Letters from Charles Edwin Gatliff to his family, January - September 1918 - Part 2

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Awaiting approval
Accession number:
AWM2019.22.291
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

23 2 ant was killed pecbean say por Anchale few days that her ot what the dates the last ltes I acknowledged w The following have recently come mater dated (2/214 Bsep 42610 27:1417 Wiefs 29 25 THSIA hel, like som to think letter vrting is by thinks it is To by eccpt of letters & have to people onsside the pos of to my old the 8 Liph Horse hop t wx there shar the Hh wrote to General Gabliff Pemrose my 8:6 most be cong estille suppose 480&
BelguymB Dear Tatker more today I walked rcposs + an 16 at his battery position. It was the inst fime I have seen him for exactly a month altho I have often spoken to this r the phone. He is looking splended, but then We has nothing to worry about. We has the best position in our group very confortable as well as having severall concrife pillloses on his position we all in blooming deyouts that wouldn't stand a pipequeak. We are also practically under direct observate Fritzy, whilst Hals battery is hid de Mly sect I am prope fally on at abs a il o That is one reason. all been up here for a wee I haven't been across to see him be If taken fime havelly over shell for grs very firing Thank goodn longer have to brudge forward to the P. day Another resiop been very busy preparing which came off last mynt successful. Unfortunately h an killed was you one He was down in the from fne
tust nefer in the trench close to him it stak as im of the head killing to wnto onely The O.C. raid was taptain whg was with Hal at Lands this keep on getting interrupted by order to fire on different leasion officer reports to sbling the sufartr to te battene I other day at BHA& there wel of other officers there an connect the said. I knew all the others y introduced to per i three of us were in the Comny, with his vack to me Capt i where Capt Gatliff was O smiled at me & said which one do you me I am the only Capt. Gatliff now &I right alongside him]. He said Jerry Frank was killed at Ypres. In then told My I was ferrys brother. He madnt that Hal was a major + pay pother but the D.S.O wile I was at BHA Charlee Chast, Hals wakery 1803 who went away gassed from cpt 41 ay th ta
pleased to have n back is very hat has been ifell or sood fthing twith Goldsmett est fortnight Golde, who was at Franks battery, was pushed out of His battery when I got my ca saiy to p sorrow I had to put up with him as m while major 5C early three for Thouthwaite the though set 50 again Capt went away but in the languag the hoops he can other words, he made a very I at was put now sent across to autherfb t anan batten + They day before yesterday to walk to B.H.Q & couldnt get away until the afternoon + ncomteed the first songe tons a lovely I fot my as to wake make respirator about he there are very stuct order I had gone half wa ad to 4 had my horses Id nsit to up till youlines as I strck chesd no
t we I hope wed again + march wind 184 summer day the day & cane up here to take It is shange that last umber wat exceptionally severe &f this one exiptionally mild. I Last October the thought of and winfer here put the w almost as much as Tritz did neither are posibling us. new spaper, the first for a down at the w the neadlined about Japr war on the Russian Front St 4 the stable doot affer the nor has been srolen When Runnia pst signe of weakness I weed to say allowed to fh on that They would have spengt Bushians & if the latter spill shaw of pavling could have for ithe continue another fring 50. It would have been m the eae 1 powere & t would have helped to the Yellow Pent which As the Gyppies
Belgu 113/1 Father & mother ent me over tode Hat there the wed since ( wa amongst them e stated that he was wane for hance] as his letter wd aft ri at Har net 4 I doresaly owho wext Hal told Brett to RB duty) t py &s on as possible. It is befter for by when we are Like ne in a quiet pait of the I wsed to pity the infortuncte po remforcements, that it at you the first faste th It seems awke like the old h at Syn Valley tm to eac behen the phone otherore There is this difference we epp on sice tapt fit we are Capt and ely a then will brother togther with the at line again y himee ficer i
11318 i to write about 1h it is for Will write about it effects o hostill frxe other me tonight we se word conply of raid hap just thro that sugessful- fet idutified eetai Ftz doe this part of to do an the Western From be content here in t the my othe believe north of h a coupe day I want d to the ways pr or a coup 4 nor ses lay to see that eve in wel by the General will they saw an interesting Thre ply all with onr me i crple of to be to thy sonal It turned Very do mion
Delyuir tathers mose X Font Tom has arrived at 4 along pere about 7.20 last night. I did not pave ch of a chance H ralk to hin Iwe of preperiyg a rather clatrate tock fable that was coming off a few houd lake. Then a paak ane thre for us to do at 810 p.2- I had one of my ans forward for the raid of the orderly writing to take then their task table -a to had amoed for as 4I had arrage with woagontine about it athing to feat. tho a few the those to Hat xangeed to exhage two wit t 2 ther ille by9 to 6 him awxy at he a pas. 20 3 vrok to bien be b te telling my charge 50 wasonlines so w her We aprived over as renforcevent report at was et out to pud me fin preprence to who he knew was at cupls the 34 been sent to the 9th Bryade Aus I aX i wayontin "
inqured of Drisade 4 t wap n H was directed to the wh was thet from there searnt where I scution so carried has alsered ot to the gimpets He is whe lot since like pack, but then in the fa navery to Frank ispecially voice was in the a Frant alks a lot stower with this difference. is not self-assertive tank pas Hat immediately wrote i last night claiming som 30. as pe is so close to us within a week he ought to be in Hal's batteny. I am sorry tat I am not at wesonlye at present The worst of it, there raids we are doin kep us abmot as bucy as a by atter Yyesterday a Taube flew over our lones back to his own in a 30 him he left a long trail of spake m which lasted for him I phoned Hal to ask what thought of it. te ap had not noticed it as keepin his piller 2 lang I phs at me two day
hat Frity was knocking at my po t I had a chance to laugh back at him Yom was here Hal was again thinking wnice tthe inside hx pillbox was Fit has been fairly actire with his awtiller act few days on done very little Half a dozen infantymen were Camg playing t & near ndges ow by hen Ruek Dict 4 broke up the cct The da Fibs Frote & foate a8 plares with ther to fis 2 4 down It to siffer the to t la i tis the which 4 2the

