Letters of Athol Cluny McPherson, April - August 1915 - Part 4

5

his brother Lyndray came out to their camp but

had to go back again, his ears are very "crook" Pebble

says he is as deaf as a door nail, I'll try & get up

to the 6 8th before the mail goes & see if young Greggy

is back yet, he was in the Hospital with bad ears

as well, but I don't know if he is out yet, they nearly

always send fellows to the Hospital at Abysnia now,

where the second Contingent is camped, its close

to Ciaro, I can't understand a fellow not writing

home, but those "Greggys" arent up to much the

two sons & Evie all seem outlaws although "Greggy"

is a bit of a skite, he's not a bad old stick at all

& I think Mrs Gregson is alright her only fault is that

she belongs to the "Green" & talks a bit as well

but they she always seemed pleased to see any of us & so

did "Greggy" himself, even if it was only [[?]] & old cricket

Warnt it grand McDougall getting knocked out again,

its about time he gave trying best, it must have

been a great shock to him not to get in, he's

such an ignorant brute that he would think because

one Labour man got in that it would be a

cert for him, this is a terrible place for Labor followers

I heard one fellow say a few days ago. "I wish we

had a union here, we wouldn't be worked like this"-

I didn't say anything but thought it was a good

thing that we hadn't as they would never be

6/

trained if we stayed here for the term of our natural

lives, its grand to think that they have to work whether

they like it or not, I don't mind if the work is a bit

hard so long as they have to put up with it

There is a fellow speaking in the Y.M.C.A. tonight on the

Gordon & the seige of Kartoum, Roth Burschall & I

were going to it, but I believe we are going out again

tonight. I'd sooner hear a lecture on that than anything

I know of, as I always consider Gordon & Havelock

were two of the finest Generals Britain ever had &

real christians as well, its easy to see how any man

could be deceived by there Arabs, they seem to be very

like the Australian Black, not to be trusted.

Well Father I don't think I have any more to say, I will

be writing to Mother & Jean if I can get time before

the mail goes, it doesn't go until Monday at 10am & it's

only Friday! Hoping to hear by the next mail that

you have  quite recovered again & that Harry & Fred

are alright as well. Goodbye. With Heaps of

love to all at home Marion included

I remain

ever yr loving son

Athol C McPherson

MELBOURNE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

On Active Service with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt.

MENA CAMP, PYRAMIDS

April 2nd  1915.

 

My Dear Harry,

I think it is about your turn for

a letter this time although I never know who I wrote

to last, I often wonder if I write to the same person

twice by the one mail as I always write about three

days of the week. I expect the weather is cool

now in Australia & that you will soon be thinking

of putting oats in, & I do hope that this turns out a

good season with you all. It would be just lovely

if this war is over & I'm back for next Harvest as it

would be a holiday for me to be at home through

harvest again, it seems a bit funny to think of a

harvest being a holiday, but it would be for me

now after being tied to the Army for so long, we get

up every morning at 6.15 & sometimes earlier, we have

got quite used to it, we generally get up a bit earlier

than that now, as it is getting very hot in the middle

of the day, we often go out & stay out all night, yesterday

we had a bit of a sham fight & walked out about

six mile & part of it over very heavy sandy hills it

was a bit tough, but I rather like being worked

a bit hard, as it gives some of these labour followers

something to do, its something new for them to

do as they are told, one fellow said yesterday

"We don't want a union in this" He is a real

Socialist" & is about Union mad. I always

keep a look out among the horses here to see if I can

spot Mac or one of the others, but I expect he will

be with the second or third contingent & they are

out at another camp. Gerald Ryan was in this camp

once or twice but I never saw him. I was down

to the 8th last Sunday week & came across Lieutenant

Jennings who used to be one of our officers 

in Broadmeadows,

he is a real white man, he came out with

the Reinforcements, I asked him if there was any

chance of him coming into the 5th. again but he

replied - "No, I don't want to get their either, I don't like

[[?]] over me"- He evidently blames him for not

coming out with us, we often wondered why he was

left behind, he had been through the old African

War as well. We have one of the best officers

over us now in the Brigade (Major Laker) he is very

strict but I wouldn't be afraid to follow him without

a general, he is out of one of the English Regiments

people can say what they like about the Tommies

but give me their officers & non coms before the

Australians, I believe some of their corporals

know as much as our Lieutenants, we have

some beautiful Corporals & Lt Corporals, anybody

can be a Lt Corporal if he likes, at least that

is the opinion I have of it, they don't know anymore

about the game than I do myself, I wouldn't

take on Lt Corporal unless I was very well

up in the game so I could get another stripe

almost straight away, as you don't get any

MELBOURNE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

On Active Service with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt.

