Letters from Wilbert Berg to his family, 1915-1918 - Part 9

Perham Downs

Sunday 22/10/16

My Dear Dad, Mum & Sister,

Just a few more lines to let

you know that I am still alive & kicking but that

is about all because it is that cold over here

now that I am nearly frozen. I have very little

news for you this week. All the boys here in

camp voted during the week, but I think that

the biggest majority of the boys voted "No" I

did not have a vote but I was working in one

of the booths as poll clerk. I had a letter from

Mart during the week & he is quite well & getting

along as well as ever. He is expecting to get his

ten days leave shortly. I hope that I am still over

here when he gets it, so I will be able to show

him around. I suppose by the time you get this

letter that you will be making arrangements for

Xmas, by all appearances it is going to be a very

quiet one over here. This is the place over here for

collections, Sometimes we have two or three in a

week, the last was on Saturday (Trafalgar Day)

How are all the old friends getting along I suppose

 

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they drop in & see you occasionally. I have not

seen Jack O'Sullivan all the week, he must have gone

to another camp. I have not heard when I am likely

to be going away from here. Things still seem to be

going along alright on most of the battle fronts.

Rumania has been pushed back a bit & Russia

does not seem to be making much headway now.

Things are very unsettled in Greece, I do not know

what to make of things over there. I went into

the town here yesterday but it is only a very

little place & not much to see but still it passed

the evening away nicely. Things are very monotonous

in camp here we have a concert now & again

& a couple of bands to liven us up but on a

whole things are very quiet. Does old M^r Bardsley

still come down to have a yarn to you. I saw by

the English papers that you are having some fun

out there with anti-conscription meetings. Oh well

news has just about run out now so I will have

to close now so with heaps of love & kisses XXX

I am XXXX

Your loving Son X

Will XXXX

Remember me kindly

to all old friends.

Wareham

Dorset 29/10/16

My Dear Dad, Mum & Sister,

Mart sent a couple of letters on

to me during the week which I got alright, one of

them was dated the 20/8/16 & you did not know then

that I was wounded so I suppose the next letter

he sends me will be in answer to my cable, he also

sent me on a cable that he got that you sent it went

to him in mistake. You will notice that we have

shifted camp we came down here on Friday, it is a

lovely camp & right on the coast. We get plenty of wind

& rain down here but it is not as cold as at Salisbury

I was sent away from Pierham Downs last Tuesday on

an escort to Bournemouth & I had a lovely time

Bournemouth is the chief seaside resort there is in

England & it is a beautiful place I had a couple of

days there with all expenses paid so it is not too

bad this game of soldiering eh! what! I went up

again for classification again yesterday & the Doctor

marked me A class so I suppose I will be back

again with Martie in a couple of weeks. I see by the

papers that the Destroyers had a bit of a clash but there

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was not much damage done to either side, I also saw

by this morning paper where someone tried to put

an end to Billy Hughes I suppose it was someone

who did not want conscription to come in so he would

have to come & do his bit. You asked me in your letter

if I had received your parcel yet. I have Martie on the

look out for it but so far he has not said anything

about getting it. I have seen quite a lot of England

since I came over here, we are 6/- bob a day tourists

alright when we get to England, I got the photo that 

you sent me alright & I think that it is real nice.

Kassie seems to be looking for the bird alright. I am

sending you one of my photos this week for a Xmas card.

Did you receive those photos of the Hospital that I sent

you I think that it is going to be the quietest Xmas

on record this year, especially over here. Well Dad &

Mum I think that I have told you all the news for

the week so I will have to close now so with fondest

love & kisses

XXXX

XX I am XX

XX Your loving Son XXX

XXXX Will XXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

Remember me knidly

to all old friends & wish

them all a Merry Xmas etc

for me,

WB.

