Letters of Athol Cluny McPherson, April - August 1915 - Part 8

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[*JW *]
Mr H B McPherson
"Clyne Milson"
Horsham
Victoria
Australia

23^rd S

1½

My Dear Harry
I was pleased to receive you
letter sometime ago. I dont know how
I would get on out here if it wasnt for
the letters that I get. I received letters
from Mother, Father, Jean, Fred Marcon &

Sheila by the last mail dated 12^th May

I was glad there was a prospect of 
having a good fall of rain when the

mail left you had had 33 points & the

wind was East. Im sending this card
in a hurry as we just heard this morning
that the mail closes at 12.30 so

this may be all that you will get
by this mail. I was talking to young

Greggy yesterday, he seems to be A1
Harold Smith was wounded in the [[?]]

but they expect him back very shortly 
It is very hot out here & some of the 
fellows have got very brown It must 

be be alright having two drills to put
the crop in. Must close now give my [[?]]
regards to all the fellow I know at

BB&Cos with heaps of love to all
at present  yr cousin
[[?]] Athol

Meua Camp
Egypt 28^th
My Dearest Mother
As the mail closes tomorrow if there is one
to Australia this week I must send you my weekly
letter to let you know that I am well & hope all

are the same at home. I was very sorry to hear
about the accident at home but pleased to think
it wasnt far worse, as you say it may have been

a very serious accident, I hope Father is quite
right again now, he must have suffered a lot

of pain, as we all know what a small burn

is like, burning is about as painful a thing
as could happen to a person. This is a terrible
day here, sand just like the [[Winnera?]] in a drought
we cant see across the camp for dust, they say that
these storms come all through the summer if we

stay here much longer we will be "sand banks" when
we go back. We have just returned from

Church Parade, it was held in one of the picture
palaces; the 5^th & 8^th Battalions were there, we

always parade with them on Sundays, we are

a bit lucky to have a place like that to

hold such a number, it is very nearly 2,000

I saw Ted Ellis & McGrain there they
beckoned to me to sit alongside of them
 

2
but we had our own part of the hall and if a fellow
went to another he would get roared up & I dont

want that. Captn. Dexter was preaching this morning

hes a grand preacher as well as a good man

he always stops & has a yarn to us when ever

he is passing, in fact we often hear more from him
than any of the Officers, I dont know if I told you 
or not but one day not so very after we came here

his ^ church tent blew down & he came to the C Com to get

half a dozen to help him to put it up, I went up

as one of the mob & after we finished he took us

down to his tent & gave us each a Tim tin of cocoa
it was a1. I think he has been to every port in
the world, he used to be a skipper on a boat everybody
likes him, but there is a fellow here (Myles)
that often takes the service, hes a Sydneyite, we
cant stand him, he would be more at home in a 
boxing saloon, than a Pulpit, in fact I believe
he is a bit of a Champion at that I went

down to the 8^th Battalion last Sunday Saturday (yesterday) & saw
the two Wallis,s & Harold Smith, young Wallis
is about right again now, they are [[tip. top?]]
fellows & never touch drink , I was talking

to Pebble who was on guard & Lyn came up 
& I was with him all afternoon, we

had an ice cream chocolate together

3
it is grand stuff, I never tasted one before, but
he laid me on to them. I went down chiefly
to see if "Treggy" was there, but he is still in the
hospital, but Harold Smith told me he he would be out in
a day or two, he must be a bright spark, young Wallis

is looking alright, he went to a Dr Barrett in Aloo
Ciaro, he is supposed to be the best man on Ear trouble
in Australia, he (young Wallis) told me he cured his ears

in two days. I would like to be in the 8^th Battalion
they are different fellows to there, since the reinforcements
came, we have had a drunk in our tent nearly

every night, they are a terrible crowd, Moloney says they
are the sauce up in the 8^th; there is one fellow here
that came out with us, he is in "the Clink" nearly all
the time, he gets out comes into the lines & is " skick"
& abusive the first night & ends up in the guard
hut, when I went up to our tent after dinner yesterday

he was in it & some of the fellows told me he was
shifted to it, I had half made up my mind to get

a transfer to the 8^th if he was, but it turned 
out out they were pulling my leg I had the pleasure 
of of being one of a guard to take him to the
guard tent one night, I dont know why they

let a fellow like him in the lines at all
for, all he thinks of is beer, that about

all a lot of these fellows can talk about

4
Im going down to the 8^th again today. I may go 
& see Roy McLean. up  I gave the boys Father's message
Lyn Wallis said :- Oh yes I know your Father well - 

