Letters from John Wesley Hetherington to his Family, 1914-1915 - Part 8

Malta
19 Aug /15
Dear Elsie,
Quite forgot to enclose the cuffs
as I intended in my letter to Mother.
However here they are, hope they will be
of some small use to you. We expect to
leave for Alexandria to-morrow.
We all wish the war was over & we were
back home again. Nothing much of 
interest to write about. 
Your affectly 
Wes

 [*22*]

Alexandria
Change-of-air Camp.
Aug 27/15  
Dear Mother,
Here we are, here we are, hear we are  
again”. as the song has it. I am back to the land 
of sand, sweat, sore eyes & “sifeeda”. We arrived
here from Malta on Wednesday and we expect to 
leave for Lemnos again very shortly. On the whole
there is a great deal more of interest in Alexandria
than Malta, and there is much more life. We were fed 
up with Malta, the R.C’s rule everything there
and you must have a string of rosary beads round
your neck to be any class at all. The chaps who went
to Eng^d have had a much better time and I am sure
they will return to their regiments more fit than we.
We haven’t had too good a time lately shifted about
from one place to another not too much tucker either
and this camp is the best I’ve struck for tucker for
some time. One of the Geordie club chaps is tucker
Corporal (A. S. Corp) here. Dick Harrison is his name.

I saw him in Cairo last. Another of the Geordies has
been back wounded (Wilkinson). There are a lot of
troops round Alexandria wounded & well, as it is
the base for our business. I am writing this in the
G.MC.A shed, which has been erected close to the
Camp. The camp itself is quite close to the sea & there
is plenty of water bottle salt  & fresh. The chaps go
about just as they do at Freshwater or Coogee.
We have plenty of leave and we are only ¼ hr from 

the City. A chap wants plenty of money though to get about 
much & I must say Malta is a much cheaper place all 
round than this. There are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
waiting to go back & there are also a lot of N.Z’s in the
next camp. The thing that has upset us most is to
find after all those weeks that they have sent our
letters on to Malta last week. They have had my
address in their book for some time as Malta and
they hadn’t the savvy to send the letters on & chance
them finding me. Now just as I expected they make
up their mind to send them & in accordance with
previous stupidness, send them the week I left.
We went to the P.O here & played up Old Harry. One
Dept. blames another & the final result is that we
have to go without. I don’t know when I shall get
any of your letters it may be shortly it may be a
month yet. Isn’t it disgusting? I’m longing to
hear how you all are getting on.
I tried to get the allotment for you increased from
here so that you could send the money for C/ton on
to Joe, but they have stopped any more alterations,
and the only thing I could do was to send a remittance 
on to Joe. So I have sent him as much as will see
the end of the war out I hope & he ought not to want
any more for a twelvemonth, so you needn’t worry
about the matter. I have sent a pair of Maltese
sandals on to Fred by registered parcel post as a souvenir 
hope they will fit all right & prove useful.
I feel in better health here then I did in Malta, the 

heat isn’t so enervating here and a nice breeze blows
from the sea. We are back to the old blanket on the 
sand again and it is pretty cool in the early morning 
We are all interested in watching how Greece & the 
Balkans are going to perform. If they come in now
the job is as good as done. The xxxxxx 
in the last big attack, the 1st Brigade did
their part of the attack very well indeed I hear.
I have been able to get my black kit bag again
at the base here & got some useful singlets etc, out
& I shall be well fitted out when I leave here.
They gave us only a few minutes last time to get
everything we wanted. There are all sorts of regiments 
here xxxxx Scotch, Irish,^French all sorts and
sizes of men. Talk about xxxxxxx there
are stacks of them piled up here. I don’t know how
long we shall be at xxxxx as there is an intermediate 
base there & they may find me a job there. Not that
I am at all anxious to stay there as it is a dull
place something like Allendale, a few houses & a few
sheep etc. I shall now conclude, hoping the war will
soon be over I’ve had a neckfull of travelling this time
& I think I shall be content to stay at home after this.
Come to think of it I have had a fly round from first
to last & I ought to be satisfied now. Still there’s no
place like home after all Yours with love to all
Wes.