53

3

23 2 18

where Frank was killed. I receive an 

odd letter from Australia every few days -

some by the latest mail & some that have

been wandering about in Army post offices

for a month or so. I forget what the dates

were of the last letters   I acknowledged receiving

from you all. The following have recently come
to hand - mater dated 3.12.17 Pater's of 26.10.17

mater's 27.11.17 Wilf's 29.11.17 Ern's 25.11.17 & 16.12.17

Lil, like Tom, seems to think that letter

writing is as by a nuisance or Hal

thinks it is. To try & increase my

receipt of letters I have written a few letters

to people outside the home circle lately

I wrote to my old pal Jack Mulliner of

the 8th Light Horse I noticed that he also

got his third star the other day. I also

wrote to General Gatliff, Mrs Jackson &

Penrose.  My B C will most likely

be going to the Artillery School in England

soon & then I suppose I will be acting

in command. If so I will be able to talk

to Hal over the phone every day &

perhaps see him occasionally. He is

quite well & so I am. Everything still

quiet on our front

Fond love to all

Your loving Son

Charlie

 

N° 55

Belgium 3 5.3.18


Dear Father & Mother
today I walked across & saw

Hal at his battery position. It was the

first time I have seen him for exactly

a month altho' I have often spoken to him

over the phone. He is looking splendid, but

then he has nothing to worry about. He

has the best position in our group & is

concrete pillboxes on his position. We are

all in blooming dugouts ^here that wouldn't

stand a "pip-squeak". We are also

practically under direct observation

from Fritz, whilst Hal's battery is 

behind a famous by ridge. We are

really out of our proper sector & are

about a couple of miles away from Hal

That is one reason why, altho I have

been up here for a week, I haven't been

across to see him before. It takes time

travelling over shell torn ground & is 

very tiring Thank goodness, I no

longer have to trudge forward to the O.P.

every day. Another reason is we have

been very busy preparing for a raid

which came off last night & was

successful. Unfortunately the only

man killed was one of my telephonists

He was down in the front line with

 