Wareham

Dorset. 7/11/16

My Dear Dad, Mum & Sister,

I hope that you received

my photo as a Xmas Card I thought you would

like it better than one of the ordinary ones. It

has done nothing else but rain here during the

week I think that it is going to be a pretty severe

Winter here this year. i have not heard from Martie

since writing to you last. I think Jack O'Sullivan

must have gone to another camp as I have not

seen him lately. I saw by the English papers where

conscription was beaten in Aust, it must have

been a big Ruock to Billy Hughes, I also saw where

they were going to with hold the Soldiers vote, it is

just as well too because nearly every soldier voted

"No" There is no chance of them voting "YES" after the

way we have been treated since we left home, I

have a job over here in charge of one of the huts

& I think that i can see Xmas out over here if

not longer, you can bet your life I will stop

away from the trenches as long as I can. I have

a pretty crook cold just at present but I am

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looking after it alright. Has poor M^rs Hellyer got

over the shock of losing Ollie yet, I forget whether

I told you that Wagga Welsh was killed too, he

was killed about the same time as Ollie but on

a different part of the line. I was glad to see where

our curios made such a big hit in Alick Burton's

window. If Mart can only hang onto the German

rifle Helmet & bayonets that I gave him it will be

alright. I see by the papers where the Rumanians

have made a stand against the Germans at last

Things on all the other fronts are still going good

Italy has made another big move against Austria

& broken their line. The bad weather is playing up

a lot with the Somme operations. Well Dad &

Mum I think news has just about run out for

this mail so I will have to close now so with

fondest love & kisses 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XX XXX I am XXXXX

XX Your loving Son XX

XXXX Will  XXXXXXX

Remember me kindly to all old friends.

Wareham

Dorset 12/11/16

My Dear Dad, Mum & Sister,

I received your most

welcome letter C/o Horseferry Road yesterday & I

was very pleased to get it. When I sent my

two cables to you I put my Christian name on

the bottom but I suppose they crossed it off

at Hdqrs. I have not heard from Martie since

writing to you last, it is about three weeks

now since I had a letter from him I have

not heard any word when I will be going

over to France again. I believe they are going

to give us all six days leave at Xmas so

that is not too bad is it? I was talking

to a chap the other day & he is out of the same

lot of Artillery as George Horan & Carl Colman &

he was telling me that they are both O.K. so

fat & that George got a Military Medal for keeping mending

telephone wires under shell fire. I believe the

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Australians have been in action again down

on the Somme & that they suffered very heavily

again. If they keep on going like that & with no 

reinforcements to back us up they will have

to withdraw us altogether. I saw by yesterdays

paper where Sasanof won the Cup this year

did any one back him at all. Did you receive

those photos of the Hospital & the diary etc that

I sent you from Bradford. We have had a

terrible lot of rain over here lately but it is

a lovely day to-day, just like a Spring morning

in Aust. Fancy Lyndsay Woods enlisting at last

his mother will get a shock when she finds

out that he is going away. I was glad to hear

that poor Mr Boyd is better again & back to at

his old post. What sort of a Xmas did you

have out that way this year. Well Dad & Mum

news has just about run out for this mail

so I will have to close now so with fondest

love & kisses to all. I am XXXXXXX

Your loving Son, XXXXXXXXX

Will XXXXXXXXX

Wareham

Dorset 20/11/16

My Dear Dad, Mum & Sister,

I received another letter

from you this morning & I was very pleased to get

it & to see by it that you were not worrying about

me. It was terrible cold here all last week & it nearly

killed us & then to make matters worse it started

snowing & Saturday morning & did not stop until 

yesterday morning, so we can all say now that we

have seen snow in the Old Country. I have not

heard from Martie yet but I was told that the

Aust have been in action again down on the

Somme & I also heard that the 18^th Batt. got on to

a German minefield & fritz blew it up & the

18^th Batt with it & not many ^came down again. So

if that is true it is bad luck for the poor

18^th Batt. but of course you hear so many rumours

over here. I saw by this mornings paper where

the Serbians & French have captured Monastir.

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I am glad to hear that the poor Serbians are getting

back into their old Country again after being out of

it for a long time, the Allies are still pushing

ahead down on the Somme they seem to be able

to advance now whenever they want to & nothing

will stop them, there were several strong forts

that the Germans said were impregnable but

they were just as easy to capture as a trench. I

have not seen or heard of Ern Conlon, Dave & Doc

Brown over here. It is nice of Les Purcell to

write such nice letters to Kassie, but I dont

mind telling you that when he gets away from

home as long as we have he won't write so many

letters, I have not heard anything of your parcels

yet but Mart might have got them. I don't know

what to send Martie for Xmas but I think that

the best thing to send him is a nice warm

pair of gloves, they get plenty of clothing, smokes,

etc so I think that the gloves will be most

acceptable. You mentioned in your letter about

Mart saying that they give you £10 to gon on furlough