Letters from Irving Russell Flett to his Family, 1915-1916 - Part 4
at first but after an hour or so you get more or less accustomed to it.
The trenches are a revelation and are far more wonderful than we ever
imagined; it is a network & entanglement & is just as hard to find your
way about as London street. My dwelling place in the trenches is in a dug
out & name the trench glories in is picadilly, there is also Rotten Row
Troop Lane, Cemetary road, Gun Lane, etc, & all the different places
are very appropriately named; for instance Rotten Row there is just
a layer of sand bags between the lane and a dozen Turks that were
blown out a month ago, the odor justifies the name of the trench. I have been
fortunate to get through two shifts of 48 hours each in the trenches after which
not some but for a 48 hour spell & the place we rest in is very high &
the view we can see is very beautiful; x we are very high up & only about
a mile from the beach & the islands all round look very pretty. We go
down swimming whenever the opportunity presents itself & as you know I am
fairly fond of a sea dip; as I need to have one occasionally when home. The only
sporting feature about the bath is that there is a certain Turkish gun named
"Beachy Bill" who has a pretty good command of the beach & has accounted
few for a good many men; he pays special attention to bathers & parties transporting
supplies from the beach to the trenches, This is the gun that you have
seen accounts of in the papers & it cannot be located, so well is it screened
from view, but still he will fall in one of these days.. Last night we had the
first rain since we left Australia & by the little that fell we have a
pretty good idea that if there is a heavy fall the ground will get something
like Broadmeadows, & you know what that is like, but still if we get nothing
worse than ducking we will have no cause for complaint.
How are things at Brighton. I suppose the church and
all the people are alright. The Boys Club seems to be keeping up and up
& should give a good display this season. I am expecting to hear that one of
the Lacrosse teams has won the premiership & the other one very close to
it; they have done very well considering the number of players that have
left the club. I have seen most of the fellows since we arrived at
the peninsula. I saw Bob Grieve, Colin Stedman, Jack Gerrard, Geo
Watson, Jim Chalmers who by the way has never been wounded as reported
in some of the papers, Lou Cockram. I havn't yet seen Harry Mac; but
will no doubt run across him. Remember me to Mr & Mrs Sinclair & apologise
to him for my not being able to write but you can read this scrawl
to him Give my love to Aunties whom I hope are well also to Uncle Auntie
Alice. Hope Wally is alright & making the best of things. I will write to
him one of these days but he will understand this pretty hard to write more than
one or two letters when at the port, as we are kept pretty well at it. Hope Uncle Tas
& "Auntie" Blanche are getting on alright & that he does not lose too many handfulls of hair. Ryan & father I trust are well & fit & not bothering about me as
we are O.K. I suppose you have heard from Hec he should be quite recovered by
now & soon be here. I will now wind up for a little & will write again as
soon as possible. I don't know how regular my epistles will be but they will come
to light some time or other.
I remain Dear Mother & Father
Your loving son
Irvy
30th Sept 1915
Dear Mother & Father,
Once more I am fortunate enough
to be able to report "all's well", with the exception of a
slight attack of the "Gallipoli gallop" or to put in words
that you understand the meaning of, common old garden
diarrhoea & I can tell you it's anything but a comfortable
thing today the last of it; pretty well everybody on the
peninsula has it, but after the fourth day I have pretty well
got rid of it. There are different theories around as to
how we get it. some say it is the flies, there being
billions of the little brutes about, others say it is the
water, but I hav'nt had a drink of it since I landed.
I am writing this letter to the
accompaniment of the most beautiful sound on earth
to us, & that is the burning of our big naval guns,
they have been at it all day & keep on at it pretty well all
the time now; at night time the earth fairly hums ∧with the [[?]]
& the sky is illuminated with the flashes from these guns;
the navy seems determined to batter the whole Peninsula
especially round Gaba Tepe & the Narrows to pieces. It
is most imposing & awful to see the destruction by
guns do; it is said that each time a 15" shell explodes
the hole it makes in the ground and over an acre of
2
ground, so you can judge for yourselves what we are doing
to our friend "Abdul" when we are sending hundred of these
presents to him everyday. The general opinion round here
seems to be that at will not be very long before the "narrows"
are freed - in fact the many people are betting 15 to 1
on it.