N°  55       2          3

one of my subalterns in the morning - a

"minnie" (minenwerfer - trench mortar) burst

in the trench close to him & a fragment struck

him on the head killing him instantaneously

The O.C. raid was Captain Corney who

was with Hal at Sands & Mac's (I

Keep on getting interrupted in writing this

by orders to fire on different "minnies" -

our liaison officer reports to B.H.Q. when they

are troubling the infantry & B.H.Q. passes it

on to the batteries). I met Corney the

other day at B.H.Q. - there were a lot

of other officers there in connection with

the raid. I knew all the others & missed

getting introduced to him. Just before leaving

when only three of us were in the room

Corney, with his back to me, asked Capt

Orr where Capt Gatliff was. Orr smiled at

me & said which one do you mean (for

I am the only Capt Gatliff now & I was

right alongside him). He said Jerry - I know

Frank was killed at Ypres. Orr then told

him I was Jerry's brother. He hadn't heard

that Hal was a Major - to say nothing

about the D.S.O.  While I was

at B.H.Q. Charlie Chase, Hal's battery

captain, who went away gassed from YPRES

rang up from a big town not far away.

He had just arrived from England. Hal 

 

N° 55       3     3   5.3.18

is very pleased to have him back as he is

a good officer & a fine fellow Hal has been

putting ^up with Goldsmith for the last fortnight
Goldie, who was at one time a "loot" in

Frank's battery, was pushed out of this

battery when I got my captaincy. To my

sorrow I had to put up with him as my

B.C. for nearly three months while Major

Thornthwaite ^was away. He thought he would get

command of 50 again when pt Mellor

went away but in the language of the

troops he came "a Julian Bying"- in other

words, he made a very big mistake, I

was put in charge.  Now he has been

sent across to another battery as battery

captain while I am an acting battery

commander.  The day before yesterday

I had to walk to B.H.Q. I couldn't get

away until the afternoon & encountered

a lovely snowstorm, the first since Xmas

To make matters worse I forgot my gas

respirator about the wearing of which

there are very strict orders. I had gone

half way, about a mile, & had to come

back for it. Yesterday I had my horses

sent up & made a hurried visit to

the wagonlines my luck was still

out I struck another wretched day

no snow, but a strong icy-cold wind

 

N° 55    4      5.3.18

 

was blowing. Today the weather is mild

again. I hope we don't get too many of the

famous "march winds". It was like a mild

summer day the day I came up here to take

over It is strange that last winter was

exceptionally severe & this one exceptionally

mild. Last October the thought of another

xxxx winter here "put the wind up us"

almost as much as Fritz did. Now

neither are troubling us. I saw a

newspaper, the first for a couple of weeks

when down at the wagonlines. It had big

headlines about Japan entering into the

war on the Russian Front. It is a case of

shutting the stable door after the horse

has been stolen When Russia just showed

signs of weakness I used to say Japan

ought to be allowed to fight on that

front. They would have strengthened the 

Russians &if the latter still showed

signs of wavering, could have forced her to

continue. Another thing, if we had done

So, it would have been treating Japan as

the equal of the European powers & this

would have helped to stave off "the

Yellow Peril" which is bound to come some

time. As the Gyppies say "Feeneesh"

Fond love to all

Your loving Son    Charlie 

 

N° 56        Belgium   3     11.3.18

 

Dear Father & Mother,
Hal sent me over today some letters

he had received since I was over there the

other day. Amongst them was one from Tom
in which; he stated that he was warned

for draft (for France) As his letter was

dated 2.3.18 & daresay he is at Havre now.

Hal told Brett (one of his lieuts who went

to R.B.A.A for 6 months duty) to try & send

Tom over here as soon as possible. It is

better for him to join us when we are

in a quiet part of the line like here.

