Letters from Robert Edmund Antill to his Parents, 1914-1915 -Part 10

(1.) 
Thur Morning 
14 th. May 
1915 

Dear Mother & Father, 
I suppose you 
are anxiously waiting for a letter 
from me, well as you see I am still 
alive but I cant tell you 
hardly how it is, for I have 
had some of the most marvellous 
escapes a fellow could have. By 
the time you get this, you will 
have seen in the papers the splendid 
work the Australians have done here. 
Ever since we landed here (April 25th 
Sunday) amongst this slaughter & strife 
I have been in the thick of it all 
the time, & as I sit in my little dug 
out here safe away from this 
shrapnel that is falling around 
us, here I can thank my lucky 
stars for being able to write 
this letter to you. I dont consider,  
myself a coward because I would 
not be here if I was, but I must,

(2.) 
honestly say I will be highly 
delighted when this war is over for 
it is simply terrible, for to see 
your pals shot down beside you, & 
the roar of the big 15" naval guns 
the shrieks of our own artillery & 
the clatter of the rifle fire is 
enough to drive a fellow mad. 
For the last 19 days we have not 
been safe any where, & I am not even 
safe writing this letter here, for 
there are bullets whizzing all round, but 
as I have said before I am born 
lucky to be here at all. The first 
night I was in the trenches I was that 
tired I could hardly keep my eyes 
open so I tried to get a couple of 
hours rest, & where I was I could not 
shift my position so I had to use 
a dead mans legs for a pillow 
so you can just see things were 
pretty bad then, but still they have 
calmed off a lot now. You would 
be surprised at the cheerfulness 
of the troops under these conditions 
its surprising. We have other

(3.)
foes besides the Turks as you can 
gess those little things they call 
grey backs (hundreds of them) 
some times I think they are worse 
than the bllets bullets its just 
one continual scratch, scratch, 
scratch, & squash, squash, squash 
but still it all comes in a life 
time doesnt it. One thing I must say 
we are getting tip top food for 
active service, much better than 
we expected & as you know that 
is a great item & plenty of fresh 
water. As regards to my self 
I am in the best health & I only 
hope you are all the same. There 
is one little thing I would like 
to ask you. I don't know if I have 
any right to as I have not been 
too good at writing my=self but its 
this, could you get one or two to send 
along a few letters there is nothing 
that cheers a fellow up so much 
as a letter from home, you know when 
the mail comes round every body 
forgets every thing for letters some

(4.) 
get one & some get two & some get 
even as many as eight or nine, but 
when there are none for a fellow 
he does not feel too happy on 
it, & I would like you too send 
along a few papers (some with some 
picture in) as they are very 
interesting to us here. I see by 
one of the papers a fellow is 
got, that Chelsea are in the  
cup final (well done south) & I 
only hope they win it. I think I will 
now close hoping one & all are 
well at home. 
Dreamin, 
Your loving son, 
Bob 
P.S. What about a letter from father.

Please excuse this way I have posted this bit 
I wrote this last Wed - I have waited 
up till today 19th (Jack birthday many 
happy returns to him) for an envelope f as 
you see I havent got one & am not likely 
to get one so it I post it his way 

On active 
service 
Mr Antill 
43 Park Rd 
Green Lanes 
Harringay, 
London, 
England 

Yesterday was given 
lance stripe. 
which is not so 
bad at