Letters from Wilfred Evans to his family, 1918 - Part 1

1.1.18 
My dear mother,
Lately, it always seems my fate to write you
on a wet day - it was Xmas day last time & pouring like
fun & now it's New Years Day & doing likewise. Fortunately
we had a few fine days between times, but it commenced
again this morning & has been raining fairly well ever
since & tomorrow we move camp which is a disgusting
thing in wet weather. Since I last wrote to you we haven't
done very much, though we moved our line forward
a mile or two in conjunction with a big attack on the
right which gave the Turks a bad knock again
They launched an attack on Jerusalem apparently
just as we were going to attack them & our attack 
caught them in flank while they were throwing
themselves away on our people in their front who
gave them beans I believe. Result Turkey has
gone back a few more miles & has lost some 
good positions. Just at present our people here seem
to do just what they like with him & I think his
soldiers are getting a bit fed up with things in
general & no wonder.
The country we advanced over was rougher than ever 
one would think it impassable from looking
at it & so it is unless one winds about in the

valleys & gradually reaches one's objective by a
circuitous route. 
I had a letter this week from M^rs Job & one from M^rs 
Buchanan - mother of a fellow who was in my 
year & who was in Cairo for a short period a 
couple of years ago - congratulating me on my 
promotion, said she saw my photo in the 
Sydney Mail, however it got there I can't 
imagine. I wonder how you are getting on 
about this moving of yours & your settling down 
somewhere else. It must be very difficult indeed 
for you at present & I wish I could be of some 
use, but can't very well be so, away over here. 
I was very sorry indeed to read of D Hunt's death 
what a blow it must have been to his mother 
& sister, he seemed to be the only boy in the family. 
I must tell you  of a joke against one of our 
officers who went to Jerusalem - you know 
that when operations are on & generally for some  
time afterwards we live largely on 'bully beef' that 
is tinned meat & biscuits - big hard ones. 
Well this officer went to Jerusalem & stayed 
for lunch at the German Hotel Fast where we

had so much difficulty in obtaining food He 
greatly admired the luxuriousness of the place 
with fine comfortable chairs & sat himself down 
in the beautiful dining room to a table covered 
with a splendid white damask cloth, with good 
cutlery, flowers in vases etc. While waiting for 
his food he sat back with a contented sigh 
thinking how good it was, & what a treat to 
have a change from "bully & biscuits". 
Eventually the waiter came along with a silver tray 
& shiny dish cover over a plate & with a veritable 
snort of satisfaction the officer lifted the cover & 
discovered ______ bully beef!!! 
It is truly the Hotel Fast at present 
No more news this time I fear mother my dear 
so much close with best of love & an extra hug 
for mother from 
Her loving son 
Wilf

10.1.18. 
My dear mother, Another mail arrived today from Australia 
bringing me a letter from you & a parcel of tobacco. 
Our accumulated mails are all arriving at one time 
now, lots of papers came also - Sydney Mails from 
Ern, papers from Harry & several bundles of Candelo 
records from you. What a pity Johnson should have 
put in that mis-statement about myself gaining an 
M.C. - he was confused apparently with another 
Evans in France who obtained one. My chance of 
obtaining that are now quite gone, though I know that 
the recommendation which resulted in a mention in dispatches 
were intended for something of the kind, though I should 
not say it. At that particular time opportunity arose 
xx which is not likely to re cur recur & the fact of 
having done one's best is it's own reward without anything 
further. A Sydney Mail arrived containing my photo 
much to my surprise - how on earth did it find 
it's way there? The others got hold of it & chaffed 
me like fun at mess tonight with great 
amusement to themselves & me. I was very sorry 
to hear that you had received no mail from 
me in so long a period as I certainly wrote each 
week, but expect it was the result of sending

our letters via England as we have heard they were 
doing. There will be a gap however during the 
November operations when I was unable to 
write for some weeks. I do not require so 
much tobacco as you are at present sending 
my dear - I think that two packets or 
tins a month will be quite sufficient & I can 
easily get some kinds which I don't care as 
much for in Egypt if it is not sufficient. 
I must really insist, my dear, on your taking 
enough money from my account or cheques to cover 
the expenditure you are making & have made 
on it, as I know what expenses you have 
at present especially with every thing so very 
expensive in wartime & I do wish you would 
take ₤10-0-0 or so just to help on a 
holiday or buy you something you need, my 
dear or to cover some of your expenses 
with the Shaw family, as I am earning 
plenty at present. 
If the war continues to go on, I shall make 
an endeavour to come home as transport duty 
or something of the kind before another year is 
out, but goodness knows if it will succeed

