Letters from Fred Leslie Biddle to his Family, 1914-1915 - Part 19 of 19

Sunday 28/11/15 
  
Dear Mother, 
What ho! for the snow! 
We have had our first fall of snow. It came  
down last night, & this morning everything was  
quite white. 
I thought it was going to snow before  
we turned in, as it was very cold indeed.  
However you Know what snow is like.  
To-day we have had a little sleety weather, but the  
wind has been pretty high & nearly all the snow  
has melted. Things are pretty slushy in the  
trenches, as you will guess. 
However except for the feet it doesn't  
feel cold. My feet xxxx are something  
like blocks of ice tied on to my legs. 
Fortunately our dug out is very snug & we  
will get through the winter O.K. I think. 
I don't envy the infantry their job in the  
trenches this weather, but at present the sensation  
is new & they don't appear to mind it. 
We are sure to have another fall tonight &  
McCormack is saying nasty things as I write,  
because he has a night observing job this week. 

2 
As in fine weather it takes ¾ hour to climb  
up & down the hills from our dug-out to his  
post, you can imagine how long it takes when 
the track is beautifully slushy. 
His expressions of delight are grand & the 
atmosphere of the tent is 20^o warmer since he 
started to get ready. 
Australian mails are still missing so that 
with things quiet, as they still continue to be, it is  
pretty hard to find subjects to write about. 
I have remitted through the Payments a  
sum of £15 to Father to pay my insurance, 
which falls due on January 31^st. 
As I have plenty of money to my credit I 
think it much better to square up my own debts 
than draw on you. 
We have all been interested to read about  
the 'Perry' case & are delighted to see that it 
has fallen through. 
Maloney was very smart at criticising 
absent medicos, but he failed to state that  
it was on his recommendation that Perry came 
to us.  His recommendation was that Perry was 
all that he claimed to be &c & it was only on that 
that Perry was accepted as he was too short. 

3 
As a matter of fact we know now that Perry 
then was a bit "balmy". 
He made an awful mess of the 'phones altho' 
supposed to be an expert. 
There is absolutely no sympathy for him  
among the men.  They Knew him for a fraud on 
the ship & caught him beautifully on one occasion. 
He was crawling along past one of our horse stalls when 
a man yelled out "Look-out".  He leaped for his  
life, altho' supposed to be partially paralysed, & the 
men yelled with laughter. 
No mark of a Kick was ever discovered on 
him, but be worked himself up into such a state 
of mind that I think he finally did really 
believe he was injured. 
I fancy however that a grant of a pension for 
life would work wonders in his recovery. 
I don't Know if he was ever in service before, 
but on the ship & at Broadmeadows many of the 
men said he was an imposter, as they caught him 
out in several mistakes about the Sth African War. 
Of course, Maloney has worked the old old  
bluff about the "poor men' never getting any sympathy 
xx or care from their officers. 

4 
It would do him good to hear the men on 
Maloney, especially when they found he had 
dragged Whitford, our medico, into it. 
He is such an unsympathetic doctor that when 
he was convalescing in Alexdria. from a wound (at the 
same times as I was back there) the men used to come 
to me & ask when Whitford was likely to pay me a  
visit & they'd dodge going to the two R.A.M.C. doctors 
in camp in order to try & get him to treat them. 
When he did come along there'd be a regular 
procession asking him to see them & if he said they'd 
be all right in a few days they'd go away quite 
happy. 
You must have noticed how often men do that 
sort of thing if a doctor is the sort of blighter 
Maloney tried to make out. 
Well no doubt there'll be many more cases of  
the sort, & plenty of self-advertisers like Maloney to 
assist them.  May they get a short shrift! 
Best wishes to all friends & relations & love  
to all at home including your own dear self 
Your affcte son 
Fred 
[*FRBiddle*]  

Anzac 
13.12.15 
  
Dear Mother, 
Still another week has gone & 
no letters to hand.  The Post Office people 
have surely been taking a holiday. 
Life here is still the same old 
monotonous round with every day a new set  
of rumours. 
As the latter are usually the wildest 
flight of imagination, the great interest is in  
picking out the biggest lie. 
We are living very well - lately having laid 
in a big stock of extras from a "canteen" ship 
& are all getting very fat. 
Since my letter describing the snow the 
weather has cleared up & we have had 
some nice sunny days; but the wind is 
now getting up again & probably we shall have 
another cold snap. 
My ink has just run our so must 
continue what few remarks I still have to 
make, in pencil. 
George Stevenson had bad luck yesterday

one of his subalterns (Skene) being killed & 
another badly wounded. 
Skene who used to be in Caddy's Albert Pk 
Bty was Forward Observing Officer & his relief had 
just arrived.  They were talking together in  
a dug-out behind the front line when a chance 
shell came in. 
We are all very sorry about it as he was 
a young married man, & had become the proud 
father of an infant just before he left Melbourne. 
I had to send McCormack up to take 
the job on for the night, and fortunately no more 
shells came along. 
Still we have been very lucky lately & 
have had quite an easy time, especially 
when one thinks of the early days here. 
Our men are wonderfully improved in 
health & appearance since the flies left us, 
& most of them are only too anxious to have a  
go at the Turks. 
Well, in the absence of any news I must  
conclude. 
I hope Hollis is now quite recovered 
& feeling fit & to you all I send my best love 
& wishes for the New Year 
Your affcte son 
Fred.