Letters from George Edwin Patey to his family, 1914 - Part 1 of 2

2DRL795
AUSTRALIAN 
WAR MEMORIAL

H.M.A.S AUSTRALIA.
Off the Court of New Guinea 
Monday. Aug 10th 
  
My dear Charles & Helen
I have no idea when  
I shall have an opportunity of 
sending this letter but thought 
I would write you a few lines now 
as there is no knowing when I  
may have another chance of writing. 
Of course I have been tremendously 
busy getting the ships, coaled  
and stored and making all my  
plans etc. As far as I can judge 
the whole of the German Eastern Fleet 
is concentrating off German New Guinea 
and I am going there after them 
It is a most difficult problem, as

the distances are so very great 
out here, the problem of keeping 
the ships supplied with coal 
and oil is a most difficult one 
I am now nearly 2000 miles  
from Sydney our principal base 
and about 500 from Simson Haven 
the German base in New Britain 
island off the NE Coast of New Guinea 
I have with me now "Australia" 
"Sydney" and three Destroyers, and  
intend to attack Simpson Haven  
on Tuesday night the 11th at 
about 9-30 just before the moon  
rises. I am doubtful if any German 
men of war will be there but there 
may be some colliers and there 
 

is a wireless station that I want 
to Destroy. After that I shall 
be very hard up for coal and 
oil and shall have to go back 
and meet my colliers which are 
coming up but I may meet 
the German fleet outside in 
the morning if I do, I expect 
they will make a very good fight 
They have two armered cruisers the 
"Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" which 
are quite good, and also three 
or four light cruisers. My best  
way of protecting the trade is to get 
hold of some of these ships if I can 
but it is a very difficult problem 
with all these immense distances 
to arrange for coal & oil. The ships 
 

and Dockyards worked splendidly 
to get ready when we were at 
Sydney. We came down hurriedly from 
Palm islands, arrived on Saturday 
and got away again on Tuesday the 4^th 
I think the war will be a short one 
it will be better for everyone if it 
is so. With my best love to  
you both & Constance and 
Mary. I do hope there may be 
some improvement shortly. 
I remain 
Your very affectionate brother 
George E Patey 
I left Mollie & the children well  
but Mollie naturally was rather depressed 
I don't know when I shall ever 
get any letters  
 

  
[*We have had no mail 
from England since leaving Sydney 
a month ago. Hope you are all well*] 
H.M.A.S. AUSTRALIA. 
At Sea. 
Saturday. Aug. 29^th 
  
My dear Helen 
I hope to have a chance  
of posting a letter in about a 
weeks time so am corresponding 
now as I never know when I 
shall have any time to myself 
I posted a letter to Charles from  
Suva Fiji on Wednesday. 
We are now on our way to Samoa 
with an expedition force to 
take this place. I expect to 
arrive there tomorrow morning 
I don't know whether there will 
be any resistance or not. I know 
 

  
it is not a properly fortified place  
but there are stories of mines 
having been laid and guns 
landed so I must be ready for 
anything. I shall not post 
this until it is all over so it 
my mentioning these things 
does not matter now. If all goes well 
I shall leave the troops at Samoa 
and return probably to the Australian 
coast. We had bad weather all 
yesterday and it is blowing fresh to 
day which has rather delayed us 
We only stayed at Suva long enough 
to coal. It seemed to be a very 
pretty place but of course I had no  
time to look around, and it was