Letters from George Leslie Makin to his family, 1917-1918 - Part 9

2
a big difference to our offensive.
The Huns are very lucky, as last 
year, bad weather helped them
considerably.
Their latest outrage has been
the shelling, & bombing by
aeroplane, ^∧ of some of our hospitals
& clearing stations.
It is done deliberately & it's 
surprising to me that our
people don't take any steps
towards retaliation.
They are still bombing seaside
towns in England & killing
women & children by the
score, yet nothing is done.
I had a letter from Jim the
other day.   He is well, but
not too happy by all accounts.
I think he has a job to make 

3
ends meet.  Living in London
is very expensive & I think he
is getting 5 days leave this
week & he will not be able
to move out of the city.
I have sent him a good deal
of money lately, but I can't
send any more for a while.
I don't know what arrangements
he made with you about his
allotment, but if you can
spare it, I would send him
a few pounds.  It's worth it
to keep him there where he
is safe.
I am well & trust all at home
are fit & cheerful
Best Love to all
from Les. 

2
some of them were bound to get
through & I knew Mother would
read them to you all.
To begin with, I am in
hospital, suffering from Trench
Fever.   It has been coming
on me in spasms for a
long time & it knocked me
at last.
I have been here nearly three
weeks & in my last letter
to Mother I did not mention
it, as I thought perhaps
it would not be reported & 
then she would not worry.
I thought I would be out

France
8/9/17
Dear Harry
Thanks very much for
your letter of 28/6/17.   It made
me feel quite ashamed of
myself, for I have not 
written to you for months.
Although my letters to Mother
are meant for everyone, still
I know you like a few lines 
for yourself & I'll write more
often in future.
The truth is I got so disgusted,
at having the letters which I
had written lost in ships,
that I only wrote to Mother.
as often as possible.   Then

4
proof, but these fevers have
got me each time.
I wonder if they will affect
me in after life.   The other
one from the Pen. did not
have much affect, except
on my memory, which is
even now rather bad.
I think my old frame wants
about 6 months rest in
Australia.   It would be 
hard to hold me back
then, but now I'm a 
bit bent, but a long way
from being broken.
Its wonderful how quick
one picks up & I think
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in a week or two, but it 
was worse than I expected,
& it has already gone 
through the record office &
I expect Mother will be 
notified.
As I said this thing comes
in spasms & I've had two
relapses since I've been here.
Consequently it leaves me
weaker each time & I'm
for England inside a week.
I only expect to be there a
few weeks, but it will be 
most welcome.
I seem to be fairly bullet

6
unit for three years, we have
owing to wounds & sickness
a big backwash of officers.
By that I mean we are
continually getting back
officers from the base, who
have been again passed fit.
Last March I was recommended
for my captaincy to fill
a vacancy (for without a 
vacancy you cannot be
promoted no matter what
service you may render ).
Before it had time to
come through, there arrived
a Major, three captains &
a Lieut senior to me.
5
a couple of weeks rest will
do the trick.
There has been talk of sending
back the originals for a spell
but I'm afraid it can't be 
done.
The New Zealander's are doing it
& I believe they start almost
at once, but we have so
many more than they have &
as I said "I d hae my doots".
I have not yet got my captaincy
but, I've had shocking luck.
If I had not been in this 
division I should have been
a captain 12 months ago.
Having been a fighting

8
a company for varying periods.
I took D. Coy (the old public
schools coy of which I am
now 2^nd in command) into
Bullecourt & came through
very well.   I was at one
time in charge of two
companies, owing to the death
of a very great friend of mine
named Griffiths, who was
in charge of my old company
(B). He was smashed to pulp
by a shell & buried near
Bapaume.   He was immensely
popular & his burial was
a most touching ceremony.
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who had been away two years.
The vacancy disappeared
& of course I'm "as you were".
Its bad luck & If I liked
to transfer I expect I
could get promotion in
another unit, but I'd
sooner be a private in
our battn than a Captain
in any other unit.
I am not grumbling, as
it's all in the war & I've
done pretty well to rise
from private to Senior Lieut
in the best battn in the A.I.F.
I have already commanded

10.
They were for going out for
revenge.
The behaviour of the boys all
through Bullecourt was
an eyeopener even to me.
They were just magnificent,
& where perhaps a new hand
would flinch a little, there
was always a veteran handy
with a kindly word or
perhaps a curse, which had
the desired effect.
No matter what the ultimate 
cost, ^∧ I would not have 
missed this war for worlds.
Here we live amongst
IDRL473
9
All the officers of the Battn
& all the boys who knew him
were there & we howled like
kids and nobody was ashamed
of their tears.
We brought his poor broken 
body out of a hell, that
was hard enough to get
through without anything,
but every boy there would
have given his life for
that pathetic, precious burden.
The night he was killed, I 
had an awful job to keep
some of them in the trench

11
men, who are men in the
true sense of the word.  They
go into the line cheerfully
& if needs be die, knowing 
that their conscience is clear,
& that they did not shirk
their responsibility when the 
time came.
But what about the slackers.
The dirty loafers who are
even now after three years,
kicking a football about.
Everyday the Huns are 
killing women & children,
nurses & wounded soldiers
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& otherwise breaking every
law that was ever made.
But still they kick the
football.   I'd like a good 
kick at a few I know.
Well Harry, I feel that this 
is quite an extraordinary
screed & I expect will sound
a bid mixed up to you,
but I guess you'll get what 
I mean.
I'm real glad that your
prospects are so much brighter
& trust that they have only
just begun to shine.
All sorts of good luck
& Love to all
from Les.

3^rd London Gen Hosp
Wandsworth
Sept. 1917
Dearest Mother
Do you recognize
the above address.   It is getting
on for 2 years since I used it
before.
Don't be alarmed because I am
in hospital, for it is nothing
really serious & I had no
idea that I would get a trip
to England.
I've got trench fever & its a 
funny old thing to be sure.
As regular as clockwork every
six days I get it & when
I do I know all about
it, but the spasms do not

2
last more than a couple of
days & in between I feel
pretty good.
Each attack is milder than the
previous one & I'm sure that 
another week or so will see 
me right again.
This thing has been on me for
some months, but I did not know
what to make of it & I tried
to shake it off, thinking I 
was just a bit run down .
I didn't want to go to hospital,
& I told our Doc so, but
he insisted, so I gave in
thinking I should be back
in a week. Sometimes