Letters from George Alexander Hugh Murray to his family, 1915 - Part 13

couple of days.
I cannot write anymore
now as I am about mad with toothache
so I will close wishing you all
a Merry Christmas & a Happy New
Year with best of love from your
loving Brother & Son
George
 

Abbey Wood
Kent 5/12/15
All at home
Christmas will be over by the time
you receive this letter I do not know where I
am going for Christmas but if I can get any
length of leave I will go to Scotland though
it will be very cold & wet.
We had the misfortune to have one of
our chap accidently killed at this
Camp. He was at Queenslander and a
Light Horse man. He was coming home
and crossing the road when he was
run down by a motar Motor Car and
had his head smashed. He died in a
few minutes. He was given a full
military funeral and about a thousand
marched to the cemetery. We had about
three miles to go and marching the
slow march it took us about two
hours but coming back the band played
some of the liveliest tunes and you
would not know it was the same
lot of men.
I have bought another chanter
and beginning to learn some of the
 

old tunes again. The commanding
Officer is forming a pipe band and I
am going to have a try to join it.
I do not get any letters of late though
I have written to Egypt Post Office &
to the Commonwealth Offices, though
there must be a lot about for me somewhere.
I was on escort duty taking some of our
chaps into London by motor-car, when
the driver tried to run over a big waggon
All the front of the car was smashed
in but it carried us home. We were
all thrown all roads but none were
very much hurt only skin peeled off.
Before I we started home I went to see
a mate at Fulham Military Hospital
and when I was coming out I run
against a chap I had not seen since
last April. It was W. W. Gunn. He has
been knocked about a lot for he
has been there twice. Both of his
 

3
hands have bullet marks.
In the same ward as I am is a
Tpr Biggs who signed on in Warrack
He came from  Bangrary .
Where ever you go you meet some one
that you know.
There is a batch leaving this camp in
a few days but no we knows who's
to go or where they are going to
I cannot carry a pack but I am
having a try to go with them
Every time I put a weight on my
back I get doubled of with pains
they say they can do nothing for me.
I have not heard from Les since
September though I have written fairly
often. I am sending him some things
for Christmas but he most likely
will not receive them.
One of the men in our ward went
right of his head and began throwing
every thing about & screaming like
mad. It took five of us to hold him
down after we caught him.
He said the bag pipes drove him mad
 

I have no more news this time so
I will close wishing you all a Happy
New Year
From your loving brother &
Son
George
 

Abbey Wood
Kent 1/12/15
All at home
No letters from you since I came to
this camp but they will come in good time.
I sent a photo of a few of the chaps in my hut.
It is not much but it will always remind
me of this place. I sent two registered parcels
long with them. One is our badge and an Argylle
[[?]] Sutherlandshire Highlanders sporran. I got it made
[[?]] me the other is a Turkish bullet. I have
[[?en]] carrying it about with me for a long
[[?e]]
I tried to get extra leave for Christmas
to go to Scotland but it was no use.
[[?]] would only give us four days if we
[[?]] out of England & three days if we stay
[[me?]], and that is no good to anyone,
I am staying in the camp so it will
[[?]] two Christmas I will be away from
home and there does not seem any end
of the struggle yet. If you go by the
papers you will find that we are in a
worse plight now than we were at the
 

beginning. A lot of chaps are leaving this camp
in a few days, to where they do not know.
It seems a bit too hard to take them
away just before Christmas but I suppose
they have reasons for it
The winter is not agreeing with our chaps
They are down with all kind of chest &
lung complaints. It is playing up more with
them than Egypt did.
I heard from A. Gunn today. They are all
well and he says it is always raining
or snowing up his way.
I am sending a broach along with this letter
It is a souvenir of South Africa. Has a
shovel pick rope & bucket.
This is all this time so I will say goodbye.
From your loving brother & son
George
I have not heard from Les since
September.
 

Abbey Wood
Kent 18/10/15
Dear Dad,
No letters since last September
but still I keep on writing. I write to
Les every week but cannot get any reply
and no one seems to know where he
is; but he must be well or I would
have heard.
I hear from A. Gunn every week.
He has had no letters from you
for a long time and cannot make
out the cause.
He has had an addition to his
family and now has three girls xa
and a baby boy and I never knew
that he was married. He says it is
continually snowing or raining and
I bet it is very miserable living
in amongst the hills.
There has not been much snow around
here but it never leaves off raining
I am in the next batch to go back
 

to the front and am under orders to
go at any moment and on account
of that we are not allowed Christmas
leave, so I cannot go and see
London in Christmas time.
I will be never any good for marching
again for I cannot go any distance
or even carry a pack for I cannot
get any strength back
Did you ever get any of the things
that I sent from England.
I cannot think of anything more
so I will close hoping you are
all well ^as I am at present
I am
Your loving Son
George
 

Abbey Wood
Kent 20/10/15
All at home
I got five letters from you on
the 24th They were dated October. They went
to Harefield, Epsom, and then were sent
to me here. I am very sorry to hear
about Lloyd March's death. I never knew
anything about it before or did know
anything about Mr Craig dying.
I have not received the papers or the
cake that you sent but I suppose
they will turn up some time.
This is the worst Christmas I have ever
spent. It is not too cold but it never
stops raining and you can go nowhere.
I have been all over the
best parts of London and the
country around. I can find my
way about London far better than I
could Melbourne. It is just twelve
months today since I saw the last
glimpses of Australian shores. It seems