hes the one who used to be in Young Bros. I also saw
Ted Ellis during the week & he wished to be remembered
to Father. Thank you very much for sending me
the Horsham Times, I received it alright, its a funny

thing but most of the papers arrive here alright, we nearly
always see the Argus or Age & Australasian, its grand
to see the Australian papers, a fellow came through the

camp last week selling the Australasian last week
King bought one they were 5 piastres each (1/-) not a 
bad profit is it. I bought a booklet with views of

our camp in  & posted it a couple of days ago, you
should get it with this letter, the views are a bit
poor, but it gives you some idea of the situation

of the camp, when we look towards the Pyramids
from our tent; we look about S.E. & ^ the Nth side of 
the Big Pyramid is facing a little to our left as.
we look at ^ them it from here & the door is about the
centre of it & as Father says is on this side (Nth

Our camp is about East & West slightly Sth East &
The square buildings at the Sth. side of the lines
are our mess rooms, the row of tents start with
No 1 Battalion & run in Alphibitical order up to
the 8^th . starting at the East end. There are four
 

5
mess da rooms to each Battalion, so you could pretty 
well tell which is our Battalion from that, but you want

to count from the 8^th downwards, as there are Engineers
& Artillery at the open end & they have rooms as well.
How is your exczema keeping through the summer you
havent mentioned it for a long time & is Harrys alright
again. by the time you get this letter the winter summer will
be over in Victoria & I only hope it is a fairly wet
one & that the crops are good, was the dust this
last summer anything like it was the year of the
other big drought. We are anxiously looking out 
for for next Tuesdays papers, as Italy is said to be going
to mobilise on that day, or rather tomorrow. If
she comes in it will be good bye Austria in a 
very short time, the latest figures ao the French Army
at the front is 2,500,000 & a million & a half in reserve

If German Bill can hold-back about 6,000,000 Allied
Troops three millions of them British, hes a better man
than I take him to be, with about half a million

Belgians it just about runs the Allies numbers
up to six millions, he has to keep a big Army

against Russia who will probably have seven 
or eight millions in the field & I believe the way
that the Russians are fighting now, they are every

bit as good as the Germans, as man to man

& if that is the case numbers must tell.

6
As General Joffre says the Allies are all well armed
I dont count on Austrai at all if Italy comes in as
they are the ones that Italy means to fight, the Austrians
seem to be very poor fighters & the Turks are worse
I dont think either has won a battle yet & dont believe
they are likely to. Im anxious to see how the 
Russians get on at Crackow, it was a great piece
of work for the Russians to get such a capture at [[Permzmel?]]
I wrote to old Billy Smith by this mail & hope he gets
the letter alright. We dont get a mail this week as
there isnt a boat in . I got letters from you, Jock, Dick

& Will this week, Bill wrote a long letter, thats two
in two weeks I,ve got from him, its very good of
him to write as he must have a lot of writing
to do. Well mother dear Im about settled for news so
will close. With heaps of love to All at home &
hoping Father has quite recovered & with love to Bill
& Tot when you write & tell Bill I may write by 
the next mail, love to Marion
I remain always|yr loving son

Athol. C. McPherson

P.S. Please give my love to all at Hedley
when next you write A.C.McP.

June 1^st. .5

My Dearest Mother
I was so pleased to receive letters from
home by the last mail & to know that all were well. I got

letters from you Harry, Jean, Cyril. Murray, & Mr Ber,- it was

grand to get such a lot, but there were two mails
together. Well; we have be been in a couple of actions
where the air was a bit sultry & so far I have been lucky
enough to get off with a full hide. I believe young
Greggy was slightly wounded but I heard he was back
with his Battalion again. Im so glad you had a good
fall of rain before you wrote we are having
very hot weather just now I havent come
across Major Aubill out here yet, but Ill find

him one of these days as Im almost certain
he is here. Please congratulate Alley &

Thich for me on their fine scores against

Natinuk Im glad Marion & Took had a good
time at the tennis matches. I saw young Harper a
few days ago, I also saw Nixon but not to speak to
I sent you a cable on the 14^th of last month & hope
you received it alright we can send them on
the deferred pay which is very handy dont answer
them as it would be too expensive Ill try
& send one every now & again. I hope you sent
Frank Webbs address as I would like to see him
also Clarrie Tillies Im glad you got a good
girl as house maid. Must close now as we can
only write on one side of the paper.With heaps
of love to all at home & kind regards [[Harr?]]
Friends, the Millars & Miss Jenkins. I remain always
yr loving son
Athol C. McP

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[*FJ*]
Mrs M B McPherson
'Clyne Milton'
Horsham
Victoria
Australia