Letters from John Wesley Hetherington to his Family, 1916-1918 - Part 8

medicines that ever were brought out.
I wish you could have seen the performance, it would
have given you come idea as to how much a nuisance a
"chat" can make itself, and when they multiply, oh! God
Save the King.
Well I shall wind up now, I got Elsies card this
week also one from Wal sending Greetings "wish-bangs"
as the boys call them, and also newspapers
The newsapers make me wild, and after reading some
of those anti conscription speeches I feel like walking
back to Australia to have a quiet talk to some of those
all wise beings of your side of the world.
Catts says that it the Germans landed in Austs,  Gallipoli
And Pozieres would be nothing to it. Well! Ive turned that over
in my head a few times & I'm wondering which way he meant
Anyway what does he know of either Gallip or Pozzy, I don't
know too much but he knows a jolly sight less I'm sure
They make one mistake they ought to come over here now and
start "spouting" in No Mans Land. Surely they ought to be able
to persuade Fritz how wicked a thing it is to be a conscript
with love to you all
Hope Mother keeps well.
Wes/
 

[*49*]
Somewhere in France
Dear Bro Fred
5/2/17
Doubtless you will find my letters somewhat
slow in coming to hand, but really there is now
very little strange to chronicle as we are pursuing
a rather even tenor in this rough way.
I must say though that the cold has been terrific
just as the wet & mud were a little while back
I am very much surprised at the way our chaps
have stuck it. Of course it is dry cold at
present the roads are as hard as bell metal
and even inside these old cottages where we are
billeted everything freezes. I'm very thankful
that I have had practically an inside billet
this last month as the East winds have been
the keenest I have ever experienced. Perhaps
I went through just as cold weather in Allendale
or Hartford, but it was a case then of ignorance
being bliss I didn't know of the Sunny Skies
of Australia in those days. And to see the Jocks
in kilts, ugh they ought to have medals.
Things are fairly quiet here now plenty of
excitement as times, especially when the moon
to good, and the nights clear. Then Fritz

comes over us his airy plane and monkeys

up and down this old battle scared town, with
a few "hand boiled eggs" that go off with a
terrible "Krump "when they touch earth And
to vary matters a bit he struts his machine gun
and breaks the tiles and windows wherever he thinks
there are any men in billets. It is rather tickling
when you hear him quite close, you wonder whether
he is going to send something down the chimney
like old Santa Claus or whether he is going to
give you a miss. So far he has given one billet a
miss he dropped a big shell or two last week
and scored an outer and a "maggie"  assuming
our billet to be the "bull". We're not at all anxious
for his shooting to improve I assure you
There is a little shop about 5 minutes or less
from where we are kept by an old French lady.
Well a big shell about 10" or 12" came along
day before yesterday and blew her bedroom
clean away, and left a hole big enough to
put a motor lorry in. Naturally the old dame
was a bit excited but neverthless she was
dealing out apples, etc just as usual half an
hour after. Some of you anticonscriptionists
 

3
would have died. At any rate their
views would have undergone a sudden
change. It is marvellous to see these French
women hanging on to a bit of a tumble down
place which they call home. There are not very
many people to Albert now a few are coming
back out the place is terribly battered about
The Austrralns practically run the place now and
they adopt some queer means to obtain fuel.
If there is a " Tommy" coal dump withe a mile
or two it has to be very carefully guarded I
can tell you, we use the old Gypsy argument
to the Tommies very often "touch my palm with silver
and it frequently does all that is required.
That is now we happen to have a bonga fire
warm billet tonight. We send out a "raiding"
party and I've never known them come back
empty handed yet, The Austn is a master at
that game. He wont be beat for a bit of firing
and in some of these cottages they have burnt
the roofs off the outhouses, the bedroom doors and
ever the stairs, so when the poor folk return
to these houses well, I don't know what the
landlady will say. The Tommies are a
more careful crowd, they don't break
 

up things like our mob and I think some
of the English officers all really concerned
as to what our chaps will do next
Anyway they are still worrying Fritz and the
guns rumble rumble while I write this. Big
fellows these guns too, the 18 pounders look like
rifles alongside them. They are starting a workshop
again & I hope to get there next time with a
N.0. perhaps but I must not speculate too
far on it yet. I have also made application to
have the balance of money in the pay book I lost in
Egypt  transferred to my present book, and I shall
then send it on to you. I have sent £30 on last week
Mother and want you to draw & send Joc £30
as early as over possible as they wont allow us to
forward money to England now. I have also made
application to increase m allotment to 6/ a day
from the 31st March coming, and should it not
beforthcoming up to time please let me know. Mother
can use what she likes of the lot and if she cares to
put a bit away for me well & good. When you send
word in future re receipt of parcels from me please
say what they were as I don't know what you
have recieived & what not. I sent another
 