[*I have sent word to the Regt. to keep any further letters for me and
not send them back to Base, so I am hoping I’ll get some soon*]

[*23*]

At Sea on way to Lemnos.
Aug^t 31/15.

Dear Elsie 
I am writing in reply to yours of June 23^rd.
A friend of mine in the Base P.O. managed to 
get me three letters one from Mr Wilson one from Mr
Clifford & yours. I can tell you I was very very
pleased to receive them as they are the first Austⁿ 
letters I have had since I was in Lemnos before.
However I’m looking forward to getting quite a heap
some of these fine days when the C.O. people get
the fat out of their eyes. You seem to have had few
from me by the way you speak in your letters. All
I can say is that I’ve written nearly every week.
I have missed at times but you ought to have had
quite a number. You mentioned also that Mother is all keeping
better now but has not been away yet. I do hope she has
not been ill again. I shall be anxious to hear further.
I was also surprised to hear of Mr. Wilson’s leaving. Won’t
they just miss him. Why it won’t be like a No License
crowd if he isn’t there with his figures & facts. I hope
he has bettered himself, it’s such a a pity that he has
had to go away. Pleased to note also that you’ve got your 
hand into some work too. How do you like canvassing.
Do you find many dogs that bite, I mean two legged ones.
Well here we are again, off somewhere near the scene of
action, I don’t know how far I’ll get to it this time, not
so close as last I hardly think as there will most likely
be plenty of work for us elsewhere. We all wish we 

were through with this end. Not that we would give

 the Turks an inch back mind you, but still its very 

trying work and it plays up with the men terrible... I 

have just seen some of the last contingents sent from

Aust^a they seem to be a good stamp of men. They 

won't be long before they get a taste of the real thing.

Perhaps it won't be long before it is all over here. 

Alexandria is a much nicer place than Malta & better than 

Cairo as it is cooler, and there is plenty of sea bathing, and 

that always agrees with one. There are not so many 

priests & Catholic Churches either as at Malta, and there is 

much more life in every way. You really ought to be able 

to speak French well to be at home in Alex^ria. This is a 

detail ship we are on & there are all sorts of regiments 

and units. R. Naval Air Service, D.M.C, Tommies, Terriers, 

Aust^ns, N. Z'ders. We're going against a head wind and it makes 

a chaps head turn a bit after being used to smooth seas 

for so long. Colonel Chaplain Green (Methodist) is down in Alex^ria

just now, he comes from Scotswood and I had a long yarn with 

his batman who comes from Spital Tongues N/Cle.

Well I'll conclude for the present, hope you'll get that 6'oclock 

closing act going soon. Will write more fully when I get 

all the old letters. 

With love to Mother & all of you. I sent Fred a souvenir from 

Malta, (Maltese sandals) last week, hope he receives same O.K.

Yours affect^ly

Wes/. 

[*24*]

 1^st Austⁿ Division Rest Camp. 
Lemnos. Sept 17/15.

Dear Folks at Home  
I must apologise for a little delay in writing you
again, partly my fault partly not as the weather
has been vile & swamped us out of house & harbour.
You will see I am in a safe enough spot here. The
night they sent us up to Gallipoli to rejoin our
regiments was the very night the 2^nd Battn was
withdrawn. I didn’t know a thing of it until I
was getting into the lighter to go ashore & I heard
the “buz” go round, and the mine sweeper that took
us up brought what remains of the 2^nd back with
them. We got ashore & I had to stay till the following 
night coming back with the 1^st Battⁿ.The poor
old 2^nd have got the worst towelling of any as
they only muster about 200. Very few of the original 
contingent saw the thing through only 30 in one
regiment I know. It is shocking to find such a
deficiency, and it seems like coming back to a new
crowd of men. Only one or two Officers remain, the
last advance on Lone Pine was terribly expensive to
the 2^nd. I wish that Stadium crowd Fred spoke of
could have seen these men move into the camp at
Lemnos. They were clear worn down, some couldn’t 
march to the Camp in one attempt but had to make
stages of it, and yet they growled very little, though
since then owing to scarcity of tents some have had
to sleep out in very inclement weather. Some of 

