Lieutenant Colonel William McKenzie, MC, OBE - letters - 1915 - Part 3

I am sending a short 

summary of the boat trip

seeing you didn't get the copy

read to the boys and carefully

preserve.

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces.

Jany 24^th 1915

Gordon M^cKenzie

Melbourne

My Dear son Gordon

How are 

you getting along & how are

you behaving yourself. How are

you progressing with your

Piano playing, your elocution

your school lessons, and last 

but not least your soul. Are

you saved now & do you love Jesus

this is a fine list of questions to

answer in your next letter to

me which I hope you will write

me at once, Don't be lazy

in doing so, please,

so you have shifted down to

Melbourne again where are   

you living & what school do

you go to? Gordon Dear where 

your junior [[?]] is & if

you will become a good worker

thence & do your verses well.

I suppose you are growing like 

a mushroom & I'll get quite a 

shock when I get back to Aus

2

When I see a three giants come to meet me

the wharf when the boat comes in this now

4 months ago since I saw you all at Bendigo

How do you like the postcards I am

sending you? Some of them "crackeys"

and take the shine out of the Austalians. What

do you think of my photo on the camel by the sphinx? If you were here there would 

be hundreds of donkeys to choose from

for a ride & Arab ponies too, Camels

Buffaloes Mules and Men.

Hope you are keeping good cheer [[?]]

loving Mavis & not as happy as you 

ought to be [[?]] now

with fondest love to all 

from your affectionate father

W McKenzie

INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS:

101 VICTORIA ST., LONDON E.C. 

THE SALVATION ARMY.

Australian Headquarters: 69 Bourke St., Melbourne.

NAVAL AND MILITARY LEAGUE,

AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE,

W. BRAMWELL BOOTH,

General.

JAMES HAY,

Commissioner.

Mena Egypt

Jany 31^st 1915

Darling Sweetheart, 

Just a line of greetings

this monday morning before the mail closes

I hope you & the children are real well

& have ere this got nicely settled at Camberwell

where I hope you'll have a 

really good time. I got a letter from

the Cowner on Satdy evening saying a 

house had been taken for you at

this place between Hawthorn and 

Camberwell Coups.

I am in good form this evening, I

had a fine Day yesterday & [[?]]

more convensions, I am coming

along to my tent on Tuesday night

to get [[?]]. I had a fine meeting 

last night & [[?]] for [[Salrative?]]

the men appreciated the hard hitting

facts about their sins & the remedy

I am even shortly hearing from 

both officers & men some mush

flattering [[?]] to me my [[?]]

for instance I even heard a

INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS:

101 VICTORIA ST., LONDON E.C. 

THE SALVATION ARMY.

Australian Headquarters: 69 Bourke St., Melbourne.

NAVAL AND MILITARY LEAGUE,

AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE,

W. BRAMWELL BOOTH,

General.

JAMES HAY,

Commissioner.

2

passed thus the Divisional Road toward

(to prevent the exit of men without passes)

say to one another after I had passed

tho' — that big bloke's the best chaplain

of the whole bloomin' bunch of them

He always had a [[?]] feeling for us.

another of the men last night said

to me, [[?]] the most [[?]] a man

in the regiment, everybody likes you

even the R.C^s. think and say thank you

are a "Ding Donger" so eventually

I should help some.

I'm first off to town to meet Adjt

Martin & do some shopping. I 

got one of my uniform coats & 

trousers a bit [[?]] on Friday

& had to get a new suit. It occured

in a motor car.

Loves, hugs & kisses to all. Greetings

to all enquires

Yours as ever

Father

oxoxoxox

for Mavis

INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS:

101 VICTORIA ST., LONDON E.C. 

THE SALVATION ARMY.

Australian Headquarters: 69 Bourke St., Melbourne.

NAVAL AND MILITARY LEAGUE,

AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE,

W. BRAMWELL BOOTH,

General.

JAMES HAY,

Commissioner.

Egypt 

Feby 25^th 1915

My Darling Daughter Mavis

What a lovely letter

that was that you wrote me from

Mentone whence you were paddling

in the sea & got your back

& [[?]] burned with the sun.

I guess you are all right now.

What a lovely time you had too.

My, I would have liked to have

been there with Mother & you

& the boys, what fun we could have.

It made me feel very happy

to hear that you are saved and 

love Jesus, & that you pray and

ask Him to bless & keep Dadda

every night. He answered your

prayer & keeps me such a lot.

One man came & got saved on

Satdy night in my tent and another

came and got saved on Sunday night

so surely I [[?]] helping me to

work for Him, a lot more due soon

coming to be saved, so pray a lot &

ask Jesus to help me more & more

The Salvation Army

Chaplain Expeditionary Force

My Darling Wife

I hope you have

[[?]] this got nicely settled in your

home & everything into ship shape.

Summer will be over & Autumn

now coming on with its cool 

nights, shortening days, yellow

leaves & pleasant prospects.

I am sure you will fill your

days with helpful happy deeds

& strive to make Camberwell

all the better for your presence.

No doubt you'll have some good

meetings & help to keep things

moving in the right direction.

No doubt you'll also have a

class in the [[?]] couples, I can

guess you'll have some real

good times with them all.

I am glad to know that our

[[?]]

no doubt the 4^th enforce them

scenes together. All the others

will no doubt find [[?]]

& feel thoroughly at home speedily

The Salvation Army

Chaplain Expeditionary Force

2

If now wonderful