5
bit of fancy brass work home to you lately
& so there should be a pair of them if they
reach you O.K.. Glad Elsie got something
to please her recently from me but I'm
not sure as to what it was. Did
you get the painting all right and
the Belgique cushion cover.
I haven't given you anything very valuable
yet, but I hope to be able to send a
decent souvenir someday. At any rate
I want you to look after those two bears
article for me, and doubtless Mother will
give them pride of place on the mantlepiece
This year is going to be some year and
some fight. Well I must close I will
get Joe to send you one of my photos for
yourself, I shall write Meg next &
shall also have to write Cowra
I think one of the parcels you sent went to Davy
Jones with the Arabia, that is if mother sent
one for Xmas as I think I got all the others
with love to Mother & all of you
Wes/.
keep the home fires
burning
(OVER)
 

some of the Northumberlards are near
us & I may have a chance of
to  meeting Gilbert Brown
I was very sorry to hear of Mary Emaras
death at Langley though I had
rather expected it. I shall write them
I have written to Canada a good
long letter
Thanks for papers received
Wes/.
 

1
[*50*]
Somewhere in France
25/2/17
Dear Meg & Well
It is some considerable time since
I promised to write you and I really ought
to have replied before now to thank you for your
very acceptable parcel received or Boxing Day
I do hope you people are not going to too much
expense in sending me these good things
We don't do too had here in the way of tucker and
I must say we do fairly well for clothing too
with the help of a bit of schemings. The Canteens
here also help us out and some of  them are very
big places minature McIlsaltes  in fact and
they do big business They are run entirely by
the Army for the Army and they supply all
the smaller regimental canteens. Chocolate
Quaker Oats, tinned fish etc are in great demand
When we have to depend on the French shopkeepers
we get hit wleq badly, A packet of Quaker Oats
at 6d in the Canteen cost say 1/- from the French.
Bread is very dear w0 and French bread does not
go far as the loaves are like honeycombs Fortunately
our Battn store look well after us, and I've never 

2
had biscuits for ages. Biscuits are good
and wholesome but they're rough on Gold
filled teeth and gold fillings don't stand war
work too well. I'm glad I'm independent of them.
I have been presiding in Albert for some time now
only going to the Battn occasionally. We have
a pack store in the town, where reserve clothing etc
is  kept. The shoemakers & usually reside here
when the Battn are in tine or support trenches
We live a Bohemian life, apartments for bachelors
only of course, and I think if you saw me you' d
be satisfied that I wasn't showing signs of a
decline. We have two rooms & a kitchen downstairs
and large attic upstairs with plenty of holes in it
for ventilation, Fritzy in his Airy plane worries
us on moonlight nights he run amok up and down
the back streets etc looking for the blokes breaking
the "lights out" rule and he squirts lead at them
I need hardly say I don't read in bed when the
moon is up, and it is a tickling sensation to hear
him breaking the tilings round about your little home
in the west. The sensation is terrific when he drops
a few bombs to vary the music.
And occasionally he sends a thumping big shell
 

3
into town, but they are becoming scarer, and now
that he is moving back (latest news) I think we
will have seen nearly the last of them in this town
Well the old town has suffered very severely, the
houses are practically all in ruins and the Church
is a gorgeous wreck. No matter how many times you
pass the church you are bound to stop and have
another look. They say he trained all his quns
on it one Sunday morning, and he certainly made
it handy for open our services as a result. People
are gradually coming back to their old homes but
there are few civilians in the town and from
Albert right through to the front lines there are no
civilians at all as every place is blown clean out.
It is soldier land with a vengeance up there and
it is very amusing to see the fancy names the troops
have given their dug outs , etc.. One place I saw
with a bit of bag for a door was labelled No 10
Downing St Another hung out the sign "Free Beer
After the War" and another I saw yesterday was
alld "Chatto de Ratto". I'll bet there was more
Chato and Rat about it then Chateau.
Talking about Chats, I've a chap sitting on each side
of me at present and they are both indulging in
the noble sport of "big Game" hunting.