Lieutenant Colonel William McKenzie, MC, OBE - letters - 1915 - Part 8

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Open to contributions
Accession number:
AWM2019.22.4
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

I seem our regimentare che seoks we aneamone the first bak landing pant which, will be a tenible job to get aftrm footholl enethit goi well with the childrens schoolion & that they giveyou no undue anxiety I wist constude with for fast love to you o them with hugs & Kisses by the hundred fforeach a an having a very inheresting expecience In case d weet with an accident I may say that I have hanked the at Carro Seyft. i Arglo-DGylkian Bank the oum of three thousand stie or $38-15- d in Britisk money It is money, We saned her Fles this absoluted quict kay I suchl bless you Yours iwuchlove Fathen
The Salvation Army Chaptain Expeditionary Forces, Tunkey 5/5/15 113 ablingtm tamshad to be able to wuithe you sncenor whell you that I am iea well in every way. and a Hebt vew busy among the hoys who ane parthen apa treat name for them serves heve in the fighting ines. The ane agoldsa opnions for Austnarca. Igness the porpens ane publishing some yenrs about the fizht over this was. I have seen no popen whlatenen since about snd fust on five weeks now know nothing of the out. p side world be lowthrogo ane om in suance in wisewhere It is a pasily towch problen we have ken & we have of couuse to far a toll for the puvelace of eglking thene will be good few strickes ex ae
The Salvation Army Chaplain Expeditionary Fonces, 131 of course cannot give waaing paaiticculars the these would be very intengating to you othe bogs the ranships the seaplares the males Donkeys funs Fran sponts shioting wouded death Pomotions sayingsetecha Our Colonel was killed the 2ndda one of our o ther officers + to more have been wounded all i our egiment onteof 35 home very semously + I think will die e have lost Goo out of 1000. and the fight has but begun However, I am leveas tabe and bell as saw be I have been a but busy visiting woondee anI doing athensfecial wast veside weekings the Boys an longing for me to com nto the Tenghes with that who tee lave onl been+ houre out of the pisapline since yut 2s sonehavebead nowan since than But few w anst have any dea of what this is like
Tho Salvation Army Chaplain Expeditionary Fonces, Famsontiuall thinking and you you all &ask that s may sheaiglly threngthen you to canng the heady hunder that to rod on you in managing the children in my lenghhr absence. I would like to posin see youall I can just magive thowareiting it would be I trust you & they are keepinweat well in even way ithat soled propess being wat in their is woms in eatoeps st say tod haciously beess you your o ontward about being at aswall Conks an slad witegd that you are here. It should help you & them on will yet see geat things hove tne May woud fight. Dont discomaged my precioustamin He strong fight. Londest love to you & the Children Hirgs oKisses fouall mehelpaou Bands wh MW Snosig
The Salvation Army Chaptain Expeditionary Forces, May 20 1915 My Carlia N Ijust receeve your letter int Doas + Mavis natunes stony & kugs thisses was pledsed indeed yseve this as it was he fist othen had lad my havdyou for swks &as forwartin will of even so one oaly to gou the by mene accident dcond kali a dessed to a deadman+ as I st & distuibut all the rew ofapes addressed to the mes ave been Killed feet this ethenae ree nden We had a runson sattle on meadaynight stating at 630 & continneghnrs pi toa Kunoday be twrs warmkile wnded psoe oven y s our canalities were motover I have had a very basy 66 ight ni o dal o sa phastle Bnokss + is Draining in Newtoponyohen aute a few of ou eaden
The Salvation Army Chaptain Expeditionary Forces, have had a wenvons bueakdown 151 with the sreaws noise & worn thein men. you cauguess I am kept anoy with the woundsd etc We sarks look wellfea & ell alothee & are well ardel Wedave also had a nambero ermanpisonens, they ange and look Sevilios at everyhad, when they are brought io, The Officens particular. The Jerwar Officen whet the Tunks but of the sem come on & gt oranghtened tike seet b the Anstrallans. Our regiment Killed + wounded over 15000 Tunks some say $4000. We & yet we of it thoue the st lll & 50 wonnee the sear lay thiat on the ound, for coished that night with shell we but wis not inguned ae ligii dugont. or have, the bullets and gin overny head this the an by the Moasands. The dorks made another fierce attack withandelley a difleting but
The Salaton Army 3 Chaptain Expeditionary Forces, the fear to come on the me 151 o at 3to y ant as the sawor is breakins the his thene favorite time. Thereo not a minuteda onniht witho the ufeas swe enaaking. t yave the Sanks & Roons this atho to picknp then wounded & th they opengt of 10 our with t oy. We have ashiff yo yea wodge thens as he have had to popasis but £ oall he done. The sunts have reinforces. I 18,000 this week + more&hegoe gurs & Per they cannor drode en We duoss uck everythis at fightin Capt Seav tewg de snappeday thotoyaterday green Tuntley, way way to by D 2 edeas is I gues all be fignng somer 2 damgething quite used to the sundardidg noise livins its Daveg avent sading alothes off fou neanly a formightnon
The Salvation Army Chaplain, Expedifednany Fences all ofre manla pay 2th 1015 Ny Secins Dife Iosade I have the tonvelage of writin you sending you gueeting for which I thank t & take comage I hoke this finds youreal well ao abso all The children whom I host ane ielding a witting, & neadsobed ence io them women o stawi prose the shinin hoveo frrdm day to say d wish I had do time to wiks to each of them had cannot at present spanre it the are so many folksny see a much hods. We have had a vem tewrible Bombandinenda an artack by the tanks they wen nonoIl sabed I conse suffere wane losses We am necaring them down & getting a bit worn in the puscess but ovr chapsae os game as possible. Tho numbers are heie tilled in stantaneon every day still the Tuartsane etting Mous Funishwent than we
He expect there to give in within the next 6 wakes which will see very beaay fighting the Victoriags have suffered sevenely only 1650 of sirt of the 4.500 ventman wounded including chas talstua hs is not senondly monaded so will befa writhin another sweeks, all opns have yad quite a few nawow shill das so so camn forme & wathers over we speciall on afeof the payens offened for me ins dat a is vvery comporting to know that as sokendeenbeed Need I say my year that I am happ amon the men & an delighted to shave the droconfort including birt lice soi hones samp bround & cold nights loss of pleed lack of water & the riple& shell fire wim ths tanenost wotat or lingning death for the mmeter of thei assocation & telling then gears the might to save. I am Lceply touchd with the continued indulfervations of sufath Denatidn shown by ther atide
Tho Sabaton Ary Chaptain Expeditionary Forces, some of those who are ag iounde dmning the first foutnght are now dribbling hack, a fewanve every day Among them our Magon thas ovo of his wounds anotyeheated. one ooan Officens got the D.SD, and the the Militan Cross & a private the P.CR you would dead of them Ghiss I enclose appoho given me he oned the mea two gays ago. Wuefresked we mach I have heen expective children tth Dos I enclose an wote for your Buthan please o nowledse the reciept of this, as also the last one sent of it rrecieved as much money is fou aday being sholev out of gttens I lost tI last mont I will now conclude wih affectrate Guckings Dathone mud clive wte ooises bey gd nickly bless a compet you I remaw yous doeven Father

