Letters from Captain Walter Morris Felix Gamble to his family, 1917-1918 - Part 17

COMMAND OFFICERS' SCHOOL
OF INSTRUCTION,
KIRKEE.
all that Kind of
Thing. My particular
flame is Sister
Alexander, (Sandy)
and I promised
Leo before I left
xx France, to give
her a good time,
and I have never

enjoyed fulfilling
 

6

a promise better
She's a great girl,
in fact they all
are.
I have done quite
well at the School.
I haven't worked
so hard for a
long while, but
still, it will do
me good. It's great

fun when you are

about ten miles
out in The country
 

trying hard to write

down what you would

do if you were in

charge of a Battalion,

and were given

orders to capture

an enemy position of

about twice your

Strength, and your

bike chain breaks

and you have to

walk home, I have

done this twice.

A while ago, I

had a most delightful

2

few days with

toothache, it nearly

knocked me silly,

but everything is O.K

again.

I have done a bit

of rowing & Swimming

since I have been

here, as well as ride

some fifteen of twenty

miles a day. so you

may gess I'm fit and

guess correctly.

Ever your loving

Son. XX Wally.

 

9
P.S I'm so glad Fred
is doing his bit
this June. It's a
pity a few thousand
of those birds in
Australia, who
have turned Their
Cobbers down, have
x not the stuff in
Them, to be shamed
into going, when
They see lads like
Fred set out
smiling, The minute
 

10 9

They leave their mothers
apron strings, you
can tell Fred, I'm
damn proud of him
and would like
to shake his hand.
Also congratulate
him for me, on his
seat in a Wesley
Eight. Its matters
little whether he won
or lost. I won't
write to him yet for
fear of giving him a
swelled head, but
you tell him for me
Tons of love. Wally.
 

Bhamo

Burma.
10 August '18
My Dear old Dad & Mum

Aren't I

a beautiful specimen of The

Australian species? My

chief occupation seems to

be making promises to

write regularly and then

methodically breaking

each one.  I can only

say I'm sorry but the

funny part of it is, I

write about once every

new moon and yet I

seem to get more letters

than anyone here.- The

moral evidently is (this

does not apply to you)

when a chap happens

to go mad and write

to several people, tell

each that he (The writer)
 

is sorry that he is such

an awful correspondent

but he loves to hear

from you.- "wonderful

are the works of a wheelbarrow"

Now I am back with

The Regiment again, I've

got my old freckled nose

down to Hindustani.  I

wasn't able to do a bit

while I was at The

School.  Still, it's a

fairly regular language

so not too difficult to

get hold of.

I'm afraid, very much

afraid India is not The

place it's cracked up to

be. at least the army

isn't.  It's all right you

know, tons of sport and

little work, but they have

made an awful mess

of the country by trying

 

to elevate The native to
the height of a white man.
consequently all over The
place you find white
men with blasted natives
as Their inspectors. They
are now talking very
much about giving
Indian Officers the Kings
Commission, with the
result that we will have
to salute these blighters,
and call them "Sir" and
feed with them, and all
That Kind of Thing, and
the whole show will
become absolutely
impossible.
Then again The whole place
(Central& Southern India
That is, The North West is
all right and Burma is
all right) is full of
young  birds who have
 

been given a good
education, but cant
get a good job. they
immediately get with
some sedition crowd
and talk big stuff about
clearing India of every
Englishman, and they
grow insolent, Knowing
that if you strike a
native you are hawled
up and put into prison
and there are no two
ways about it. The native
has the whip handle every
time in a court of Law,
But I tell you Straight
I risked being run in
once or twice, but I
was travelling, and by
The time The black upstart
had come to, if he ever
did, I was half way
across India. - No, I
 

Think, when the war is
over. I will leave this
India of ours-and where
The black man is considered

as good as the
white, where one white
man can be called a
liar by two black. and
yet, where the finest sport
in the world, can be
found.- I will

leave it- I think- and
come home to a Australia
and look for a job
even if I have to take
off my coat for a living.

It would at least be
near home, and among

real live men.

Well, that's about The

strength of things over

this way.  Personally I'm

very fit!  Love to the boys.

Ever your loving son

Wally.