Jones, Oscar Anglesey (Captain, b.1892 - d.1917), letters - Part 2

2

Just met an Engineer from Queensland

who knows a lot of people that I know

and we had a great yarn about the footballers

up that way. Things all going along just

the same as usual, Artillery and sniping

duels, with a mixture of bomb throwing goes

on night and day, sometimes busy and at

other times a lot quieter. I just had four

shots at a Turk about a quarter of a mile

away, but it was a difficult target for the

distance as the beggar was moving fast across

at right angles and he got safely past.

Dean & I watch every morning for them away

down the valley in front of us and have a

few pot shots nearly every time. Jingo the

flies here would make old Jack Scott cuss

and that is saying a lot, they just

hover in a cloud from daylight till dark

and you have to fight your way through to

get at your food, and then clear the way

by helping them out of the Jam, tea, stur etc

They are too weak to get out themselves, I have

not heard anything lately about the commission

only that the papers have gone through & they

are waiting for them back. In all these affairs

they are always long winded and so I just 

wait

3

I am writing to Gla this mail and to Ivor next

one, Fancy this is the 1^st of October, it is getting

along towards Xmas before one really knows it.

I hope you all have a happy one any way, Guess

mine will be alright as I am feeling splendid

and in great buckle. I meet at odd times

different fellows that I know, and it is

surprising how many of the boys are here

Am going out on the left one of these 

days to where the Queenslanders are located

to renew acquaintances with them all, 

it is about three miles from here going

around the beach, which is the safest

and surest track. In some of the places

on our left the Turks throw cigarettes over

and we return the compliment with bully

beef in small tins & also tobacco.

I found out that a chap maned Coombes

in our platoon is related to Johnny Zwar

and we had a great yarn. He says that

they all recognise him as a hard

man to get on with. Tell Ivor he

will have to stow up some to get

a Staff S.M. job that is

 

4

unless they have altered a lot since we pulled

out from Melbourne. I think I could handle

the Job alright, and would not mind among

men, but the cadets would drive me silly,

would want a stick to drive the sense into

them. We have heard lately of the

French & Brittish driving in the Germans

along the front on that side, but it is

on the other side that I expect to see

big movements, as the big armies are

there and the scope of country enables them

to deploy and shift about, not cramped

like Flanders. How is the holly getting along?

I often think of it when I see the immense

growth of wild holly over here. It is very like

the garden variety but do not know if it

blooms at all. Put in time yesterday along the

right and saw some pine ridges that looked

more like decent bush than what we have

here. Well Mum I will have to close

now as there is really not much doing from

day to day so trusting all are well

From Your Son

Oscar

 

 

Gallipoli

21st Nov

Dear Mother

Your letter dated Oct 4^th the one you wrote from Rudy Creek

came to hand this morning and I was pleased to hear that you had

gone for a little holiday, and trust you enjoyed yourself & also benefited

by it. Was sorry to hear that M^r Clayton was not too well, and trust

he is improving. It will fall hard on Mrs Clayton, any illness of his, as she

is not very strong. Was pleased to hear that Gla has a position, as she

is one of those sort that keeps itching to do something, and is not happy

unless she can. Very likely Mrs Eaton will have already had one of those photos

as each of us had a couple. I have just received word to go down to

the beach and take charge of a party of men there as their officer has

been sent away sick, be this it, is all I say, as it will mean shifting

around all my things, and I have just finished my dug-out &

got everything ship shape. Oh well I suppose I will have to dodge

along. Will finish this letter down there. 22^nd - Well, here I am in

my new job, and gradually getting the hang of things. I was on

from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. last night & was roused out at 4.25 a.m.

this morning to be on at 5 A.M., when we got down there

we found that the wood-barge was half full of water

instead of wood & as there was no pumps or buckets

available to bail out with, I sent the men home again &

came back myself, as I have nothing to do till my batman

brings breakfast along, it is a good opportunity to

finish your letter. I have charge of the 21^st Battn party &

some of the 22^nd. I may see Harry Kaye down here, as I do not

think he has returned to the trenches yet. Word came in

last night, that the transport "Orange Prince" with 577 bags

of mail for Australian troops on it had been sunk

It was the latest mail in these waters so we will

have to go without our letters for a while. I also

heard last week that our Xmas mail had been

sunk in a barge owing to rough weather just after leaving

the pier, so that just about evens the matter up.

I suppose Bob [[B?]] and his push will be coming

away with the next Brigade and should arrive early

next Year & maybe by that time we will have had a

chance to rest for a while, although speaking for myself

I have not noticed the eleven weeks that we have been

here. It is rather early to start talking though with

the winter ahead of us that is the first part of it we

have already started the winter season I think.

Was pleased to hear that Evan had written

although there does not seem as if much chance of

any of the participators being able to pose as Rothchild's

still even if it was only £50 it would come in handy.

If ever I get a chance of a trip to England I will look

all those relations up and try to put in a night or so

at each place. Just so they can not argue that I went to

one and not the other, although they would not be

entertaining the Prime Minister, as it would not matter so

much. I got one letter from Gla addressed as Lieut,

but suppose later ones will bear the Sergeant, but it is

owing to the delay caused through the papers being so long

in coming through, nearly a month, in fact 5 weeks, as

although the appointment was gazetted on the 28^th Sept I never

knew till a week afterwards, And Dean's brother wrote the

day we embarked on the [["?"]]

