Letters from Norman Griffiths Ellsworth to his Family, 1917 - Part 2 of 7

116th HOWITZER BATTERY
12 FEB. 1917
Ist DIVL. ARTILLERY, AUS.
No. 1 Boyton Camp.
Codford; Wills.
England.

My Dearest Mother, & all at Home,
I have at last
received the long-looked for parcels. How
can I thank you enough for them?  They
are "bonny", & the contents worth £ to me.
Everything was in tip-top order, and
the leather vest so just wonderful, & it just
knocks this kind of weather rotten.
As you
already know, it is the coldest weather for
years, & the water is frozen everywhere,
- even in the fire buckets in the huts,
& we have to light fires under the troughs
to give the horses a drink, & so you can
see that the vest was sorely tried, but
came out "trumps". - I would not be
without it for worlds. - and the
shirts, singlets, & other goods, - why
it is wonderful to be wearing Australian
made clothing once more, & I feel as happy
& as proud as a King.
I have an abundance
of clothes now, so please don't worry on my
account, & please thank everyone connected
with the parcel, very much for me.
I have
written to-night to Aunt Hannah, & posted
C/o of "Tango", as I do not know her address,
so kindly forward it on for me.
I am expecting some Australian Mail 

in the morning, but as "Fritz" has gone 
"dotty" with his Submarines again, goodness 
only knows when the mail will really get 
in, - if ever it does get in. 
They are just 
crowding guns and shells into France lately, 
and on the Western front there is no room for 
any more, & Lloyd George (Heaven bless him) 
has got all sorts of contrivances for killing 
"Fritz", & early next month the fun will begin 
& I must be in it or I'll go 'dotty'. 
Theres no 
doubt about Ll George, - he is the champion 
of the Empire, - he doesn't say to the 
Generals. "you'll have this, or you shan't have  
that", - he just asks them what they need, 
& he gives it them with interest. - He is 
a wonder. May he live for ever. 
I, & many 
other Australians here are quite satisfied 
with the Labour party, - & those damn 
I. W. W^s, & it won't be well for them when 
the boys do come home. I hope they don't 
call themselves Australians. People here 
in England are saying some nasty things 
about them, & their attitude is changing very  
fast towards Australians thro' them. I for  
one, should like to know the man who will 
vote for Austey again, or any of his gang. 
Well, dear Mother, I do hope you are 
all well. Give my love to all, & tell them 
that I am well, so hoping to see you 
all before the end of this year. 
I am with fondest love 
Your loving Son, 
Norman. 
1 DRC 266

116th HOWITZER BATTERY 
21 FEB. 1917 
Ist DIVL. ARTILLERY, AUS. 
[*I send a Gas Helmet which  
I brought from France with me, 
to you by this mail, per parcel 
post.   N. G. E.*] 
N^o. 1 Boyton Camp.
Codford. Wills.
England. 

Dearest Mother, & all at Home, 
Just a little note 
to you, as I have been in bed for 
a couple of days with a cold, but now that 
the sun is out, & the weather much warmer in 
consequence, I am quite myself again, & have 
resumed duty, so don't start and worry about it, 
please. 
I consider that I have been extremely 
healthy to have missed colds this winter, seeing  
that this is the coldest winter for years, and 
I caught this one thro' sleeping near a broken 
window, which has since been replaced. 
The 
Dr was tip-top to me, & waited on me "hand & 
foot", & came over to me 3 times each day, & 
brought me "Bulletins" and other Australian papers,  
& asked me if I would like a week in hospital 
& all that kind of palaver, but there is a  
reason for it of course, as he generally comes  
to me for a horse to ride on Saturdays & 
Sundays, so there you are. 
I have not got 
any mail for more than a fortnight, but 
this I attribute to the fresh out burst of U boat 
business, but I don't think it will last for long, 
still I hope for some very soon. 
I have written  
every week to you, whether there was a mail 
going out or not, so its not my fault if you did 
not get them.

I often wonder how poor Marion Ellsworth is 
getting on, - poor girl, she is going thro' 
a terrible time. 
There certainly has been changes 
since I left Melbourne, & what with poor Amy 
passing away; & Beattie Miller, & several others 
I know, - well Father Time is moving over 
that way, too. 
We are not getting our equipment 
so quickly as at first, & we cannot do a  
shoot until next month, so that means  
our departure for France will be further  
delayed. 
We are being considerably annoyed 
by our old Tommy Lieut Colonel who knows 
as much about up-to-date artillery work, as  
a cat knows about the first book of Euclid, & 
our Officers call him everything, - & to his 
face, & he thinks the Australian Officers very 
awful, & their language, dreadful. 
George Allan (late Johnson) has written 
me a note, - he is about 10 miles from 
here. He tells me that the Medical  
Board have declared him "Unfit". 
Harry Johnson is about 25 miles from  
here. 
There is no more news this week, so  
will close, hoping you are all well & 
with my fondest love to all 
I am 
Your loving son 
Norman. 
[*Enclosed is the photo of 
the young lady who  
told me "that she loves me".*] 
1 DRC 256

116th HOWITZER BATTERY 
24 FEB. 1917 
Ist DIVL. ARTILLERY, AUS. 
No 1 Boyton Camp.
Codford; Wills.
England.