as one must always produce documentary evidence
of good reasons for it - financial or otherwise &
I don't see how I can do that. At any rate I
will have a hard try at some future date but
I hate making myself a nuisance to those in
higher positions. Cheer up, my dear, you seem
to have been in the dumps about the war in your
last letter - it will all be right in the end. The 
boys in France seem to have had a terrible time during
October from all accounts we have had from
Australia & France, & we must consider ourselves
fortunate here. When I last wrote I think we were
in the hills, we have now moved back for a spell
stayed in a Jewish village for a day or two - billeted
in houses & then marched on here to ___.
We have a splendid camp now, proper bell tents to
live in, camp stretchers & chairs to lie & sit on &
a big E.P. tent for a mess. So we are once more
living in luxury & enjoying it. Leave to Cairo
will be on again shortly but I doubt if I will take
advantage of it as it is hardly worth going for
3 days & there is little in Cairo to make oneself really
enjoy things except to live in a hotel for a few days
have hot baths etc & the change from the life in camp
which is the main thing of all

12.1.18
I went to bed & did not quite finish the letter two nights ago.
Since then more of our accumulated mails have arrived -
all kinds of papers from you & Ern Harry & Mab so I am at
present very well supplied as it represents about two
months mail all at once.
I had a letter from Wesley yesterday, he has now gone
to a Field Ambulance in France & said he felt
quite strange to the work there as he had never
been in an Ambulance before & always says that he
wishes he was back with us here & so do I.
I had a parcel from Coopers in Liverpool & don't
know who is the sender - either Aunty Lily or Elsie Evans
I think, at any rate it is very awkward as I
don't know which one to write & thank.
I am busy inoculating the staff here today against
cholera - all the troops are inoculated once every
three months as cholera occurs in Syria & it behoves
us to take every precaution. The work of the medical
services in war largely takes the form of prevention & 
the results obtained speak volumes for it, as evidenced
by the few cases of typhoid cholera & other preventable
diseases which occur. My own work at present
consists largely in supervising the sanitation
& water supply. These are things whose you importance
you do not realize in civil life, like many other
things in war, but if you consider that thousands
of men move into an area which has largely
been camped on before & have to obtain their

drinking water in that area you realize the difficulties
which sometimes face us particularly when moving on 
to ground which has previously been occupied by Turks
or Bedouins with their usual dirty habits
I must wish you this letter very many happy
returns of your birthday my dear, & wish I
were somewhere near a shop where I could
get something to send you just to show
you I am thinking of you.
One of the fellows from here - Hughes from Melbourne
left last night for Australia - his boat sails  
tomorrow - lucky devil, but I think his father
is away on war duty somewhere & there are lots
of business matters which he has to re adjust
so that he had the necessary excuse to take
him home on leave particularly I think
as during his father's absence his sister became
married to some bogus doctor in Melbourne
who was proved to be a fraud & then shot
himself.
Must close now mother mine with best of
love & lots of hugs from
Your loving son
Wilf

Send these to Ern
please - as usual -  
All well Ern 
Hope you and yours 
are. Leah here. 
Love H.
It was
my pal
Jack
referred to

This came 
after the
one you 
had - dated
24^th Jan
Send all 
these to 
Ern please
& he can 
post to Mab

19.1.18.
My dear mother,
Your letter dated 27/11/17 arrived a few
days ago, after one dated Dec 5^th. but both quite 
recent - apparently our mails are running direct 
again. Very strange that a form of commission 
should arrive from the War Office at this stage & I 
wonder how it happened possibly owing to staff 
appointment. You thought I might be enjoying 
myself in England by this time - far from it, my 
dear, though I understand it is much easier 
to obtain leave there than to Australia, strange to 
say. But though I should very much like to go 
the trouble is that it might stand in one's way 
of going to Australia at all later on, so I am 
not attempting it. In any case I believe, 
good & sufficient reasons, apart from length 
of service, & supported by documentary evidence