On the land at present we are spending
rather a quiet time, except of course for a few shells lobbing
about in but with any luck one can dodge them as you
can hear then coming; it is more like an intended holiday
than anything else. You would not pity us if
you could have seen the breakfasts we have had the
last three mornings, two fried eggs & plenty of beautiful
bacon. I think the bacon we get here is about the
best I ever tasted. We get bread issued three
times a week & it is very good it is baked down on
the beach by the Army bakery. Taking it all round we
gave been getting good food since we arrived & by the
big stores that are accumulating it looks as if it is
going to continue. We are at present engaged in making
our dugouts comfortable for the winter in case we are in
for a winter campaign. The dugouts are rummy arrange-
they are dug out of the side of the hill, & in the wet
weather unless they are strengthened with supports there
3
is a danger of the whole boarding house falling in. For
this purpose each man is being issued with two sheets of
galvanised roofing iron & timber - the latter which is
very scarce here.
I have to report having received a
promotion the other day I was told to put up another
star so am now a 1st Lieut, next step being captain
but wouldn't guarantee that step coming too soon, but you
can never tell how things will go when in active service.
I don't know whether you have heard it, but Dick has developed
some sort of fever or other & has gone on board hospital ship
it is quite true, but in case Mrs L has not heard it you
had better not tell her as it might cause her worry.
I'm afraid my letters are getting
rather uninteresting now as there is nothing much to write
about, seeing that we are in the same place all the time, &
it is pretty well the same routine week in & week out.
How long this will continue we have no idea but we cannot
complain as we are comfortable & having a good time &
enjoying perfect Australian spring weather also getting
sea baths, which makes up for pretty well anything
Hec & Harold are both xx well & still together, Scotty
unfortunately got a slight wound & looks a real picture; he
4
was looking through a periscope rifle when a Turkish bullet
struck the glass & it broke in his face, & his face screws up into
all sorts of contortions when when he tries to laugh, however
it is only a slight wound.
[[? ? ?]] fully recovered his
health & spirits & will be again fit for anything. The rest
in the hospital should have done him good. How is Auntie
keeping, I wrote to her last week & hope she received it alright.
I have not received any letter for a fortnight now, but
they should come to hand shortly now as they are overdue.
Give my love to Aunties at "Supa" also uncle Tas & "Aunt" Blanche
I must try & write directly I get a chance. Hope you are all
Keeping well & fit & that things are going alright at home & at
Brighton. Remember me to Mr Sinclair. I wrote to him last
week. I [[? ? ?]] sending in a separate envelope a
copy of a memorial service held in St Pauls London, which
may interest you.
I remain
Your ever loving
Irvy
PS Please send a few envelopes & pieces of paper as both
are getting very scarce.
5.10.15
[*Preceeding Pages of no interest*]
(4)
5.10.15
he acts the angora a bit. I received a letter from
Don Mac, wherein he gave me full particulars & plans
of the garden which seems to be coming in alright now.
Have now received three letters from him. I was pleased
to receive a letter from Auntie Lizzie by this mail & will
any reply to it this week, only where I will make up
the news I don't at present know.
We are still having an easy & good
time considering all things the weather is still pleasant
& the tucker is tip top. This week we have had three issues
of fresh meat & two issues of bread also have received
some presents from the Red Cross society in the way of
chocolate, Peek Frean's biscuits, Quaker Oats,
Anflo Swiss Milk so you can guess everyone is
extremely satisfied. It is a great treat to get a few luxuries.
We still indulge in sea baths every time we come out of the
firing line & it is one of the best treats we experience. I can
tell you after a fellow has his boots & clothes on for 6 days at
a stretch his feet get fairly sore & it is a great relief to
go bear footed for a while. We are going into the trenches again
this morning & hope the good luck of "A" Coy 23rd will stick to
it; I am not supposed to mention the numbers of our casualties
but can say this much, they have been marvellously small
We don't by any means object to this & only hope our good fortune
(5)
We have now been in the firing line for over
a month & have only had one slight drizzle of rain so that
sounds hopeful for a dry season; it will not be at all bad
if the weather remains as at present.
Well I'm afraid my news for the present is
about run out & hope I will have a little were next week
I have a terrible mail to answer this week so will have
to get busy on the remainder of the letters. Give my love to
Auntie Alice, Aunties at Lupa Uncle Tas & "Aunt" Blanche
Wally this week also if there is time in the trenches.
I remain
Your loving son,
Irvy
7.10.15
[*Rest of no interest*]
7.10.15
(2)
will just about run the show & judging by past performances
are capable of doing us. Glad to hear the donation of medals
pleases Instructor & members; hope you got decent ones & paid a
good price for 'em.
You appear to have been deluged with
visitors during your crook spell & doubtless you were glad to
have them call; bad luck you missed seeing Reg & Len Flood
before they went on their trip. Len got off a good deal faster
than Reg he must have got a sickener of the place, but got
a good job at the work he liked. Sorry to hear that Tommy
is becoming such a wandering jew; he must have forgotten to
duck he ought to take a few lessons before he goes out for
any more arguments.
