Letters from Norman Griffiths Ellsworth to his Mother, 1914-1915, Part 1 of 27

A. F. A. 2042
114/Gen. No./5248
FIELD SERVICE
POST CARD
[*The address
only to be writ-
ten on this side.
If anything else
is added, the
post card will be
destroyed.*]
 

Mrs F.W. Ellsworth
61 Davis Avenue
South Yarra
Victoria
Australia

NOTHING is to be written on this side except the
date and signature of the sender. Sentences
not required may be erased. If anything
else is added the post card will be destroyed.

I am quite well.
I have been admitted into hospital
    {sick           } and am going on well.
    {wounded} and hope to be discharged soon.
I am being sent down to the base.
                                        { letter dated  16^th March

I have received your  { telegram "  ____________
                                        {parcel       "  ____________
Letters follows at first opportunity.
I have received no letter from you
     { lately.
     {for a long time.
 

Signature }    N.G. Ellsworth
only.          }
 

Date  29^th April 1914

[Postage must be prepaid on any letter or post card
addressed to the sender of this card.]
(6464) Wt. W3497-293 1,000m. 12/14 F.T. & Co., Ltd. 
[* 1 DRL  266*]

MT LOFTY RANGES
STH AUSTRALIA 

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
LETTER CARD.
Additional postage must be affixed if this card is addressed to
any place outside the Commonwealth of Australia to which the
penny rate of postage does not apply.

Mrs F.W. Ellsworth
Tango
Davis Avenue
South Yarra

SS Shropshire
Tuesday 10 am

Dearest Mother
Just a hurried line
to let you know that we arrived &
[[&?] shipped everything at 6am today,
We thought we would get leave,
but this, worst luck, has been
cancelled just now, & we sail
for Albany at 3 pm this after
noon, I hope you will try & keep
up & not give away through not
saying Goodbye, this would
have been a trying ordeal to
me, but I will be alright & so
must you, I will write often so
with Love to all & a considerable
amount for yourself. Your loving Son
Kisses xxxxxxxxxxx Norman
[*1 DRL 266*]

[*return to
Mary when you
have read them
Hannah*]
1st letter

S.S. "Shropshire"
near Albany
24^th October 1914

Dearest Mother
just a line to let you know that
I am getting on fine, I suppose you have been
wondering if I have been sick; well, I
have, 3 times, but I haven't 'missed a meal
yet.' We are living like lords, and the
food is splendid
It is the confounded smell of
the horse boxes that upsets my poot stomach,
it smells so beastly sour, & you know what
the Ellsworth "nose" is.
We stay at Albany 10 days
before we leave for England
The Stewdards are good fellows
and look after us well, I always have two goes
at the soup.
It is Henley Day today, & I was
thinking that if someone had said last Henley
Day that I would be on the way to England
next Henley Day, I would have said "Rats"
There is not much to write about,
mother, so will close with fondest Love
[*to George Mab, Rupert, Miss Taylor, Jack all kind enquirers & especially
to your dear self with fondest Love again
Your Loving Son Norman*]

[*Write to
Aunt Hannah
& tell her I am thinking
of her, & will write soon
__________________________
(next day)
Have just had this
letter handed back
to me, as they are going
to censor all letters
___________________________
I will try another way
of posting it*]
____________________________

2^nd letter

Transport "A9"
S.S. Shropshire
October 28^th 1914

Dearest Mother
Another line as I have a few minutes to
myself, so I will tell you about the fine sight there is at
present, in this Harbour.
The harbour is surrounded by very hilly
country & the water is very deep to within a few yards
of the land, all the Transports are here and drawn
up in 4 lines, each the whole length of the harbour, &
there are 9 boats in each line swinging at anchor,
and the Warships are guarding the entrance.
The whole of the New Zealand Transports &
Escorts arrived this morning, and presented a fine
sight as the all came up in line.
This is a rough sketch of the
sound, showing how the boats
are all drawn up, & if it
is possible to get a [[Cinematograph?]]
picture of it, it will be worth
seeing on the screen;
There are 8 warboats altogether 
& they patrol outside
the Bay
                         0       0
                    warships
                   0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0   Hilly
Hilly           0   0   0   0   Country
Country     0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0
                   0   0   0   0
Albany  ∏

