Letters from George Alexander Hugh Murray to his family, 1917 - Part 8

France

2-8-17
All at home
There has been no mail
for me from home out of the
last batch that arrived but they

may have gone to the battalion
as I understood you to say
that you were sending the letters
to the old adddress Well if you
do they generally take two more
weeks to come to me & I
am very lucky if I get them
for they go through so many
hands
I have not found out where
Les is & I am not too sure
of his address so I am going

to make another attempt to find
him.
It is deadly weather we are
having for it is always raining or
if not raining it is cold &
dreary very much like winter weather
and for days at a time one never
sees the sun, not a bit like the
Sunny France I was once led to
believe it was but it may be
better country further South where
it has not had to put up with
the ravages of war, and war it
has been with another good
push a few days ago & an im-

portant one into the bargain.
What do all the people at
home think of the war & the

3
way the Russians are behaving for some
days there is very good news about
their doings & next days they are
pushed back again
The Frenchies are gathering in their
harvest & very crude methods
they have. For all their crops are
cut with a kind of sickle and
then put into carts. All the
crops I have seen are flat on the
ground & the straw yellow as
gold & it is no wonder their
bread is dull of colour tasteless
has no salt in it and goes
sour very quickly. The women
& men alike work hard &
long in the fields & it is nothing
to see mere boys working with

twelve to fourteen years old working
with picks and shovels helping
to keep the roads in repair & for
their weeks work they receive no
more than eighteen Francs.
It is one of the strange customs
of all the French towns & villages
F of France Belgium & Flanders
that I have been in, you will
never see a woman or girl
with a hat on, no matter if
the sun is hot or snowing or
raining, it is all the same &
when they walk along the cobble
roads you can hear them
coming half a mile away
for they wear a kind of clog.
Another thing in the villages not 
the towns, you will never see
a footpath or a verandah to
a house though some of their

chateaus are great works of art
& are always surrounded by park

lands & especially a lovely flower
garden or they go in for the bright
coloured flowers xx
I thought I would have had 
my turn of leave again but so
far I have been unlucky.
Well I have nothing more to say this
time so I must close hoping you are
all well
From your loving Son & Brother
George 

France
7-8-17
Dear Lina
I received your ever wel-

come letter today also two from
home and one from Florrie [[Lavant]]
I could not make out whose
handwriting it was but I will
answer hers when I have finished
this one.
It has been beastly weather for
the last week for it is contin-

ually raining while today there

has been a heavy fog just like
a winter's  day without the cold
weather but the nights are very
chilly

Have had no chance of running to
Les's camp to find him & now that
I have moved further afield &
nearer the line, well it may be 
weeks before I get leave
Old Fritz is getting a rough time
about this quarter for he is
getting pushed back at every
point and the point where the
last go was made will in time
if carried out make him return
from along the coast when he
had a victory a few weeks ago
It will be close on three years
since I joined before you receive
this & it has been three years

of grand experiences & has taught
me far more than I would have
by three years of reading & studying
for things happen daily here
that if they were at told to anyone
at home we would be
never be believed
Well Lina I have nothing to say more
as I am writing home now so
Goodbye & hope to be all at 

home for next Christmas
Your loving brother
George.

France
7 -8 -17
Dear Dad
I received your loving
letter today with a couple more
from home and two from Lina.
You seem to be having some thing
like the kind of weather that we
are having for it rained heavily for
a week and today there has been
a heavy fog.
You seem You are having your
work cut out keeping the mice down
for they must be doing terrible
damage.
It is just twelve months ago today
and well I remember it, for that

was the day that the Germans bom-

barded B. Coy for twelve hours and
then attacked & we withstood
them until only twenty-five of
us were left when we had to
move back to our support trench
but their gain was short lived.
That was the first toughest corner
I was ever in.
I shifted into new quarters today
infact into Flanders but I cannot
sitt settle down in the place.
I have not seen Les for some time nor
heard anything more about him
I have not much to write of about
so I will close
Your loving Son
George