We have just had some great news from
the Western front; our friends the gentle huns seem to
be getting a pretty good peppering from the British & French.
It is just what I have been tipping all along. I am confident
that the mess will be cleared up in France in a
very short time. My opinion in that the Russian retirement
was just a huge strategical move to get the German
forces spit up into as many parts as they possibly could
then & then the Western front was sufficiently weakened
the British & French step in & start the slaughter, which
(3)
they seem to have done. We are rather excited over the news
& eagerly wait every day to get further good tidings. I am
more confident than ever that things will be cleared up by
Dec 1915. I am scratching this scrawl in my dugout in the
trenches; it is a beautiful day being just the same as we have
had ever since we landed, having had a solid five weeks
of perfect Australian spring days. We all hope the
blighters in Turkey will have a drought this year as a
dry spell will be a lot more comfortable for their guests
A very wet season would go pretty hard with us I think.
What the flies are like here in the summer I don't know;
for now right in winter they are fair little devils & I would
like to see their wings & legs drop off & their bodies fester
one does not get a second's peace with them. A common
Victorian fly is an animal to be adored compared x with
these bloodsuckers. The centipedes here are nice & plump
being about the size of carpet snakes. I killed one the other
night about 8 inches long near my dugout. The fellows
often find them under their waterproof sheets in the morning
but don't take much notice of them.
As I told mother & father in their letter
things are quiet here & we are having a good time also good
grub. This has been a red letter week in the luxury line as you
29th Oct 1915
Dear Mother & Father,
This time I have none of your letters
to acknowledge, or any from other quarters, as the mail has
not yet arrived. For about three consecutive weeks we receive
letters once a week, then there is a fortnight blank, & that
fortnight is up on Sunday, & pretty glad I am of that,
as it seems a long period to wait for letters of all things.
The chocolates mentioned in Walter's letter have not yet come
to light, so presume some other biped has finished them or
else they missed last mail, & will be coming along by the
next, the latter surmise I hope will be correct.
Well, this time I'm very much afraid
my letter will be rather uninteresting, short & sweet, as
it merely serves to let you all know that both Hec &
my self up to date are quite alright, & have never been
better. Harold unfortunately has been taken to hospital,
suffering, so it is reported, from pleurisy, but, in case
his people have not heard about it you had better treat
it as nothing serious, & tell them he is being well looked
after. As for news this time I am absolutely on the
rocks, as nothing at all has happened since last letter.
I wrote home, both ourselves & members of the opposition
are keeping very quiet, & the only thing that varies the
monotony is the artillery duels, which occur fairly regularly,
(2)
but fortunately very little damage is done by them, to
our side at any rate.
We are busy at present preparing for
winter, & for heavy artillery bombardment. The means of
protection we adopt against both kinds of storms is
by digging into the sides of the hills making a six feet
X two ft. tunnel straight in & a T shape cut at the
top about 3'6" wide, having at least five feet of solid
earth on top of us, so you will see it will to be a pretty
fair drip of rain to soak through, & that we are practically
safe from shell fire. It has been found by experience
in France, where they really do have artillery fights, that
this is the only safe means of protection.
The weather up to the present has not
properly broken, & considering it is now winter, it is
not too bad, and not cold either; there have only been
a couple of cold & wet nights. Personally I think
the reports about this place being so very wet in the
winter are a little bit exaggerated, as at first we
heard the annual rainfall was 40 inches, next 27
& now it is down to 17 so hope the latter is correct.
I still go down for my sea dips when out of the trenches,
& was down this morning about 7 o'clock, & it was alright
(3)
puts one in mind of Brighton, the only difference is
there are no baths, & the floor rather rocky, & hard on the
feet, & if you go down late enough there is a liability
of receiving some attention from "Beachy BIll"
How are things progressing at Brighton,
still the same old place I believe. I hear the Cole's
have at last shifted, & the "Mon's" are in their new
house; are the Cole's still in Brighton? [[Quidley?]] would
not like having to make a move after having worked up
a pretty good connection there. How is Wally keeping
now; hope he has now got his punch back again & is
fit for anything. Tell him that a brother of Selwyn's
is attached to our Company as an officer, but don't
know whether it will be a permanent & appointment. It
is not Bill, but the other one - Jim. Hope Auntie
Olive is keeping well, & has survived the winter again.
