Letters from John Wesley Hetherington to his Family, 1916-1918 - Part 12

it does a few good to see them. More & more of them.
I read a beautiful speech by Carmichael in one of
the Sidney papers recently wherein he talked of the
“music of the shells and the machine guns being
like the first lessons on a piano. You ought to hear
what the men here say about such ROT. Oh! I
know he has the MC & all that, but for any man
calling himself a soldier talking about the music of
shells, well! thats about the limit.
Your papers continue to come to hand though I think
some of your letters would go astray for awhile
while I was shifting back to France from Blighty.
That Spell over there did me a power of good.
We have been expecting big attacks by Fritz for
some weeks past but so far it has been very
quiet. The storm may break out any time of
course but they are better prepared with trenches
and wire than they were before. If he doesn’t come
within the next month I think he will be finished.
It is quite strange to see men playing a quiet game
of cricket in one paddock while big guns
 

are blazing away in the next one. When there is
no gun fire everyone wonders what it means and
speak of it as something uncanny. We are just
on the border line of civilization, the civilians just
being permitted here on sufferance only, and when
any shelling starts they “beat it”. I’m sorry for
these poor refugees they have suffered a great
deal and they have tremendous patience while
their crops are being ruined by trenches & wire.
If only some of those Trades Hall “stop the war”
crowd had to endure it for a while as they have
we should hear less ROT from them.
Well, I must close it is very showery and we have
only tarpaulins but we manage fairly well. It is
also Sunday night though be sometime are at a loss
as to what particular day it is.
Best of love to Mother, hope she is well, also all the
rest of you, I wish I could have gone to Strathfield
Church tonight.
“Cheerio” Bon Soir
Wes/. In best of health.
 

[*57*]
France.
18/8/17.
Dear Bro Fred
1
Mother and the rest of you will be thinking that the
mail service is completely suspended. Well I
am beginning to think the same. As I havent
received anything more than one photo of Elsie
for weeks past. In fact I have forgotten how
long it is since I had a letter from you, and
I have had to rely on chance news from Joe as
to how you all were getting on. I have been
particularly anxious to know whether you have
drawn the increased allotment I made about last
February to take effect from March 31st I think
it was, and as to whether you ever received the
£30 I sent out to you some of it for Mother &
some to be sent to Joe. Joe said he had a letter
to say you had received £10 from him and I
have been puzzled about that as I sent the
£30 through the field Cashier. Of course the
submarines have been playing up with the
mail steamers both ways, so I can understand
where the letters have gone. Still I wish I could
get to know definitely concerning these matters.
We have been trekking about Northern France
this past week or so. The boys are still
 

2
out of the line, quite a wonderful spell they
are having and they look very fit on it.
They have been expecting a cut in long before
now but I suppose it will be some hot
corner when they do strike it. I am quite
settled down in my new job of RQMS now and
have every comfort, a good bed to sleep on, and
plenty of tucker, even a batman to clean my
boots etc, so what can the heart desire more.
Echo:- “Leave to Blighty!”
Mrs. Hannah, Wal’s people, and Aunt Polly
of Canada, have all been sending me bonzer
parcels. Mrs Hannah has sent me two or three,
Aunt ditto, and Wal’s folks keep popping in with
boxes of “Fags” etc, every now & again, until I
felt like a petted darling. Mrs Hannah sent
me some nice socks of her own knitting. She remarked
in one of her letters that you hid promised to send
Jim’s watch on to her, but she had not received
it up till then. I shall be glad if you will
write her and send her the watch on if you
have not already done so. She is afraid
 

You have sent it on and it has been lost in
transmission. Also Aunt Polly has written to
Joe that she has written Australia twice or thrice
but have never had a reply and she is worrying as
to the reason. Perhaps you will also attend
to this as Aunt has been very mindful of me.
I have written to Cousin Polly to day thanking
her for her last parcel. I hope you have got the
last box I sent on to you with Napoleon etc in, let
me know if you do. Did you get both shell cases?
I wish these mails would got a wriggle on, it
makes a fellow feel as if he didn’t know where
he was. One of the Speakers team claimed one
this week a chap called Phillip also a chap
from Randwick Kerr by name. They are
both in my Battn but have been away on Blighty
a long time. By the way no signs of that relief
party coming along yet. Is recruiting dead in
Australia? Fritz has been giving An example
of long range shelling, night bombing by
aeroplanes, etc recently round here. Last
night was like a firework display - only
 

