.C.

are dissatisfied with his work so he

may be transferred to another unit; if 

so, I will then be posted here, I certainly

don't want another change as I have got

to know this battery almost as well as

my old one, 51. I see Hal every

day & he is keeping very well. It is

grand being so close to each other, & 

being officers, we can see each other

whenever we wish- altho' I always have

to chase him, he never comes to see me.

The weather has been nice & mild

since I have been back - almost like

spring weather instead of the middle of

winter - not even a frost at night.

Did I tell you that the last few days

before we left the line we were covering

Penrose Gatliff's battalion! I made inquiries

about him & found that he was at a

school. I may see him when we go

back into the line.

Fond love to all

Your loving son

Charles

N^o 48       1                     France 

30.1.18      

Dear Father & Mother

This will be the last letter I

will send you from this place & there

most likely will be a gap between it

& my next letter as I will be unable to

write when we are on the march.

When I arrived back from leave I found

the following letters waiting for me - from

Mother (6) dated 7.10.17, 21.10.17, 26.10.17, 1.11.17,

6.11.17 & 11.11. 17, from Father (1) dated 4.11.17;

from Lil (2) dated 26.19.17 & 19.11.17, from

Ern (2) dated 11.11.17 & 18.11.17; & a Xmas card

from Jack as well as a letter from Tom in

England. I will reply to them when I

get  back into the line. The Major &

one of our lieuts went to a camouflage

school yesterday & today - one of our other

lieuts is at a trench mortar school & the

third is billeted with our right section

about 2 miles away. Yesterday I was

kept busy settling claims with the aid of 

the interpreter. Today I drew our pay at

BHQ calling in to see Hal on my way &

when I returned I paid the battery.

Hal & I are both well & send fond love

to all     
Yours lovingly

 Charlie

No 49         1       2
Belgium  
6.2.18

Dear Father & Mother,

 Tonight a letter from Pater dated

26.10.17 & one from Ern dated 25.11.17. A

few days ago when we were on the march

I received a letter from Wilf dated 29.11.17

I heard from Tom the other day. He is well 

& is anxious to get over here. I think he 

will have to stay in England for some time

(I hope so at any rate) as we are having no

casualties at present & consequently do not

require any reinforcements. Another thing, there 

are a lot of reinforcements to come over before

it is his turn. We are back in the line

again but are having a very quiet time. As

we are back in our old position it was

the best "Take-over" we have ever had as we

already knew all particulars about the

positions. We have had phenomenal weather

for this time of the year - for 3 weeks it has

been fine & not too cold. We had splendid

weather for our march, I did not wear

my overcoat as "warm" throughout the trip

altho' I did a fair amount of walking to

keep my blood circulating. My legs are

quite O.K. & are likely to keep so. Now that

I am a "dinkum" battery captain I will be in

most of my time at our wagonlines. If I

do go up to the gunpits I will have no

49                       2                         2      

6.2.18

more heartbreaking, leg-wearying trips forward

as F.O.O. or to the Bty O.F. At present I am

not in constant communication with Hal

but he us quite well. On the march

up I saw Ken M^cLean for a few minutes.

Ken Russell is now doing dental work

at one of our bases in England. Now 

that I am at wagonlines I may be able

to see Pensore Gatliff, but am afraid that

his division moved back to a rest area

when our division relieved it. Fritz's

planes have been very quiet in this area -

I haven't heard a bomb since we have

been back - o.c. wagonlines is quite a good

job, like it used to be before those

terrible days at Ypres when a man was

never safe, either at the wagonlines or gunpits.

The safest place there was the front line.

A wagonlines of the other brigades adjoins

ours. Young Cullen, who was in 51 at

Fleurbaix, is one of the officers there.

I can't make out what Fritz is doing - 

I thought this long spell of fine weather

was just what he wanted, to make

a big attack before the Americans join

us in the Spring.

