Correspondence from George Leslie Makin to his family, 1914-1915 - Part 7

[*I have not

yet had any 

news of Gordon

Sterling*]

"Swanston St"

3/7/1915

Dearest Mother & Father

I have just received

an unexpected gift of writing paper & am taking

advantage of a slack morning to write you

a few lines. I expect you miss the regular mail

from Egypt. Your letters & papers are arriving

regularly, the last being dated 18/5/1915

saying you had received the photos I

sent just before we left Egypt. I suppose

you know we left there on my 21^st

birthday. Things are much the same here

now. "Abdul" still refuses to listen to reason,

& continues to block our way to the city

of mosques & dirt.

The weather during the last few days

has been showery, with some thunder &

lightning, but we have a fairly comfortable

place just now. You will notice

that our portion of the trench is

1

named "Swanston St". All the trenches

are named. You soon get to know your

way about is this way. You will even

find "The Block here.

There are romours of our battalion getting 

a weeks holiday shortly. It will be very

welcome, although I am having a fairly

good time at present. The food is

good & plenty, but lacks variety, which

I think is necessary to good health.

My health continues to be good & I

am very thankful that I have been so

lucky. Some chaps are always suffering

from minor complaints & are more or

less miserable in consequence. 

Well dear people, I expect trouble from the

Censor for writing so much at once, so will

close with love to all

from Les

PS. I received letters from Jim, Ruby & Harry

last mail, but they know I cannot answer them

just now.

[*I forgot to say

I was quite close

to Mr Coe's son when

he was wounded*]

"Swanston St Trench"
9/7/1915

Dearest Mother & Father

your letter & Jim's of 1/6/15

to hand today. I also received a very short
note from Harry. I am glad to say I am

still alright, although I have put in a 

very bad week. I got influenza & stomach

trouble at once. I am now recovered, but

feel very weak. It takes time to build up

on bully beef. We are only 200 yards from

the Turks' trenches & one of their snipers

keeps giving me a shower of earth from

the parapet every few seconds.

I will do my best to return the compliment

when I have finished this letter.

The Turks dare not show their heads

above the parapet. The same applies

to us. The range is too short. If a

man gets hit through a loophole, he

is almost certain to go out, as in most

cases it is a head wound.

Mid Park is certainly unlucky in

losing so many good chaps.

Tell Jim that Saltau is back again

& H Morrow is almost recovered.

Gordon Sterling came back this morning,

looking very well indeed. He

had a nasty wound, but is quite

alright now. You can guess how

relieved I was to see him safe &

sound. I suppose you will have

heard of this from Mrs Sterling

Tell Jim that he must take this short

note as an answer to his nice long

letters, but he will know how difficult

it is for me to write. Thank him for

looking after my interests so well. I only

hope the time will come when I can

repay him. Best love to all from Les

"Turkey"

22/7/1915

Dearest Mother 

I received your letter dated

15/6/1915 & am sorry that you are not so

cheerful as usual. You must keep in

good heart dear Mother, for I am doing

so & I miss you just the same as you

miss me, but I felt rather downhearted

yesterday, when I read your letter.

I know the suspense is awful, but you

must have got some of my letters before

this & they will help you to be more

reconciled. You know I have been very

lucky up till now, but if the worst

happens, you must bear it bravely, as

you will be no worse off than Mrs Lusic &

all those other poor Mothers out there.

There is no news this week. Tell Ruby I

received the socks alright. They are a lovely

pair & came in good time too. I am

sorry to hear she is ill & hope it is nothing

serious   Love to all from Les

[*I have not 

seen or heard

anything of

Mr Spence. I

know he is not

here. His corps

are at Mex in

Egypt*]

Turkey

19/8/1915

Dearest Mother

Just a few lines, as

I have an hour or two to spare.

I wrote about four days ago, but

I expect a lot of letters go astray

and besides I dont think you can

get too many.

I told you that I had got no

letters by last mail, although I

have papers up to 29^th June.

The last letter I got was dated

16^th June. I received that about

a month ago.

I also received Ruby's parcel alright

I wrote her a note at the time.

You will see by the envelope that

I am only allowed to talk

[*1 DRL 473*]

about private matters, so all I

can say is that I am alive &

kicking. Not a very strong

kick however, as after 4 months

solid nerve racking work, practically

without a rest, I am feeling the

strain a bit. Tom Parker, Gordon

Sterling & Rod Kelly are all well,

but weary. I forgot to tell you

that I was promoted to sergeant

on 25^th July. Did you know that

Vic Lusic got a stripe before he

went & that it was in the

second Brigade's memorable charge

that he was hit. Five minutes before

he laughed at me & said "This is

hotter that the ruck". And it was.

I would like you to tell his people from

me, that he died bravely with his

face to the enemy. Love to all

from Les

Turkey

28/8/1915

Dearest Mother & Father

I received 3 letters

to-day. One from you & one each from Perce

& Ruby. They are the first letters I have

received from you for about 5 weeks, but as they

are dated 13/7/1915 & the previous ones 16/6/1915

I am sure some have gone astray.

I have received 2 pairs of socks & two handkerchiefs 

from Ruby, but she says she has

sent a parcel almost every second week.

I have not had a word from Harry for

over two months. I am very disappointed

in him. He has also stopped sending any papers.

With regard to Vic's death, all I can tell his

mother is that he was shot during an

advance on 8^th May 1915 & as we went forward

I could not get many particulars of his end.

I know he died almost at once & was buried

by some English troops. I cannot say whether

the service was read over him or not, but

considering the circumstances it is unlikely.

As you say we all miss him very much.

Gordon Sterling has been having trouble with

his wound & may have to go away again.

My health is good & my good luck continues,

but I am feeling the strain a bit & have

lost about half a stone in weight since

landing here.

I have made another step upwards, a big one

this time. I have been made a provisional

second Lieut. & hope to have my commission

confirmed in the near future.

I am at present in charge of a platoon & feel

a very responsible person indeed.

Well dear people, I think that is all the news

at present and I will say goodbye for another

week. I share in my mother's hope regarding

the duration of the war as I am feeling

very much "homesick"

Love to all

from Les.

P.S. I will answer Ruby & Percy's letters as soon

as possible
Les.

Lemnos

12/9/1915

Dearest Mother & Father

I received your letter dated 27/7/1915 also one from Jim and

one from Harry. The first letter I have received from Harry for a considerable time.

You will see by the address, that we have at last been withdrawn for a spell.

We are at present in camp on Lemnos Island & expect to be here about a month.

It is very strange to be out of range of guns. After being continually under

fire for 20 weeks, it seems very quiet & one is inclined to duck his head

when he hears a strange noise.

I have some very good news for you this mail. I am now a second Lieutenant

in charge of a platoon of my own company. My appointment is dated

from 3/9/1915. You will be surprised to hear this I expect, as I did not

say that I expected a commission. (Except in my last letter)

We are living pretty well now. We are all more or less run down & need a

little special diet. We are getting eggs issued (2 per day) also half a pint

of stout daily.

In addition to this we are forming an officers mess, so of course I will

have a much better time than in previous camps.

My health is very good. It has been wonderful in fact, right through. I have

only been on doctors parade once since my enlistment & then only for a

trifling complaint. I will write every week whilst here Love to all from Les. [*1 DRL473*]