Thomas Whyte Collection - Wallet 1 - Part 5 of 14

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

2

There [[?]] only about 28 boats in this
division. We are hurrying on to coal
at Aden while the rest will be there when
we are finished. They are mostly the ones
that coaled at Colombo.
I would like to have landed there. It looked
very pretty with so much green about.
Nobody from the Ascanius was ashore at all.
I can  remember remember Colombo best
of all on the trip out. That was about
the time you spent most of your time
sleeping & drinking. It was a very hot
day & we went for a walk along a
Cinnamon Grove, saw several elephants
& naked children and were intensely
interested in the natives chewing betel
nut.
Some of the New Zealanders were allowed
ashore we heard, but started upsetting
rickshaws & generally painting the town
red. A picquette was sent for & then every
available man to arrest the picquette.
The poor beggars hadn't been on land
for 8 weeks
Whe We have been very disappointed

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A Department
No.  Coy.
England.

3

through not getting papers. All I have
seen since leaving Fremantle is a single
sheet published Monday night. A paragraph
saying that some trophies from the
Emden were to be sent to the Federal
capital showed that you have evidently
heard full particulars of that famous
duel. The prisoners came into Colombo
while we were there. There were about
400 of them on the Empress of Russia
or some Empress liner accompanied by
a cruiser. We could not see them.
Only 4 weeks gone since I last saw you.
However I will last out till May I don't
know. Oh how I long for a sight of you
& how heavenly just one kiss would be.
Well it's got to be faced so there's no good
longing. I have to go & do the most distasteful
job of the lot now. The only thing I
detest & dread-washing clothes. I would
sooner be a burglar than a washer woman.
[*Friday Evening*] nothing much happened since I last wrote.
I am still grieving about that unposted
letter.
There are 10 N.Z. boats after all. They

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

4

are all painted that leaden coloured
grey & being right back in the line, nearly
over the horizon, difficult to count.
It was the first line of boats that stayed
at Colombo the 10 headed by the Euripides
They came in sight to-day. First of
all a wee thin line of smoke away back
on the horizon just like you could
imagine the smoke rising from a cigarette
half a mile away. Then a few knife
edges until they gradually took shape.
They are accompanied by a warship.
Before they had got up with us the
Ascanius forged full speed ahead with
4 of the N.Z. boats & with the 'Hampshire'
(the cruiser that has been with us from
Colombo) We are gradually leaving
them all & I suppose hurrying on
to Aden. W It is wonderful that a
little thing like speeding on should
make everybody pleased. There was
quite a stire of excitement. It may
mean an extra day in one of the
most disagreeable ports on earth, but
nobody looks at it that way.

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

5

I have been doing quite a lot of reading
lately. We have a library on board with
about a couple of hundred novels. I have
read one each day since Wednesday.
The first was 'Pole Baker' by Will. N. Harben
It is rather nice & a book you would
like if you haven't read it. The second
was Lewis Rand by Mary Johnson. Like
most of hers, it has a sad ending. At
one time I used to like books with sad
endings but I don't now. There is too
much tragic finishes in life without
looking for them in novels. The one
finished just now was The Dream Ship
by Cynthia Stockley. I like it less
than the others. What a goose Val is.
A little explanation now & then would
have saved her them both a lot of
worry.
If there is not too much delay this letter
should reach you just before Christmas.
Oh how I want to be with you. I want
you to write & tell me that on Christmas
Day you laughed more than any of them,
talked more & [[?]] jollier than the lot.

Reply to Adelaide Y. M. C. A. Army Department
No. Coy. 
England

6

If you only can, it would be heavenly
for me. If I could only think that you
were showing everybody how gay you can be,
& not letting thoughts of my abscence
trouble you, it would be so much easier
to bear. Will you?
I have never thought of you so constantly
& so often than since we left Fremantle, Even
reading makes no difference. Every few
minutes I have to put the book down
& gaze at the sea & just think of you.
Think how perfect you are, how womanly,
how entrancing, how beautiful, loveable
& how wifely. Even reading & I am
constantly weaving & comparing characteristics
of yours, trying to think what
you y would do under the circumstances.
Oh how I long to have you in my
arms & hold you tight. I would never
let you go again. I know you are loving
me darling & I am loving you, loving
you more than I ever did before.
What a time we will have when I come
back. I won't let you out of my sight
for a fortnight. I will follow you to
the [[?]] even.