Fond love to all

Your loving son

Charlie

N^o 51                 1                Belgium 

14.2.18

Dear Father & Mother    

As we are so far from our other

battery wagon lines our medical officer does

not come to see our sick. We send them to

a field ambulance close by.  It was the

xx for the first few days & then it was

relieved by the ambulance to which Alan

Fitcher belongs. I sent a note across to

him with my sick parade & he came

across that afternoon & stayed to dinner

with me (as I am the only officer here

there were no officers mess regulations to

study). He is now a gaudy lance - corporal;

He is looking healthier & stronger than when

I saw him in Australia & has filled out

a lot. Ken M^cLean is attached to a

field ambulance with is close to Hal's

wagonlines. I hope to get down there

tomorrow as I believe Hal is down for a

couple of days seeing that things are 

all right. We have lost our O.C., major

Thowthwaite - he has been given command

of our DA.C. At present Capt. Mellor is

commanding this battery. Everything is

very quiet on our front, so I have very

little to write about, especially as I have

been tied to the wagonlines since we have

been here. Fond love to all

Your loving son 

Charlie

N^o 52          1                   Belgium 2          
 19.2.18

Dear Father & Mother,

Nothing of importance has happened

since I last wrote. Now that I have a 

definite job as battery captain I have been

kept so busy getting the wagonlines

running in my own system that I have 

not had a chance to get away since

we have been here. As these wagonlines

are about 6 miles from the other three

I am rather out of touch with the rest 

of the brigade. However I drop Hal a

few lines every couple of days He is

OK - they are having a very quiet time

at the guns altho' one day Fritz put

about 20 big shells rather too close to

my battery      We have a new B .C. 

Capt Mellor Major Thowthwaite has 

been given command of our D,A,C,, as I 

think I told you in my last letter.

I was sorry that he left us, for altho

he made everybody under him work

hard, he knew how to handle a battery.

I haven't heard from Tom since I last 

wrote you. No news at present but

hope to write a newsy letter next

time. Fond love to all

Your loving son

Charlie

N^o 53         1                    Belgium 2    
23.2.18

Dear Father & Mother

 I don't seem to have any news to

write about. I very seldom leave the wagonlines

-there is so such a lot to do that am kept

busy all the time - just as well, as it

keeps me from thinking too much of

"Home". About a week ago I wrote to

Penrose Gatliff - he is in the division we

relieved a couple of days later I saw his

photo in a group in "Punch". Then I met

one of his division's officers & he told me

that Pen's battalion was camped only a

couple of hundred yards from Hal's wagonlines.

Yesterday morning the C.O. & my O.C. visited 

here in the afternoon Capt Mellor ^& I had a 

ride to look at our corps line positions

Mellor is a South Australian & Pen's

battalion was originally composed of South

Australians, so, as he wanted to see one of the

officers, we rode to their camp Perth

Mellor's fried & Pen were away when

we got there Pen arrived back just as

we were leaving so I did not have

much of a yarn with him. He how has

his second "pip" & is looking very well

Please tell the Camberwell Gatliffs

that we have met - I don't know their

address but will get if from Pen next

53                        2                         
23.2.18

time I see him - he is going to visit me

here soon. I have not heard from

Tom, since we have been here - it is to

be hoped that he will not follow Hal's

example & shun letterwriting. I was 

very glad to receive the Xmas parcel from

Croxton a few days ago. A better selection

of articles useful here could not have been

made by anyone actually here. I got

more pleasure from it by the thought that

it was a present from all at "home" - each

sending something as a token of love - than

by the articles themselves altho' they were

much appreciated, especially as they were

Australian. I have not yet received the

parcel Lil sent for Xmas but it will

turn up alright one of these days

It has just come out in orders that

mails for Australia via America posted

in London 20 to 22 Jan have been lost at

sea My letters N^o 45 were probably in 

that mail. A few days previously I

sent a copy of "Men, Women & Guns" by

Sapper to Croxton & a copy to [["Arnmon?]]

They may also have been sunk. If

they do not come to hand please get

yourselves a copy -it only costs 1/3. The 

introduction is well written & in "Jim

Brent's V.C. it mentions Hellfire Corner