 

3

Rough weather is going to play [[?"Mos Hang?"]] with things here for

the next couple of months, but there is a fair supply of

stuff on the beach and we could live for a couple of months

with ease even if no more stuff was landed, so there is

no danger of being starved & if there was, well we could

go and take the Turks provisions although I guess the

beggar would raise objections to that course, however, that

would not trouble us, as we would have to get it.

My old platoon commander, the officer in that

photo of the .. (who is sitting next to me I think)

went away sick yesterday. I do not know what was

the matter with him, but influenza was the cause of 

it. Over here that same influenza is a different

customer to what it is in Australia, with plenty

of good substantial comforts, warm beds etc, for it

is liable to turn to Diptheria, Enteric, Jaundice, Pneumonia,

Dysentry, in fact anything at all; as it leaves one weak &

an easy prey to other sickness. I used to have a contempt

for him over there, but here I pay all due respect to it.

I have just been studying out what sort of an

individual slept in this stretcher before I came, "Oh yes we 

have tag stretchers here", and if he was not half centipede,

quarter tom-cat, and the rest a mixture of "sleep where you

like" person; then I am making a bloomer. I woke up this

morning, and did not know what part of the tent was supporting 

me. I guessed that I had fallen amongst a heap of boulders

and rested where I touched, however that will all be altered

to-day and things straightened out, or else I will know

4

the reason why. There is a party of Maltese working

on one part of the beach, and they are a lazy, dirty

theiving lot of specimens who dodge along as if they

are studying the art of least work in a given time.

There are also some Egyptians doing pick & shovel

work & they vie with the Maltese in keeping their

temperatures down, one of the Egyptian party always

follows along behind with a whip to stimulate their

energies, and he is pretty capable too. A few Turkish

prisoners are also on the beach, they are a fine

strapping type of fellow and very powerful. They do

not want to go back again to fight as they seem

to have reckoned on the fact that they are apt

to get hurt. I have not seen Tom Hastie lately

and do not know where he has gone to, probably

around the beach further. While I am down here

I will try and get hold of a pair of leggings

for the wet weather, as they will come in real

handy; puttees I think will take too much

rain into them. Well Mum I have just

about spun out of news now so I will close

Trusting you are all well and to

hear From you as usual

Your Son

Oscar

Madros West

Lemnos Island

26^th December

Dear Mother,

We expect to embark again for Egypt in the

course of a day or two, and from there I intend to send

a cable advising you of the delay there will be between

letters, for during the last week or so in fact nearly

ten days before leaving the Peninsular I was exceptionally

busy in charge of men constructing firing lines &

communication trenches, which may have been required

had we been pushed by the Turks at the last.

I had the honour of being chosen for the final

firing line, and it was a typical "thin red line"

at the last, only, a thin khaki line we looked.

Had the Turks charged through they would have

got all they wanted as we had picked men, and

machine gunners who knew their work, and every man

dare-devil enough to stick it out to the finish.

Yes, there would have been sad hearts in the

land of Mahommed, as well as Australia if we

had been attacked. Later on I will write you a fuller

account of the last days at Anzac, and you will

know the true state of the wonderful way that

we got clean off without a single casualty.

 

In our camp over here, everything seems strange

as one can walk in safety wherever he likes

no snipers bullet, or enemy shrapnel to trouble

him. Ewen Bland & I went for a long walk

yesterday to the top of the highest peak

over here, and saw Gallipoli in the distance, & standing

out plainly we could discern Achi Baba, Cape Helles,

& Sari Bair ridge where we were posted.

Christmas billy-cans & puddings came to

hand the day before Xmas-day, one can each

and a pudding between two. My can was a

stock bought one and had no name in it.

We are doing well here, and as usual I am

feeling grand. Our next port I think is Egypt

and then when we have a rest & reorganise

into it again for a bit of our own back.

It was a bitter pill to swallow having to leave

the Dardanelles, but it could not be helped.

I wrote one letter to you that would have been

posted had anything happened in the final dash

but "Thank God, it was not needed. My next

letter will be posted along with this one in

Egypt, as no mails go from here. Hope

we have no more torpedoe's on the way over

Trusting all are well. I remain

Your Son Oscar

 

High Seas

Aegean

Jan 5^th

Dear Mother,

You will see by this address that we have

left Mudros Bay and are off somewhere else, very

likely to Cairo, for a week or so.

We are on a boat called the "Ascanius"

belonging to the same line as the "Ulysses" but not

as large. We have good cabins and a splendid

table (and with the sea a bit rough, consequently

not the same chance for a submarine, as there is

in fine weather), life is worth living.

We had word the day before leaving

that the P&O Ship "Persia" was sunk just off

Alexandria but as far as the 21^st are concerned

we do not care a hang, though we do not

want anymore of them, still have confidence in

getting away alright, as we know what to do next

time something tries to stop us.

I believe they finished evacuating

at Cape Helles last night, but we have not heard

if they got away safely. Hope they did, as it is

hard enough having to give the idea up, let alone

losing men as well. We saw the island (near

where we got hit with the submarine), as we

came past to-day, and it just seemed as if

it had happened the day before.

The sea is getting nice and rough

so we should have a pleasant voyage