MENA CAMP, PYRAMIDS.  1915

 

more pay for it & you

do a long way more work than a corporal

the Corporal is about the best paid

man in the Army, he gets about ten shillings a day

& has no responsibility, the Sergeant has all that &

only gets about a shilling a day more. We have

a good Sergeant over our platoon, we always think

he knows as much as anybody, bar our Major

he seems to know as much if not more than most

of the Lieutenants. Major Laker was a Captain

when we came here in Charge of one Coy but when

they put two together he was made Major, of course

we have Captain Greig as second in command,

A fellow just came to the table to write & he

tells me that the 1st Brigade have just got orders

that they are going on Monday Sunday but I don't

know if it is true or not, but I'll find out

when I finish this or let you know, it may

only be a yarn, we never put much faith in

what we hear here, they get hold of so many

different yarns, if they are going its a cert

that we will be going in a day or two, if you

don't get a letter from me at anytime, if you

don't get one dated the 4th (that's Sunday) you'll

know that we have left, they may only give us

a few hours notice, I believe when the 8th

went to the Canal, they didn't know until

about midnight that they were to be on the march

at eight oclock & we reckon it will be the same

with us, if you see where Australians have been

in action at the Dardanelles you may bet your

life it is us, the Brigadier knows what day we

are going & where we are going to but he would

tell us. It would be a bit exciting to be

landed at the Dardanelles, protected by the guns

of the navy, fancy the guns of the Queen Elizabeth

protecting us, they are 15in guns & every shot she

fires costs about a thousand pounds & she

throws a shell about a ton weight & her guns

will go through 15in of steel at nine miles, the

range of her guns is 25 miles, so they ought to

fell on a first. I fancy if we get into Constantinople

the Turks will "chuck it up". I saw Roth Burtchall

a couple of days ago & he seemed to be very excited

at the thought of being in action, he is just as

anxious to get a cut at the enemy as any of

us. I wrote to Father this morning, so the two

letters should arrive by the same mail. Well Harry

old Boy my news is about run out so I will wind

up but before doing so I'll go down & see if the N.S.W.

lot are leaving on Sunday. I went down & saw a NSW

fellow & he told me they had no word yet but expect to

move Monday Tuesday or Wed. The leave in the 8th is stopped

after 11pm tonight so there must be something doing, must

close now. Heaps of love to all at home & hoping you

are ^have all recovered from the accident.

I remain

yr loving Brother

Athol

[[Front of Envelope]]

 

Mr H B McPherson

"Clyne Milton"

Horsham

Victoria

Australia 

[[Back of Envelope]]

Blank

(1)

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

P.S. Please excuse this blot but I am short of

On Active Service with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt.

paper, will write to somebody else this afternoon.

MENA CAMP, PYRAMIDS.

2/4    1915.

 

My Dear Father

As this is Good Friday & we have a

holiday, I must take advantage of it & write home, as we never

know when we will be called upon to move out of this & when we

do there will be no time for letter writing. We have just returned

from Church Parade, ms Captain Dexter held the service

& it was a grand Sermon, he's one of the best men I ever heard

I can't exactly remember where what his text was but

I think it was "St John 19 & 33", I would listen to him for

hours, but there is one fellow (Captain McKenzie) I think is his name,

takes the Service, but he is very fancy compared with Cptn

Dexter, apart from being a good Preacher he's a bonzer fellow

with the men. One of the hymns we had was "When I [[?]]

the Wonderous Cross" I always think it is a grand Hymn.

We had a meeting of the C Endeavour Society last night & decided

to put in 5 piastres a piece & buy "hot cross buns" for tomorrow night

but I don't know that I will be able to get there as there is a

big chance of us being on guard, it would be alright to have

a good feed of buns out here, they are things we never

see. I'm anxiously looking out for tomorrows mail

or rather next weeks, to know how you are & only hope

that you have completely recovered & that both Harry

& Fred are the same. We are kept going pretty

solid here now but don't fancy it will last very long

as I don't think we will be here. Our Major

told us on Wednesday that we would most likely be going

before a week was out & that we would ^xxxx fighting

within a month, I only hope it is true, he didn't know

where we would be going, but our opinion is that we are

going to the Dardanelles, it would be just A1 to go

there & fight our way through Turkey, Austria

& then Germany, perhaps Kitchener means to make

a big drive through there, we would see some

country if we came through it alright, Chaplain

Green was preaching in the Y.M.C.A. last Sunday Night

& from what he said, we reckoned he thought we

would be going there. It seems to have come

as a great shock to America the forcing of the

Dardanelles, its good enough for them & Britain shouldn't

take much "flack" from them, as the Japs would

wipe them out like Germany will be, in a very short

time, I thought at one time that America would

give Britain a go, but now I don't think they could

last against them for three months, as between Canada

& Japan she wouldn't know which way to turn, there

is too much German blook in them to be any

good. According to the [[?]] official report

the Germans are all out now, they reckon that

they have no more men to fall back upon & that the

flower of the German Army was settled in the early

stages of the war, they say she couldn't send any more

to the Allied Frontier on account of the Russians

giving them such hurry up in the East, they (the Russians)

surprise me as fighters, they seem to me to be as

good, if not better than the Germans & what a