6/

Seeing our regiments chiefly

[?]. We are among the first [?]

landing party which will be a 

terrible job to get a firm foothold

& finish everything is going well

with the children's schooling

& that they give you no undue

anxiety.

I must conclude with fondest 

love to you & them with

hugs & kisses by the hundred

for each. I am having a 

very interesting experience.

In case I meet with an accident

I may say that I have banked

at Cairo Egypt in the 

Ango-Egyptian Bank the

sum of, three, thousand [?]

or ₤30 = 15 =0 in British money

It is money I've saved here.

Keep this absolutely quiet

May God richly bless you

               Yours in much love

                               Father

 

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

Turkey 5/5/15  1915

My Darling Muma

                                 I am glad to

be able to write you once more

& tell you that I am real

well in every way and am

kept very busy among the

boys who are putting [?]

great name for themselves

here in the fighting lines. They

are winning golden opinions

for Australia. I guess the

papers are publishing some

news about the fight over

this way. I have seen no

paper whatever since April

[?] (just on five weeks now 

so know nothing of the out-

side world) or how things are

going in France or elsewhere.

It is a fairy tough problem

we have here & we have

of course to pay a toll for

the priceless of [?] [?] &

there will be a good few

of [?] [?] in a [?]

 

 The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

            7/

                                 .........................................  191_

 

I of course cannot give you any

particulars this, these would be

very interesting to you & the boys.

The warships the seaplanes

the mules, donkeys guns, tran

sports, shooting, wounded, deaths

promotions, sayings etc etc.

Our Colonel was killed the 3rd day

& one of our other Officers & 10 more

have been wounded all in our

regiment, out of 33 - some very

seriously - 2 I think will die.

We have lost 300 out of 1000

and the fight has only begun.

However, I am here as safe and

well as can be. I have been a

bit busy visiting wounded and

doing other special work besides

meetings. The Boys are longing for

me to [?] into the [?] with

them as they have only been 2 1/2

hours out of the front line since

April 25th. Some have had no word 

since then. But few in [?]

have an idea of what this is like.

 

 The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

           8/

I am continually thinking and   191_ 

praying for you all & ask that

God may specially strengthen you

to carry the heavy burden that

is now on you in managing 

the children in my lengthy

absence. I would like to pop in

" see you all. I can just imagine

how exciting it would be. I trust

you & they are keeping real well

in every way & that solid progress

is being made in their lessons

& in their Corps work.

May God graciously bless you 

in your N&K work. Dont worry

about being at a small Corps

& am glad indeed that [?]

there [?] should help you & them.

You will yet see great things done 

there. Pray, word & fight. Do not

get discouraged my precious darling

Be strong & fight.

Fondest love to you & the Children

Hugs & Kisses for all.