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

7

[*Saturday.*] I am quite anxious to tell you about a most
exciting half hour this morning.  at 10 to 5 we
were awakened by a crunch & the shock of
a slight double collision. The siren sounded
a couple of long blasts & the fire bell rang.
When the fire bell rings orders are to go
below to the troop decks fasten on life belts
& await orders. As we have practised it
a couple of times, so there was no confusion.
I was asleep on the promenade deck as usual,
& the shock awoke me. I thought at first
that we had struck a mine, but quickly reasoned
that there was no explosion & b searched for
my tobacco & pipe under my coat, which I was
using for a pillow. Getting below without
any undue haste, I got a lifebelt & your
photo, & sat down with the rest. I must confess
I felt a bit queer but don't think I showed
it. Until we knew there was nothing very
serious the waiting was somewhat tedious
and anxious. I suggested a game of bridge
Three were agreeable but we couldn't get a fourth
By that time we knew there was not much
danger. We all filed on deck & took our

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

8

position in close formation of fours
After a wait of half an hour the bugle
sounded 'No Parade' & we were dismissed
It appears that the boat ahead of us, the
Shropshire stopped & either didn't give the
signal, or our fourth officer, who had
charge, didn't hear it in time. We grazed
her stern with our bow, knocked one
of her boats to bits & passed right on
As we swung one of our boats on the
poop deck (stern) was smashed & cast
a drift. A hole about 20 feet long & 18 inches 2 feet
wide was knocked in our bow about 6 feet
above the water line. I believe two men on
the Shropshire were either knocked or jumped
overboard. There are conflicting accounts
as to their rescue. Nobody on the Ascanius
was scratched though men had their
hammocks tied to the davits & rails that were
twisted & crumpled. The utmost order
was kept throughout, it was more like
a false alarm than a real one. The
Hampshire was soon alongside. They
steamed quite close just as the sun was
rising about 5.45 & the captain was very

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

9

sarcastic "My congratulations to the officer
of the watch. In my 30 years experience
at sea I have never known a ship
to ram her leading guide." The poor officers.
It will probably mean a court martial by the
Admiralty when we reach home & either
he or the Shropshires officer will suffer
I expect repairs will be effected at Aden.
Bugler Whitcombe showed a very fine example
of presence of mind. He was sleeping below
on the troop deck when the first shock half
woke him He reached over to his locker
& getting out his bugle played the 'Stand Fast'
which is always supposed to be played
h under those circumstances. It was heard
nearly all over the ship. After playing
it he asked what he had played, he wasn't
quite sure.
[*Sunday*] Rather relieved when Battalion Orders came
out this evening. They are not going to
Censor letters at Aden. We should reach
there Wednesday morning. No communication
is to be allowed with the shore. I don't
think there will be a mail boat leaving
there for Australia until early next week

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

10

As the mail closes at 8 p.m. on Tuesday
I may will write again before leaving if
opportunity offers. I am still troubled.
If the mail does leave soon after we
get there & before the Orvieto arrives
you may not get my last letter until
a week after this. I think I had better
number the letters to avoid confusion
I will call this one No 2. The one that
should have been posted at Columbo
No 1.  The short censored note from
Colombo is not worth numbering.
No 3 I will either be posted from Aden
or Port Said. We should sight Socotra
Island tomorrow morning. I can't
find out anything about it nobody
seems to know much & I dont remember
hearing more than the name before.
The 12 troopships & cruiser with us
have been pushing on at about 2 knots
faster than the remainder. We covered
exactly 300 miles during the 24 hours
ending at noon today. It still keeps
calm although there is a little breeze.
Flying fish have been plentiful the
 

Reply to Adelaide Y.M.C.A. Army Department
No.  Coy.
England.

11

past couple of days. They are out of
the sea quite a dozen yards sometimes. 
I have seen a couple of big fellows
(about the size of a tommy rough) fly
quite 30 yards.
It appears that nobody fell off the
Shropshire, they only thought they had
for about half an hour.
In thinking things over I have come
to the conclusion that there was not
very much danger. If we had hit her
full on & our bows had crumpled
up, only the forward bulkhead forecastle would
have filled Even if she had sunk
just about all of us would have
been picked up in the calm sea
very quickly by the scores of gigs
that would have been on the spot
before the ship would have had time
to go under. Of course the 2000 aboard
could not possibly, get aboard our
boats which only provide for about
400.
There is a rumour that we may get