2
We are still living like lords, and I have had no
further trips to the side of the boat. The men are
quartered in holds, now called Troop decks & are
fitted up in the best of style, they sleep in Hammocks
& stow them away during the day & they have large
Mess Tables & enamel ware to eat from. Their meals
are of the very best kind & for breakfast, they have
Porridge, Sausages & Chops & Fresh bread & jam &
pickles: For Dinner, Soup, Roast Beef or Mutton,
3 kinds of Vegetables & Plum or Rice pudding;
For Tea, Cold Meat, biscuits & Jam, butter &
milk & Cheese & Sugar and all those kind of things
are plentiful.
We Sergeants, have First Class (cabins-de lux)
Cabins (3 in each) & First Class Saloon accomodation for
meals & amusements & the meals are excellent &   
one can have as much as one likes, we get fresh
hot bread rolls every morning & I generally eat
5 or 6.
Our horses are stabled on the Deck and we
exercise them every day by walking them around
the Deck, & they relish it so much that some of
them don't want to go into their stalls again.
Up to now, there is only one horse had to be
destroyed, owing to pneumonia, & after being cut up
for instruction, was thrown to the sharks

3
No body is allowed to go ashore, only the heads
& they have to go by means of a dirty tug boat.
Braithwaite got vaccinated 2 days ago &
all the boys kidded him that he looked terrible
bad afterwards, so he went & saw the Dr & is
now in the Sick Bay (absolutely frightened)
It was only the other day, he was laughing at
me for being sea sick, but I've got the laugh now.
Our men are shaping very well & very few are
sick.
Dowsett is still trying to run the Battery & is
giving poor Jock Adams a bad time, he is a fair
rotter & would swear a mans life away, I don't
take any notice of him & I answer him straight
out & shut him up.
Tell, Mab, that I don't think I would take
on a Sea trip for pleasure, it gets too monotonous &
no room for running about.
How is Charlie & Hellis & Children; give
them all my love.
Hope George is well & business a success.
I will try & write to Winchelsea next time, but
when you write, tell them I am alright & thinking of
them often. Will close now Mother with fondest
Love to all from your Son
Norman 
[*Six weeks trip to
Port Said. We sail
from here Sunday.*]

[*P.S
Write to
Constable D Watson
Royal Mint Melbourne
& tell him what I have told
you & that I am
not allowed to
write more than
one letter*]

3^rd letter

Sunday
Dearest Mother
Just another line to let you know that
we have arrived at [[?]] another stage of our journey
We have had a delightful time & very calm weather
& we are all in the very best of health (& a plentiful supply
of clean clothes.) We have all been vaccinated and
innoculated against Tho  Typhoid & Cholera so we
are very fit now.
Our people settled the Emden alright
They sent the Sydney out in response to the distress
signal S.O.S. which we all received & she
rounded her up after 20 minutes sailing at
full speed & chased her towards us, & then we
sent the Japanese to meet her. My word
Mum, it was a sight, she cleared for Action in
about 2 minutes & stoked up that much, that
flames were coming out of her funnels, & the
next thing they were fighting for all they were
worth & the old Emden ran ashore after all
her funnels were shot off. Then the Collier
was the next to go, & after taking off her crew,
they blew her to bits & she went to the bottom.
All this you know I expect, & I suppose

[*"I hope you are all well"
Tell Rupert. the Cingalese, have funny little boats,
& they can swim like fish, their boats are called Catamorans*]

there were great rejoicings in Melbourne on
the news being received. We have lost several
horses on the voyage, but all the rest are
well. We have Concerts twice a week, &
Church parade on Sunday. We have no
difficulty in getting our clothes washed on board
& at a reasonable price. I have only been
sick a couple of days since leaving our
last Port, but innoculation shakes a man up.
We have a man on board who is malingering
& the Dr has had him put in Cells & every
morning is forced up to the showers & held
under for a quarter of an hour then made to
work at scrubbing decks. The New Zealanders who
are with us, have gone on ahead to [[Boal?]], & if
we land, I will try & meet Les [[?]], my old
mate Trumpeter who is with them. How is every
body? I only wish I could write to them all
but we are only allowed to write 1 letter, and
you come first easy, so please let all enquiring
friends, why it is I don't write. I must now
close with best Love to everybody at home &
else where & accept same for yourself from your
Loving & Happy Son
Norman

[*Tell George that there is hardly a wrist watch on board that is not
broken & mine is broken also, so I'll get another when in England
We are not allowed to say much as all letters are censored
Norman*]