               Heaven help you

               yours in holy Bonds

                         Wm McKenzie

 

 

 

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

            

                                 ........May 20th....  1915_

My Darling Wife

                             I first recieved 

your letter with Don's & Mavis'

pictures. [?] & hugs & Kisses

I was pleased indeed to recieve

this as it was the first letter I 

had laid my hands on for 5 wks

& as for [?] well I never

see one, only to day tho' by mere

accident [?] got an [?]

addressed to a dead man &

as I get & distribute all the new

spapers addressed to the men

that have been killed & got this. 

The letters are returned to senders.

We had a tremendous battle on 

the day night starting at 6.30pm

& continued until 10am today

Thursday. The turks lost in killed

woulded & prisoners over 7,000

our casualties were just over

600. I have had a very busy

night & morning burying our 

dead. It is a ghastly business &

is draining my new boys [?]

quite a few of our leaders.

 

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

            2

have had a nervous breakdown

with the strains, noises & losing

their men. You can guess I am

kept busy with the wounded 

etc. The Turks look well fed &

well clothed & are well armed.

We have also had a number of

German prisoners, they sneer and

look devilish at everybody when

they are brought in. The Officers

in particular. The German Officers 

hunted the Turks out of the [?]

is to come on & get slaughtered

like sheep by the Australians. Our

regiment killed & wounded over

1500 Turks, some say 2,000. We

bore the brunt of it & yet we

only had 16 killed & 50 wounded.

The dead lay thick on the ground,

I got scorched that night with

shell fire but was not injured.

As I write by candle light in my

dugout or cave, the bullets are

whizzing over my head thru' the

air by the thousands. The Turks

made another fierce attack

with artillery & rifle fire, but

 

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

            3

they fear to come on they may

[?] at 3 5o 4 am just ast the

dawn is breaking that is there 

favorite time. There is not a

minute day or night without

the rifles and [?]. We gave

the Turks a bonus this after to

pick up their wounded & then

they open at 710 pm with terrifying

fury. We have a stiff job yet to

dislodge them as the have had

a long time to prepare, but

it shall be done: the Turks

have reinforced by 18,000 this

 week & more & heavier guns &

yet they cannot dislodge us.

The Austs lick everything at fighting

Capt Bean, the war correspondent

snapped my photo yesterday my

a green guernsey on my way to

bury some dead, so I guess

I'll be figuring somewhere.

I am getting quite used to the 

surroundings, noise, living etc. 

[?], I haven't had my clothes 

off for nearly a fortnight now.

 

The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

            Gallipoli Peninsula

                                 ........May 30th....  1915_

My Precious Wife

                          Once more I have the

privelege of writing you & sending

you greetings for which I thank

God & take courage. I hope this

finds you real well and also all

the children whom I trust are

yielding a willing & ready obed-

ience to their mother & striving

to improve the shining hours from 

day to day. I wish I have this time

to write to each of them but I

cannot at present spare it, there

are so many folks to see &

much to do. We have had a very

terrible Bombardment today &

an attack by the Turks, they were

soundly drubbed [?] & suffering

many losses. We are wearing them

down & getting a bit worn in 

the process but our chaps are

as game as possible. The numbers

are being killed instantaneously

every day still the Turks are

getting more punishment than we

 

                                

2

We expect them to give in within

the next 6 weeks which will [?]

very heavy fighting. The Victorians

have suffered severely only 1650 left 

out of the 4500, very many wounded

including Chas Ralstua he is not

seriously wounded & so will be back

within another 3 weeks. All of us

have had quite a few narrow escapes

[?] I feel God is [?] for us

& watching over me specially, [?]

of [?] the prayers offered for [?]

[?]. It is very comforting to know

that I am so kindly remembered.

Next I say my dear that I am happy

among the men & am delighted

to share the discomfort, including

dirt, lice, sore bones, damp

ground & cold nights loss of 

sleep, lack of water & the rifle & 

shell fire with [?] dangers of instant

or lingering death for the privelege

of their association & telling them 

of Jesus the mighty to save. I am

deeply touched with the continued

manifestations of sympathy

gratitude & devotion shown by their

 

    3                             The Salvation Army.

Chaplain Expeditionary Forces,

 

    Some of those who were wounded

during the first fortnight, are now

dribbling back, a few arrive every day.

Among them our Major, tho' one of his

wounds haven't yet healed.

One of our Officers got the D.S.O, another

the Military Cross & a private the D.C.M.

You would heard of them I guess.

I enclose a photo given me by one of 

the men two days ago it refreshed

me much. I have been expecting

both yours & the childrens photos.

I enclose a ₤1 note for your Birthday. 

Please acknowledge the receipt of

this as also the last one sent if it

is recieved, as much money is going

astray, being stolen out of 

letters. I lost ₤1 last month

I will now conclude with affectionate 

greetings to all at home, much

love & hugs & kisses.

May God richly bless & comfort you

                    I remain

                               yours forever

                                         Father

 

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