Lieutenant Colonel William McKenzie, MC, OBE - letters - 1916 - Part 8

10/10/16
Dearest of my heart
I hope 
you are real well in every
way as also the children
My, you have had quite
a wet winter & spring
with floods & fatalities.
I have had no letters with
the last two Aust
mails from our house
Still, I suppose they
have gone astray, and
so can be added as
"another war accident
I get to feel & say I'm
lucky" when things turn
up all right & learn
to take it as one of
the "all things" when disappmt 

& disaster comes
Im feeling clean done up
tonight & in poor writing
form. I had no sleep
last night - Insomnia
I have too much on
hand - hundreds of
letters to write besides
many inquiries to make
in addition to all my
other duties - Now I
have two Canteens
going besides the free
distribution of hot
Coffee & Bovril to 
the men on fatigue
duty in & out of the
trenches from 6 p.m.
to 6 A.M. a very fine
boon & blessing &
much appreciated
the goods for these

3
free distributions are
provided by the Austn
Comforts funds. I am
starting another post
for this distribution
just behind the trenches
1½ miles from the
present point & others
as opportunity offers
I am undertaking
this work for a fine
middleaged (57) man
(Mr Cope) who is out
here representing the
Comforts fund in the

1^st Division. I have
been so rushed with
the Canteens etc
that I have been unable
to do much writing
for a fortnight -
4
I of course have had a
lot of running about
there being the only
chaplain (except an
R.C.) in the 1^st Brigade
at present & have had
all the burials save

one to do for the
past 16 days - one
chaplain is sick &
the other has been on
15 days leave. I had
to bike ride 25 miles
on Sunday for a service
with A.S.C. folks &
this against a head
wind for 12 miles,
was a perfect 'corker'
I was clean done at
night, still its all
on the job.

5
It is Tuesday morning &
I am feeling much fresher
& better in every way today
after a fine sleep.
I have got Grindley with
me now & he had gone
off to a large town to
with 3000 Franks to
buy goods for the Canteen

This will be his daily
job- His coming will
help me considerably
& give me a good dependable
'prof' for the Canteen
He is quite glad to be
here. I of course had
some trouble to get him
from the Vic Battln
6
still it is all clean sailing-
so all goes well.
We are having quite
a bit of wet weather
now & of course the
cold is making itself
felt a trifle tho' I cannot
say I feel it uncomfortable
so far.
My Battln went up to
the front line on Sunday
night (from support) I
am back here at the

Transport lines - 6 miles

away in order to try
& pull up correspondence
tho' of course I pass
to & fro. Indeed I am
off up to a burial
this, early, Aftn & 
also to the Canteen 4½
miles from here.

7
I intend (if I think I
can do it without neglect)
to go to the old land (Scotld)
for a fortnight in early
November - I may not go
It depends how everything
works & what progress
the fighting makes. Tho'
I don't think anything
very big will be done
until next Spring -
April to August - It

will be 12 months more
ere the war is finally
ended. Oct 1917 -
& may be not then.
We progress so very
slowly - still anything
may turn up. By next
month fighting is likely
to be resumed in Mesapotamia -
It will be
a tough 'go' there, but
8
they will break thro' all
night & march on Constantinople,
this should
be thro' by March
when the desperate
final rounds on
all fronts will be
fought - 6 months
desperation March
to Sept - Millions slaughtered
& maimed- It is awful to
contemplate but its the
only way at present to
effectually stop the
Germans for 200 yrs
They want peace now
only to rectify their
mistakes, get strong, by
their present experiences
& tackle it again. They
must be stopped thrashed
& nation ruined &
made beggars for 100 yrs

& this being done - I only
hope the French &
Belgians & Russians
get well into Germany
& burn & break down
200 of their Cities &
Towns - & 1000 Villages
as they have done here
This would cure them
forever & its the best
cure even if 1,000000
of their civil population
perishes in the fires
& ruins. It is no more
than they have done
here. I badly want

to see the war on
German territory
10

& so does everybody who
have seen this country
of Belgium & France
I hope that you are
keeping real well in
every way & having quite
a good time. No doubt
your S.D. is over &
shall hear the result

in due time. I guess
the Territory on the whole
has done well tho' I can
imagine that the excessive
wet weather would somewhat
hinder the far
back country collecting.
Still it will be OK.
I trust the boys keep
well & are behaving
themselves properly,
besides working hard
at their various tasks
Have you yet written

11
& fixed up their several
Harvest jobs?
By the time you get this
you should have your
preparations well in
hand for your Q'land
trip, where I hope you

will have a good
time.
I cannot understand 
why you do not get
letters by every mail.
I frequently write two
but never miss-

However they get loss
in the post I suppose
& one cannot wonder
at this under the
circumstances the
poor facilities for
handling letters
& the many hands they

go thro'. How is Mavis ?
I hope real well and
doing well.
I conclude with very
much love warmest
greetings & best wishes
with earnest prayers
for you all.
Kindest regards to
any enquirers.
May God richly bless
you & have you in
His Keeping.
Yours in love's bonds
W M^cKenzie
Hugs & Kisses to all.

France
28/10/16
Dearest Wife
I have pleasure in scribbling
you a few lines under very
trying circumstances. The
wet mud, cold & discomfort
are 'beyond' description.
It is a spirit testing time
& many of our boys health
wont stand it long.
lying down in wet clinging
mud with a ground sheet
& single blanket, I have
a bit of wire netting
& a few sand bands (empty)
under me & a blanket
& great coat over me.
last night I lay down on
this fully dressed of course

& wet thro' too. This is
surely enduring hardness
as a good soldier -
It is certainly mud & misery

2
tho' let me say Im feeling
real well in health &
very cheery in spirit, tho'
of course war weary.
Grindly is in a big town
in a big sheet on Guard
over stores, so he is
under cover, with two
blankets & more comfortable
It will be a terror for the
next 4 months or so-
I am hoping the Austs will
not be in the line all the
time, but get 2 months
or so in huts & settled
Camp, as we have done so
much fighting that we
get war wearying
We are now likely to be
in a very big stunt soon
Great forces have gathered
for this, tho' the job is a
big one & fearfully trying
with a yard deep of
mud & no roads

3
worth the name.
Orames is only 2 miles
from me as I write this,
tho' I have not seen him
yet. I have seen Glover
(his batman) two days
in succession - Orames
came to look me up but
I was out, then I went
over to see him next day
& he had moved up the
line. I may see him soon
we have shifted again
& are in a desperate place
You'll hear of us & our
doing ere long & much
sooner than you get this.
I expect to go to Scotland
in a month's time. In 
fact I would have been
off now but for this
new 'stunt' so I hope
to get away after it is
safely over & the boys

4
comparitively safe again
I hope to call on Inviel's
folks if I can find
time. I want to visit
Aberdeen & Dundee
also & in fact see quite
a lot of places & people.
Tho' they want to keep me in
London all the time, but
I want to go so, as I never
feel too comfortable at
the H.Q. tho' they are very nice
but also still formal and
severly proper. I should
detest an old Country Appmt
tho' i was given to understand
last time in Eng, that I would
be likely to shift from Aust
in 2 and 3 years time.
All F.S^s. & C.S^s are to be
men from other territories
than their own hence
Powely's Appmt.I expect to
go to West indies or Sth
America somewhere
these places need physical
courage energy & grit