Letters from George Leslie Makin to his family, 1916 - Part 4

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miss a mail. I think Mother said

that the date of the letter was

Aug 28'. 
Well, from Aug 6.^th till 5 weeks
later, we were in Lone Pine & all

more or less in a frenzy, so you
will have to make allowances for
me.
You know how we boys look forward 
to our mail & when the mail
comes & you get no letter, well
you're in the mood to say
anything.
I am glad to say that I am now

feeling A.1.
I went before the Medical Board
on Mar 10 & was passed fit for 
active service, & am now waiting

final instructions from the War

Office. before proceeding to the
base camp at Weymouth.
From there I hope to get away

(3
almost at once, as I am a bit
tired of doing nothing.
I have had a splendid holiday &
have seen all the famous sights,
monuments, buildings, & battlefields,
that we all read about in our
history books.
I think that the best time I had

was in Scotland. The people

up there  were so very kind & 
could not do enough for me.
In Devonshire I have made two

very good friends.
The chief magistrate of the county

& his wife. Both are very
charming people & I & a friend
of mine spent 3 weeks with them.

They are very wealthy people with

interests in Australia & the

man himself may be ^a very

useful friend if ever I get back.
He has offered to write to several 

4

prominent men on my behalf.
I don't know why; but this man
took a great fancy to my friend
& myself & wants to do something

for us both.

Nearly all the people I have met
have been very nice & full of

praise for our work at the 

front.
In fact, the only thing wrong 
with England is the weather,

& thats absolutely rotten. I would
not live here on a pension.
Although this little trip has cost
me £130 without allowances
up to now, I don't begrudge

it in the least, as it has been
quite an education.
Of course I have not been very

careful & the hotels are most

expensive. I thought I would be
best to see something while I had
the chance & I think I've been
to every theatre & music hall

in London. Love to all from Les.

[*1 DRL 473*]

[*few lines 
as the mail

closes tomorrow.
I'm going strong &
don't worry for Jim dear,
because if I get near him
I'll be able to help him
along. 
Tons of Love
to you all
from Les.*]
Aust. Base Depot
Abbey Wood
Kent

22/3/1916
Dearest Mother

I have just received the 
letter you wrote the day Jim went away.

I expect he is in Egypt by now. I'm
scribbling him a note tomorrow.
Dear Mother, you will have to forgive

this short note, as I am writing it at

2.A.M.
I have been passed for active service

& am under 24 hrs notice. Of course
it will probably be some time before
I go, but I have to be ready.
When I do go I think it will be to
France.
This week I have been attending a 
school of instruction in bomb throwing
& am stewing hard for the exam at
this week end. I had to write these
 

Abbey Wood
Kent
29/3/1916
Dearest Mother
I'm very much afraid
that the last mail I sent to you
has been lost. The s.s. Sussex
was torpedoed in the channel last

week & was carrying Indian &
Colonial mails & it was reported
that most of them had been lost.
I hope it is not true, as I sent

half-a-dozen photos by that mail.
I am still in camp here & am

feeling very fit.
The weather here is rather beastly

just now. We have had. hail,

rain, & snow for a week & last
night it freezed. The camp today

is just a sheet of ice.

We are very comfortable here.
We sleep in large rooms, with
two beds in each. We have

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a writing table, chest of drawers etc.
& a nice stove in each room.
We also have a servant to look
after our needs, so you see that

we are not having such a bad
time.
Our messroom is splendidly
appointed, & so is the lounge &

billiard room. These were
presented by some very kind
lady.
We have very little work to do.
This is only a convalescent camp
& all we have to do is to keep
the men in order, which is no
small job.
I had a letter from N Spence this 
week, also a photo of himself & his
brother. Norman looks pretty
thin on it. He received one of
the photos of me & says I am
looking bigger than he ever
knew me. I sent you some 

3
of Dr. Gibson & Lt Treloar. This mail
I am sending you some photos of
Dr. Gibson & myself.
You don't know how good Dr Gibson
has been to all Australians.
He has spent a small fortune on
officers & men alike. Nothing is 

too much trouble for him to do. 
He just seems to have devoted
his time & money to helping

Australians.