4
not quite so healthy for come chaps.
There were searchlights everywhere, anti aircraft
guns and ‘planes everywhere. It gives a chap the
pip when we wants to have a quiet read in bed.
One of the searchlight crews a few yards from us are
from the Tyne, real dinkum Geordies too. They
have a soft enough job of it but not when Fritz
chases them away from the light with a machine
gun. Every day sees new things to use here
and if the war goes on much longer they’ll
be fighting 20 miles from each other. The big
town a few kilo’s from where we all used to be
quite safe when we were around here before
now, it is at time very unhealthy, suffering
from 12” shells, the soil that nearly got Mr
W. Holman. Wish you could send Tudor & some
more of that crowd here. What is the strike
you have on now about? Pity but what some
of them could have a spell of Flanders or Somme
mud in winter. They don’t know they’re born.
out in Australia. Here, the people see only too
 

5
glad to work, when the shells & gas will let them.
And the French people are working. Old women
& young women doing their bit, Soldiers on leave
change into working clothes & work every hour
possible. Ugh! it disgusts me to hear of so many
petty grievances being dug up & fought about.
If Fritz got over there with his ships they would
have a real grievance. Well I hope it doesn’t
affect you all too seriously, but it worries men
over here a bit. And they make rude remarks
about those strikers.
Well, Elsie forwards a photo to me to judge which
one I like best. Seeing I have just received the
one I can only say I like of best or shall I say
I like the original best. I guess the mermaids are
passing opinions about the other one. Glad she
sent me one, as I had almost forgotten what she
was like after all these foreign nationalities.
I wonder if this blessed war is ever going to
stop, perhaps they’re hanging on waiting for
that relief crowd too. ‘Tis a wonderful war
they’re all the same wild rumors of us being sent
 

6
To England for a spell as last year.
We’re wise now to all these vague “wireless”
messages, and when a chap comes up with
this “Dinkum Oil”, we promptly count him
out. I won’t believe we’re going anywhere
now until we actually hit the spot.
We’re certain to be near the latest Big Push and
that’s about all we are certain of.
Well I shall look forward to a letter soon.
I hope Mother is keeping in good health
through the Winter. I am fairly fit,
touches of rheumatism now & again,
nothing serious. Still as fat as ever.
With love to you. One & all including
the new arrival at Meg’s place.
Yours affectly
Wes/.
 

[*58*]
Somewhere Overseas.
October 23/1917.
Dear Folks at Home
I fear you will be thinking I have forgotten you all. I have
had a bad dose of laziness as regards letters and have
put off writing you over & over again. I must apologise
when the boys are up “forward” there is so much to think about
that one doesn’t feel inclined to write and when we come back
one feels inclined for taking it easy, so sad to say the letters
never got written. I sent you a cable a little while back just
to assure you that I was still flopping about in the MUD.
Our chaps were in one of the big stunts recently and the weather
again proved treacherous just as it did last year, and let us
down rather badly. Things were going O.K. too and Fritz was
thinking hard. The Germans ought to really put up a monument
to the WEATHERMAN he’s a greater obstacle than Hindenburg and
other Fritz. Well, we were supposed to be well back, which usually
means where the balloons etc hang out. Fritz pelts the balons with
Shrapnel and of course the blokes pound about (that’s us) fall in
for a big share of it. So much so that we feel as if we would like
to be much farther away from our friends. Then, after nightfall,
up he comes with a consignment of bombs and I tell you it makes
your hair curl to feel him overhead and wonder where he’s going
to drop them. I jumped into one or two last time we were “up the
line” and did a sort of creeping act trying to get myself
under a bit of shelter. It isn’t much catch camping out when
you have a visitor like Fritz in his aeroplane buzzing around at different
hours of the night and early morning looking for a place to dump
his dangerous cargo. Straafe him! Behind the forms front
 

line used to be fairly safe in the earlier periods of the war, but
it is now becoming anything but a health resort. I can assure
you. I saw Fritz get one of our baloons quite near us one night
He sneaked up in the gloaming and spit al him with the fiery
bullets they use now and in less than 5 minutes the baloon was
“NAPOO” (no more) that baloon must have annoyed him as he
had devoted considerable attention to it with shells but failed to
hit it, and we got the benefit of the shrapnel. However, next day,
there was another taking the place of the one consumed. He came
again that evening but was in too much of a hurry and missed
his mark. We heard after that our people got him on the way back.
When there is an attack on the baloons the observers lose no time in
hopping out, and one day I saw 6 observers at once coming down
in their parachutes from 5 separate baloons. After the attack they
are hauled down (if they haven't been burnt) and the observers
get in again and if they go with little loss of time.
The machinery of war is something tremendous here guns countless
shells, motor lorries, ambulance cars, everything one can think
of from hot food containers for the men in the line to gas masks
for horses! They also provide solidified alcohol for cooking
purposes, and it’s about the best use it could be put to.
The spells in the line are shorter now and the spell out longer so
we are hoping to get through the winter better this year than last.
I expected my 2nd Blighty leave this month but it hasn't
come off yet. They don't burst us with leave, and under
the system they follow, these are at present 16^th Reinfts who
have had as much leave as some original men.