I'll bet spring is not unwelcome to her. Give my love
to Aunties at "Lupa" & Aunt Blanche & Uncle Tas, hope
they are getting on alright - my word I wouldn't half
mind getting loose amongst Mr Walkers grapes if
they were ripe, I'm just in a fruity mood. Dick is now
pretty well alright again, he was seen by one of our
fellows at Helwan in Egypt, & appeared to be getting
[*Rest of no interest*]
13th Nov 1915
Dear Mother & Father,
I received your letter of the 15th Sept. also newspapers, & have
delayed answering it in the hope that the mail that is now overdue would arrive, so
that I could answer both letters in one, but as the sea has been too rough to enable
them to land any mail, we not having any harbour or up-to-date break water in this
part of the world, it hasn't yet arrived & as this is about 10 PM Saturday & mail
closes tomorrow I cant wait any longer, so you can see a bit of rough weather serves
to disappoint us, also debarring us from partaking in the luxury of bread &
fresh meat, these also having to be landed at the makeshift sort of piers on
the beach. When we can't get bread & fresh meat we have to exist on bully beef
& biscuits the latter being nicknamed "verandah tiles" but still we cant grumble
at the tucker as it is wonderfully good for an army on active service in a foreign
& not altogether friendly land. You say in your letter that you pity us on
to trudge about in the heat of Egypt, but there’s not anyone pitying us on
a/c of heat, as the bat is on the other foot now, & I can see us doing a beautiful freeze
very shortly, but with all the woolen clothing & sox, cardigan jackets & big boots I
think anyone in decent health (& I have never been in better nick_ will be able
to put up with the cold without much trouble. The days are still perfect, but
the nights a getting a trifle nippy, the causes of the nippiness being two, very
cold, & fleas, or as they are known to, & named by the fellows “chats” but we have
a mixture that gives them the horrors, & so get rid of them to a certain extent. You
ask if the corn on the sole of my foot xxx ever worries me; no. I never feel it, it has
quite disappeared; I think the wearing of woollen sox & thick soled boots account
for that. I thought there was no need to alarm you about Hec, as he was not dangerously
ill, & I had a pretty good idea that although he did not leave Egypt with
the Brigade he would follow on shortly, & he duly turned up about a fortnight
[[?after (missing)]] we landed here, & is now in perfect health.
I know how the death of our greatly repsected Colonel would
upset you all & would have sent a cable could I have only got active at Leniner.
but nobody was allowed off the ship. I felt terribly ;oving for Mrs L & Hilda,
also Dick. I am not allowed to tell you who took the late Brigadier;s place, but
we are all greatly take with him, he is much the same style of man as Col L.,
what I like about hime there is no bluster or bluff & no sickening "put on dog"
I am pleased to hear that Wally is again lively & fit, & able to act the angora
as usual, Tommy will be glad there is someone to pull his tail again & generally
annoy him. Glad the news Iposted arrived alright, & if we are ever sent back
to Egypt, I meant to purchase a few pounds worth of decent views, & many pounds
worth of other things, as I have now about three months pay at eight bob a day
to get rid of apart from the 10/- per day which is being paid to my credit at
home, I suppose you are reeceiving both Hec's & my money, regularly. We have only
received ₤1/-/- here since landing, but have no use for money as we are unable to do any
shopping for the simple reason that there are no shops within "Queen Liz" 15' gunshot
- that is 25 miles. Its a good job for Mrs Swansnen that Percy has managed to
get dispensing, as there is not nearly as much tish attached to that, Remember
me to her & to Sid, whom I hope is not any worse.
News here is still bery scant as we are still in
the smae place & don't do much visiting & don't call on the Turks at all, we still
keep up the "gord" humored exchange of shots & bombs, but no very seious damage is done -
to us anyhow. Last night - or at least about 2am, when I was in duty patrolling
our sectre of trench a chap got wounded slightly in the arm by a bullet, he
made rather a fuss about it. I went off to the trench dressing station to get
one of the Army Med chaps to come along & truss him up & stop the bleeding, but
we got a good laugh out of the incident. The fellow who was wounded evidently
thought it was bad, & said to one of the other fellows on duty watching over the
parapets "carry one I'm fainting" The reply he got was "well d- well lie
down & faint only don't make such a noise about it" so there was not much
sympathy from that quarter. I think it's possible to get fun out of anything that
is not too serious here.
Well I think I have not much more news by this mail,
both that & paper being scarce, this being my reason for cramping on both sides of paper,
but hope you will be able to read the scrawl so will wind up with love to Auntie
Uncle Tas Auntie Blanche Aunties at Lupa & hopoing you are all in the pink of health
that you will all have a good time at Xmas. Get anything you like for ∧all Aunites mentioned
above & yourselves out of my money for Xmas presents.
I remain, Your loving son Irving.
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