My Dearest Mother, & all at Home; 
As there is a  
mail for Australia closing to-night, I may as  
well write a line, altho there is really very 
little to tell you, - still a line is better 
than none at all I suppose. 
It is now more than 
3 weeks since I got a letter from Australia, & I 
am wondering whether "Fritz" has sunk some of  
our boats, - if so, then thats all the more we  
have against him. I am just bursting for 
news of home, & I really cannot describe 
what joy it is to get news of you all, & I must  
say that you all have been extremely kind to me 
in writing so much to me, & sending so many 
parcels. 
The weather here now is not nearly so  
cold, but we have had some rain, & the  
place is a quagmire, but we are well booted 
& cloaked, & every man has since had a 
water proof cape issued to him, & I already 
have my fine oilskin, so have nothing to fear. 
We are having rather bad luck with our 
horses, as skin disease is just sweeping thro' 
the whole stable, mostly mange & ringworm,  
& we have to isolate & treat them continuously, 
& the pharmacy won't give the farriers the 
necessary ingredients for washing the horses. 
My 
farrier sergeant came & told me the other day

2 
that the N. C. O in the "Tommy" pharmacy, 
refused to supply him with the stuff, and 
said that "we blarsted Australians were 
only here on suffrance", so I went down to  
him at once, & charged him with it, & asked 
him what the devil he meant by it, - and  
I also asked him did he mind the Australians 
fighting & dying on suffrance in active service, 
& I then enquired if he had seen service, and  
he said "No, sir", - well I got to him 
properly, & I wont tell you what I said to 
him, as it is unprintable, but my farrier 
got all the stuff he wanted, & a bit more. 
The Australians have a very bad name 
in England now, & we get accused of some 
very terrible things at times, - for instance 
there is a "Tommy" Reserve Brigade of Artillery 
here, who are supposed to be training us, & this 
Brigade has 3 batteries, & recently two of the  
Q. M. Sgts got quarreling over something, & one 
pulled a revolver & shot the other, who subsequently 
died: at the Court Martial which 
followed, the accused was asked why he was 
carrying a revolver, & he replied "to protect 
myself against the Australians", - and 
he got acquitted. - That is honest truth. 
I was told to find a patrolling picquet 
of  1 Sgt, 1 N. C. O, & 8 men to patrol some  
twopenny halfpenny village of 6 houses, last 
week, & I enquired of the Tommy R. S. M. 
what for, & he told me that we Australians 
had been there frightening all the women 
folk. - I, & an officer rode to the village 
in question & made every enquiries, & every

3 
house-hold told us that the Australians never 
come near the place, & that there was no truth in 
the R. S. Ms statement whatever, so I went back  
& told him what we had done, & he said that  
the patrol would keep our chaps away from them 
as they did not want the inhabitants molested, 
so I told him off, & called him a - 
liar, - and a _ to his face, & I charged  
him with keeping 2 wives there (I already knew 
this to be true, so knew what I was talking about) 
& I threatened to expose him to the Colonel, &  
he crawled right down, & said he'd promise to have 
the patrol abolished. Oh! they are a dirty 
crowd these people, Mum - they will sit & 
drink as much beer & spirits as the Australians 
will buy them, & then go outside & say all  
sorts of rotten things of them. 
Their dirty little 
rotten Sgt cook brought his officer down to my  
office the other day, & said "the Australians 
had robbed his cookhouse", so I up & flew  
at him, & asked him to account for certain 
Xmas gifts that were sent into the cookhouse 
for distribution to our boys, & also to account  
how he has run our messing account into £12 
debt, whilst that of the Tommies, (in the same 
mess) was £3 in credit, & I dished him up a 
few more of these little savouries, (& by this 
time his officer had walked out) so I told 
him that if he didn't clear to Halifax out  
of it, I would throw him out, so he went 
out without further ado. 
Oh! yes Mum, I'm getting an irascible 
old Sergeant Major, but I can't stand this sort of  
thing.

4 
I received a letter from May Tilton yesterday 
telling me that she had gone to Southall Hospital, 
which meant France, so I expect that she has  
got her desire fulfilled by now. 
I still keep in  
touch with Gravesend, & correspond regularly 
with them. I sent them 10/- last week, 
& £1 yesterday, & I will try & send them a  
little now & then.  I was thinking of increasing 
my allottment to you by a 1/- a day, so if  
you get word about it don't be surprised.  I 
will certainly tell you if I do.  4/- a day  
is too much for me, & theres nothing to go & see 
or buy in this place. 
We had our new pay sig books issued this 
last pay, & these books show how much credit 
or debt we are in after each pay. 
I posted 
the Will which I made on 4^th April 1915, when 
sailing for Gallipoli in the back of it. It is 
made out all in your favour, of course, & in 
the event of anything happening to you, it all 
goes to Mab. This is should I go under of course. 
It is the only will I have ever made. 
Do you get my money alright? - You  
never mention that you have any trouble in 
getting it, so I take it that everything is O. K. 
I wrote last week as usual, & hope  
you get all my correspondence.  I haven't 
heard from Ruby Davidson for months, so I 
suppose she has "turned me down". 
I hope you are all well. - My love  
to you all  Your loving son 
Norman.