Letters from Norman Griffiths Ellsworth to his Mother, 1914-1915, Part 22 of 27

[*Excuse writing as Im in bed*]
Lemnos Island
(my mistake) September October 7^th 1915 

Dearest Mother & all at Home.                     
As you will see by the above address, I am  
back out of harness, but not in Gallipoli, but rather in Hospital, resting.  
I was picking up tip-top for awhile, but got off colour somehow 
& my Sergeant mate in the 2^nd Field Ambulance advised me to stay in  
bed for a couple of days, but instead of getting better, my temperature 
hopped up to 103^o so he brought his Dr down to me & he at once ordered 
me into Hospital.  I told him I did not want to miss going back to the  
Peninsular with the remainder of our boys, & he said "it all depended how 
I felt, but would do his best for me", however just as I was kidding myself 
I was doing fine, my temperature went up again, so he examined 
me all over, & transferred me to the Australian Stationary Hospital for 
observation, & after being there for 5 days, was then transferred to the 
"joint" I am now in.  (A Tommies Hospital with Australian nurses in  
charge of the wards) No 18 Stationary Hospital.  It is not a patch 
on our Australian Hospitals, both as far as Doctors & Orderlies & General 
treatment is concerned & the only grub we get is boiled Rice or Arrowroot  
& we are all heartily sick of it, & have promised ourselves something extra 
special when we are discharged.  However, you will be pleased to know 
that I am quite well again & my temperature & pulse are normal & 
have been this last week & I hope to get out soon so please don't worry 
Nearly all the patients here are Tommies, & what a  
helpless lot they are too.  They are calling the Sister & Orderly all the 
time.  The chap next to me is in the Royal Irish Fusiliers & a 
most extra ordinary person he is too.  When he is spoken to, his 
funny old face goes into all shapes & then he just stares & his

mouth wide open too.  And most alarming noises comes out of 
his face when he is sleeping, you know, something like a noise which 
comes from a fowl with its head just cut off.  His face is going thro' 
all kinds of contortions all day long.  He was making some of his 
funny old noises yesterday & the Sister went & roused him & asked 
him what the trouble was, & after a lot of hideous contortions Etc, 
he said "His bhed was [[onaisy?]]" so his bed had to made afresh. 
The rest of the Tommies are not quite so bad, but Sister told me 
that she would rather attend to 3 Australians than 1 Tommy. 
The harbour is still full of shipping & the Navy are having 
the best of time kicking about in white suits & their warboats 
are covered with a big canvas awning & nicely painted & all 
that sort of thing.  The Lord Nelson & Agamemnon are the biggest  
of the British & the French have a lot big ugly battleships doing 
nothing.  We saw the British Submarine which was up the Sea of  
Marmora for 31 days & she looked very slimy & dirty. 
The mammoth ships Mauretania & Acquitania are both 
here in Port.  The latter is an Hospital Ship, but the 
former carries Troops & Stores.  The Aquitanias decks are 
A to G above the water line & H to L below.  They are 
enormous vessels.  but out of 9 of the 4^th Battery who came away for 
for a rest, only 3 are going back.  3 are in Hospital; 3 have  
been ordered a further rest, so that leaves only 3 to return 
to Gallipoli.  My Mail is at Gallipoli, so I haven't got anything 
in the way of news from Home, but I told them to keep it there 
till I return as it only goes astray when one goes into Hospital. 
I told you in my last letter about the Colonel offering me 
Column Sergeant Major & my refusing it on account of being 
crook didn't I.  I am not doing any more about the transfer as 
our Major talked me over & palmed me down, so I'll still be 
with the 4^th Battery.  Well Mother dear, I hope you are all  
well at Home & elsewhere.  Give my love to them all & kind 
regards to all kind enquiries & accept fondest love
from your loving son     Norman

No 18 Stationary Hospital 
Lemnos   M.E.7. 
October 24^th 1915. 

Dearest Mother & all at Home,  
Just a line to 
let you know that I am almost well 
again & the Dr is sending me to  
England next week for a couple of 
months, so I expect to spend Xmas 
there.  My temperature is normal 
again & after a fortnight of liquid 
foods, I am on light boiled eggs & 
bread & butter? & custard & jellies. 
I also get a small bottle of Stout 
each night at 8pm to fix me up for 
the night, so I'm not doing too bad. 
I expect to be on Porridge & Chicken 
soon, but those are luxuries for 
Enteric patients.  The nurses here 
are English & are not a patch on the 
Australian Girls, they go about their 
work too seriously & never smile

2 
or joke like our girls.  They are very stict 
with the Patients too.  They know nothing 
about Australia & think it must be a  
wild desolate place.  Yet they prefer 
Australian patients to Tommies. 
They are nearly all Tommies here & 
there is 1 New Zealander, so I have some 
one (colonial) who I can understand.  The 
Tommies all speak the most peculiar 
language & are very difficult to understand. 
All my Mail is still at Anzac 
so I've no news from home yet 
Now Mother dear, don't worry about 
me for I'm quite alright & will be doing  
the "heavy" in England soon, so keep your 
"pecker" up.  Give my love to everybody. 
Mab, Rupert, Chas, George, Floss, Aunts & 
Uncles & all enquirers & accept a 
big whack from your loving son 
Norman 

I do kn not know what 
unit I will be with 
when I return from England 
as a man is struck 
off the strength if he is 
away for 2 months 
from his battery, so I'll 
be looking for a job, eh 

[*1 DRL 266*]