He is a very patriotic Scotsman
& always says that most of the

Australians have Scotch blood
in them.
He is a doctor in the R.A.M.C
& is stationed at the Wandsworth
Hospital.
I think that Jim will be in 
France, as soon as I will. His
division the 2^nd. are now & 
have been some time in France.

The 1^st. Division are in Egypt.

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but will soon be in France.

I have finished my bombing
course & did very well.

I was easily the best thrower
in the school & caused quite

a sensation by getting, at
35 yards range only one bomb

out of the trench. This is considered

very good as the trenches
are very narrow & the bombs
weigh over 1½ lbs.

I scored 145 out of a possible 180

& as 90 is a pass, I think I did

very well. The O.C. persuaded me
to try for the record distance
throw.

I succeeded in throwing a bomb
weighing over 1½ lbs, 52 yards.

This I think has only been once

beaten, & then by a Scotsman
about 7 feet high.
I have obtained a certificate
but don't know that I will

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use it, as a bombing officer's
job these days is practically

suicide.
If I have the chance I am going

to take a course of signalling
at which I am now fairly

expert, & try & get attached as
signalling officer to a battalion.
I will tell you more of this later.
Well dear mother, before another

week is out I will be 22 & I know

that on 4^th. of April, you will be
thinking of me. Be sure that I 
also will be thinking of home
& hoping the same old hope.
That before my 23^rd. I will be
with you all again.
Love to all
from Les.
P.S. I hope you have room for
all the photos I have sent. I did

not intend to have them all taken

I simply could not help it.
P.P.S. When is papa going to write.
Les. 

Australian Commonwealth
Military Forces

[*P.P.S.
I have quite

recovered from
my illness now
& feel as fit as

ever. I am much

heavier than I ever
was before. 
Les*]
BOSTALL HEATH,
ABBEY WOOD,

KENT.
4/4/1916
Dearest Mother
I have received your letter dated 21/2/16 also
the cards from Rube & Gertie.

You see I am writing this on my birthday. The time
seems to have gone very quickly. I remember my last,
packing up our kit to leave Egypt for the Dardanelles.
Many times in the following months, I thought my

chances of having another birthday, very small
indeed, but I am still very much alive & going 
strong.
We have had rather a lively week end. Three Zeppelin
raids in three nights.
On the first night (Friday) we were having some
supper in the mess room about 10 o'clock. Suddenly
the lights went off. Everybody said "Zepps".
We went outside & looked around for a few minutes.
We could see nothing, but thought we heard the 
whirr of engines. Suddenly a searchlight flashed

across & there, in full view was a Zeppelin.

Instantly the guns began to roar, firing right

over our heads. After about 7 or 8 minutes firing
a well directed shell hit her astern.
She staggered, then righted herself & steered
towards the sea.

She had just cleared the land, when she 

Australian Commonwealth

Military Forces    
BOSTALL HEATH,

ABBEY WOOD,
KENT.
collapsed, falling into the sea off the mouth
of the Thames.
It was a wonderful sight & it gave us great

satisfaction to see her brought down.
Our boys cheered like madmen & if the Zepp. had

fallen anywhere near our camp, well pity help

the crew.

Our camp is right alongside Woolwich Arsenal & the 
Zepps are always trying to find it, but up till 

now they have not succeeded.

When warning comes of a raid, the traffic & trains

stop & all lights go out. The only thing the

Zepps can do then is to distinguish land from 

water.
During the three nights they dropped a lot of
bombs, but did practically no damage, although

they killed the usual number of women & children.

I am still at this depot & have no idea of my
future movements. I have obtained a grenade

instructor's certificate & am now trying to 

arrange for a course of machine gunning or 

signalling.
I have written to Jim in Egypt, but don't know

where the letters will eventually find him.
Love to all

from Les.
P.S. Glad to hear Daddy Mardell is in camp.
It certainly was about time.