I used to pity the poor unfortunate

reinforcements that joined us at Ypres

& got the first taste of war in that

HELL. It seems quite like the old

times at Gun Valley. Hal & I both in

command of batteries & talking to each

other over the phone every day. There is

this difference we have each got a step

in promotion since then, instead of being

Capt & Lieut we are now Major & Capt

respectively. And when young Tom

joins us there will be three of us

brothers together with the artillery in

the line again.  Fritz has been

misbehaving himself today. Our officers

mess is about 50 yds from the guns. I am

 

56       2       11.3.18

 

forgetting - it is forbidden to write about the

effects of hostile fire. Will write about it

some other time. Tonight we made a

couple of raids on Fritz - word has just

come thro' that both were successful - we

got 3 prisoners in each case so will get

all the identification we want. It

seems certain now that Fritz does not

intend to do anything on this part of

the Western Front - I would be content

to stay here in preference to any other

part. I believe he commenced another

push a couple of days ago north of

Ypres. I went down to the wagonlines

for a couple of hours yesterday to see

that everything was O.K. for an inspection

by the General tomorrow. While there I

saw an interesting sight. Three planes

all with our markings flew over us at

a couple of hundred feet - two seemed

to be making the one in front go back

to the Aerodrome & we heard the

occasional crack of a machine gun.

It turned out that a German had

got into one of our planes which had been

brought down behind his lines & had come

across above our lines. Our birds discovered

his identity & forced him to come down

behind our lines. Fond love to all.

Your loving son.    Charlie

 

No.  57       1      Belgium 3       14.3.18

 

Dear Father & Mother

Tom as arrived "at the Front". He came

along here about 7.30 last night. I did not have

much of a chance to talk to him as I was in

the middle of preparing a rather elaborate task table

^for a raid that was coming off a few hours later. Then a task

came thro' for us to do at 8.10 p.m. I had one of my

guns forward for the raid & the orderly was

waiting to take them their task table - a lot

of ammunition had arrived for us & I had to

arrange with wagonlines about it - & I was also

trying to have something to eat. However I

gave Tom a feed & let him have a few words

over the phone to Hal & managed to exchange

a word or two with him. He had no pass,

even with one gunners are supposed to

be in their billets by 9 p.m., so I had to

send him away at 8.30. I gave him a pass.

I then wrote to him when he was in

England telling him I was in charge of

50n wagonlines so when he arrived over

here, as reinforcements report at wagonlines,

he set out to find me in preference to

Hal, who he knew was at gunpits. He

has been sent to the 9th Bty Army

Brigade Aus. F. A. He is camped not

far from my wagonlines, but when he

 

57     2

enquired of a gunner of Frank's old brigade where

our wagonlines were he was directed to the

place where the three other wagonlines are, about

6 miles from mine. He there learnt where I

was so carried out his intention & came on

to the gunpits & saw me. He has  altered quite

a lot since I last saw him. He is rather

thin in the face, something like Jack, but

I saw a very strong resemblance to Frank

in him, especially in profile, & his

voice was in the same tone as Frans

with this difference, he talks a lot slower,

& is not self-assertive as Frank was.

Hal immediately wrote in last night

claiming xxxxx Tom; so, as he is so

close to us, within a week he ought

to be in Hal's battery. I am sorry that

I am not at wagonlines at present.

The worst of it ^is these raids we are doing

keep us almost as busy as a big attack.

Yesterday a Taube flew over our lines

& back to his own in a semi-circle -

he left a long trail of smoke behind

him which lasted for over half an hour.

I phoned Hal to ask him what he

thought of it. He replied that he had

not noticed it as Fritz was keeping

him in his pillbox. He had laughed

at me two days before when I phoned

 

57             3

 

him that Fritz was knocking at my front door

so I had a chance to laugh back at him.

When Tom was here Hal was again thinking

how nice the inside of his pillbox was.

Fritz has been fairly active with his artillery

the last few days but has done very little

damage. Half a dozen infantry men were

playing "two up" away back near hdqrs

when Fritz threw over a "Quick Dick" It

landed amongst them & "broke up the school" -

The day before yesterday one of Fritz's

"sausages" (observation balloons) broke loose

& floated over our lines. It was a good

sight seeing a couple of our planes

flying round it peppering it with their

machine guns. It was up very high & the

sun shining on the planes as they turned

made them look like silver butterflies.

It took a lot of shots to bring it down -

very different from when we were on the

Somme - there, a couple of bullets would,

cause the gasbag to burst into a large

flame. Fritz must now make his gas bag

out of non-inflammable material as this

sausage only burst into a small flame

which went out when the gas bag was

empty of gas, without consuming the container

the one was in the basket. Much love

from all three. Your loving son

Charlie

 



  

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