them are terribly run down, their hands covered with “veldt
sores”, legs poisoned, dysentery, and debility, making old
men of them. They will soon pull round again here away from
shell fire and with better water facilities and good tucker.
We are to reorganize here & all those able to rejoin will rejoin
here, we don’t know what is in store for us after that, depends
on the fighting perhaps. I had a good look round the
ground we pushed the first day and now the hill sides
are bare scrub it seems wonderful that our chaps got
a footing the Turks ought to have been able kick us
back with their feet. It is wicked country, fancy an
earthquake or two up in the Blue Mount^ns and you’ve got
it. "Beachy Bill” sent one or two along while I was there, he
is wicked too. There are miles & miles of trenches now like the
sewer system of a great city. I saw several of the small
groups of graves near the beach and they have been attended 
to in a way reflecting credit on the men looking after them.
Colⁿ Braund's  grave is there, Major Bruce of the Ind Batty, Jack
Simpson who had the donkey Barney for carrying wounded
down to the beach, all hero’s, everyone of ‘em. My pal Alf Bailey’s
body was never found I heard. I just saw in a paper last
week of Reub Harvey of the Burwood Rechabites being killed.
What did he come out with? try & send word.

I have been right off any tucker for some time now, and have

only taken a turn for the better this week. The constant
knocking about with irregular meals & quarters upset one
I think, but I expect Lemnos will fix one up as it is
just like Eng^d at present. We haven't been very 

comfortable up to now as the ground we are on
is rather low and we got the full result of yesterdays

thunderstorm. Today we are shifting to higher ground.
I used to wish for a cool wind in Malta, I get more
wind than I want here. There are camps everywhere
here also field hospitals. The Aquatania was in here
last week, she is a hospital ship, quite a monster.
Our Arm^r Sergt. has gone to Hqrs and I expect I shall
get another bar up. There has been another chap acting
as Arm^r Sergt: one of Reinfts a real Austrⁿ and talk
about a rough hand, he must have worked on navvys
barrows before striking this spot: He is applying for
a transfer to the first, I hope he gets it.

That friend of Mr Jacksons in our regt.  Sgt Patterson
is now Regimental Sergt. Major & I hope he manages
to hang on to it, he ought really to have had a star
or two up (commission) but the ways of the military are
mysterious. The Batt^ns look a sorry lot on parade now.
I have had quite a rush of letters this last few days, but
there are a great many astray yet.
It was awfully nice to be able to get my letters & papers again
the world seems ever so much more kindly.

I do hope Mother did really reach Cowra this
time. Good luck & health to you all
Wes/. 

[*25*]
Lemnos Rest Camp
Sept 25/15.
Dear Folks at Home,
I’ve been off letter writing for a few days 
got a sort of influenza [[?]] and am but now beginning 
to feel fit again. It has taken me a few day to get
accclimatized somewhat after the stewing there been
subjected too in Malta all the summer. The wind blows
continually here at present and very cool winds at
that too. It is rather like England about this time of
the year though fortunately we have had little rain,
only one very heavy thunderstorm. Since then we have
shifted camp and have got a splendid outlook now
right over the harbour & shipping. There are big camps here also
canvas hospitals. I don’t  know  who it really belongs to, this
place but it is really so splendid a naval base that I should
not be surprised to see John Bull write his name on it for
good. The first week I was here I was dead off couldn’t
eat or work, and my back was like frozen mutton.
I have gradually got the better of it and took an
opportunity to get aboard one of the warships & brought 
myself some tinned fruit & a bit of butter. Now I can
back to my normal self again almost though not in
such good nick as I was in Egypt. There have been a 
lot of men gone to the hospital sick some of them were
sick when they left Gallipoli and were sorely needing
a rest in hospital. You wouldn’t have given much for
them as a fighting crowd if you’d see them.
This place will do a lot for them, however, and being away