Transcribed letters from Douglas Gordon Campbell to his Father, 1915-1917 - Part 2

France
28.1.17
My Dear Father,
It has been terribly cold
here lately & the snow still on the
ground from a fall three weeks
ago; all the land is  frozen hard
& the roads, have a thin coating
of ice which makes them
very slippery for horses. It
freezes all day long in
spite of bright days. Yesterday 
I was walking along the
horse-lines in a big overcoat;
I blew my nose & put my handkerchief 

back in, my coat 
pocket; when I tried to use
my handkerchief again a few
minutes later it was frozen
stiff  even through by coat
pocket; this was at 2.P.M.
 

Copies of letters
from Capt. D.G Campbell
Also letter to
Acting Director
of War Memorial
enclosed.

France
12.2.17
My Dear Father.
We are rather comfortable
here as we are just out
of the mud in billets of a
sort, but as the thaw is just
setting in we get a fair share
even here. There is an
aerodrome just next door
with a standing invitation for
us to go for a trip any time
we like; I am just waiting
for the available time; no
doubt the war has developed
flying; there are very few
accidents but of course a
number are brought down 
from the Bosh lines.
Saw one chap come down
from about 2000 feet with his
 

machine on fire from a schrapnel 
hit.  He brought it down the
whole way keeping the flame
behind him by straight down
darts & then looping the loop to
break the pace. But about 100
feet from the ground the fire
beat him & the whole show
crashed. The pilot & observer
were killed & burnt; but it
was one of the finest & 
gamest things I have ever
seen the way he kept
his head & worked his 

machine. The fighting this
year (when it starts) will make
the fighting in the Somme battle
of 1916 look a baby; Germany
isn't beaten yet by a long
way.
 

France
11.5.17
My Dear Father 
It is doubtful how
many letters, get to Australia in
these days! Thing have been
lively lately. The 2^nd Division
has been given special praise
by Sir Douglas Haig & General
Birdwood for their work at
Bullencourt. Birdwood said
it was the hardest fighting 
the Australians had had since

Lone Pine - which will soon
be two years ago. It was
harder fighting than Possiers
but our losses were not
so heavy. There is no doubt
that the Germans are tremendously 
strong on this 
front. The air fighting has been
 

more constant lately & on 
the moonlight nights there is 
heavy bombing from both sides
They say it is a fairly safe
job,  as a 'plane 1000 feet up
at night is very hard to see
but on the other, hand it's pilot
can see a lot by looking 
down on the ground, & we
have to be very careful of 
lights showing at night to
give them a target. A
few nights ago they bombed
an Artillery camp about half
a mile from here & got three officers
but everyone said it was their
own fault for showing lights.

DOUGLAS LAST LETTER.

France, October 17 1918
Dear Father,

I am at present attached to the 15. Battery 5. Brigade of

the 2nd Division lately we have been having a pretty thin time at

the guns; luckily we have a very good dugout; it is German and built of
concrete, over five feet of concrete on top, reinforced with steel rails,

and rods, as well as earth and iron on top, and three feet concret

walls. It was all to^right start with, but they pelt us with all sort of

shells day and night, a few mornings  ago after breakfast I was in it

with a Captain and a Lieutenant, and the cook, when an eight in her hit

the corner= I can just remember hearing it coming and knew it was coming
very close, when I remember a bang and part of the roof and wall gone
and climbing g up of the floor and making for the entrance, the other Capn

was the only one wounded and he not badly, the other three of us only
got afew little scratches, the end we^were got off fairly well but the

other and where we slept was ripped to pieces and most of my kit with
it as well.

It put the fear of shells well and truly in to us, especially as
they shell us day and night with eleven inch down to 4.2. shells and it

shakes one’s nerves a bit when they come close like that.
All the following night he pelted us with mustard gas
shells and the next night as well, the officers cook, and the men’s two
cooks have all gone away with others from the effect of gas, and the sold
 remaining Batman was wounded yesterday morning, but as they have blown

our cook house up twice in five days we wont be sorry to get out for a
rest; one cant help getting a little bit of gas even with care and it
makes your eyes and throat very sore even a little of it.
I was the only officer with the show for a couple of days
as the Major and the sub were both away on other jobs, but the sub is back
again now I am glad to say; in other ways things are O.K.
They blow out the lights half a dozen times a
day with the concussions right down in the dugouts.
The Huns certainly arn’t short of artillery or shells judging from what
files about us these days.
Heard from Jean last mail she seems to be having a good time &
enjoying life, but I expect it will be a long time before I get leave 
over there again having only just left England.
Jean certainly has a very nice flat where she is
and in a nice convenient locality.
You cant imagine the desolation left in the rear of the fighting here it
is worse if possible than the Somme as the artillery has made a more
complete job of it and it is almost impossible to pick up local details 
from a map as woods roads villages and houses have quite ceased to exhist 
and it is hard to say if a few tree stumps represent a wood or remnant of
an orchard it is just miles and miles of bunked up shell holes full of
water and dotted with concrete the pill boxes that have stood
wonderfully well.
Glad to hear you are keeping so well, will write again soon, glad to get
your letter. Your affectionate Son.
Douglas Campbell.