Letters and typescript copies from Florence Hobbes to her family, 1915-1918 - Part 4

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times when we wonder if we can keep right on at it but
not often - I am one who will never give it up till we are
not needed. There are too many slackees as it is &
then, but oh I had better leave that out till I get
home - I often wish we had some of our D^rs here even
some of the Country ones - I am supposed to have
one of the best in my section - he is most certainly the
most up to date & quite one & exceedingly nice &
gentle, young & an Englishman. The heat of
Malta is disgusting - very moist The persperation
just pours off you - Then the Sirrocco is rotten -,
Sydney weather in the middle of Summer on a
moist day is delightful compared with this.
now, for instance today just to look outside
there is a clear blue blue sky & bright sun
shining & as long as you don't move every thing
is delightful - move, & sweat runs off you
hot & sticky & you ache in every joint as tho you
were getting "Flue" - & your boots are too small for
you I have a half day off after lunch &
meant to write reams all round but was
so tired when I got to my room I thought I wd
have a rest first - got undressed & lay on my
bed, & went sound asleep - but when I woke &
could not move, I was aching all over. At last after
an hour I made myself get up & went & stood
in a hip bath & poured a few jugs of water over myself

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myself. for a shower bath after which I put on
a dress and singlet & went down to some afternoon tea
as I found as I found I had no parapine in my 
lamp - if you ask for kerosene, they don't know
what you mean. Now I'm trying to get some 
letters written I promised to write some for my
poor old helpless patients. they think so much of
letters written any little thing like that. I wish I
had old Susan here but she could never do it
with her foot all the floors are of stone as I told
you. We now just heard that a P. & O.
boat leaving London on the 10^th has not been
heard of since. She should have been at
Gib on 15^th They have tried to get into Com-

munication with her but cannot, isn't it
awful. The poor souls on board, makes us
realize what a narrow shave we had both
ways. We have also just heard of the death of
two Australian D^rs quite young boys one from
Melbourne had been in England for 6 years 
he was very clever. & one of the coming Surgeons 
he was shot through the spine - lived two days
completely paralized, then died - One just a lad
from B.P.A.H. they used to call him "Dennie"
Smith he was shot through the head - but when
they tried to find his body. no were - & has never
been found - One Clive Thomson did a very brave 
thing - General Bridges was shot & fell & this boy
 

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boy went out under a perfect hail of bullets &
got him in - There are several little things I wd
like to tell you but first if the letter was censored
they might think it better left out-see. There
story of the Australians in the trenches when the 
regulars could not get there? What a splendid
sight the march past must have been.
fancy young Frydern, not Tony - had been put
out of action with a burnt face but is better &
going back to the front - That is rather a good
photo of Rex in the Pastoralists Review of
April 16^th did you see it Old M^r. Scivers rivener from
the Bank Birchen Lane sent sent me some
Australian papers he has a son at the Dardenells
he came in the Mauretania five days after 
we did - So Jack Webb is at the front -
If Frank gets away I hope he joined in 
Australia - we guessed you would get our
letters just about the time he got to England
I don't know where the Ballaratt is she left
England the day we did, destination unknown
Yes M^rs. Robinson told people on board there was to 
be an infant - but if I remember right she was very
ill for a few days before getting to England - Why
didn't Vernon M^cDougal join in Australia?
no I cannot imagine M^r. Suners going to the
[[?]] - I've not got the Group Photo yet but
 

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suppose it will come some day - I wonder when
the hospital Ship - the Dardenells I expect to ply between

there & Alexandria & Malta - Give Archie my love 

when you see him, tell Arina I got her long long
letter & dont mind how often she repeats [[?]]
but I may not always be able to answer them,
my letters mostly consist of Home letters & one or
two others. Sorry to hear of Jean Thompson with
[[?]] poor [[?]] the Light H has all been turned
into Infantry. Ive had several of them -
in my Wards - so glad to hear Hospital day
was such a success - I smiled re the French
soldiers being in the front.  Ive a few remarks
to make about them later on.
Fancy Mrs Loombes gone she will be missed
at Gunyer - I simply yelled at one poor [[?]]

& the Pichie Acid oh lovely - I observe one of

the old Kangaroo" stamps on your letter Els

I shall remove it for the Colonel he gathers

stamps of at one of my A. Stamps the other day -

If you have any more odd Colonial Stamps

you might send them also Queensland ones

N.S.W. Tas. or any other - he is not a bad old sort

I do hope you have had nice rain - its awful
to think of the want of it - Oh dear if this

ghastly war was over - one feels at times that

things can never be the same again.

The Camaretta

Military Hospital

Valletta  - Malta
1st July 1915

You poor dear long suffering people. I find my weekly letter did not
go last week and if I don’t get busy and look round it won’t go this week

either, but I was suffering from scirrocco (pronounced shirock) whichs
is the most appalling weather conditions you could imagine, it simply
bowls everyone over, but Richard is herself again, but its quite
impossible to write or anything else during Sirrocco weather. All
th e shops close from x1 to 3. x, and you dare not go out till after 4.30.
Oh, Malta is a pearl of a place, some days the funny side of it strikes

one very forcibly, but its like no place on earth but Malta, tho an
Italian doctor said Eygpt could beat it hollow, they have had no rain
for months and months, and when the wind blows, which it does, n some, 
everything is covered wi th a fine white gritty powder like one of our
Darling showers, only you don’t get the "sti nks" in Australia that you
get here. I think I told you about the goats, the way a man wanders
through the street yelling “milk” in Maltese, and then halts these 

unfortunate things, unfortunate because they are left till their
adders are almost touching the ground, its nothing if you are walking along
the street to get among 10 or 12 goats being driven round the town, ah,
me, The enclosed snapshot was taken on board the old Mongolia coming

out here from England, they all think it rather good. The sappers gave
a concert the other day (Friday) for the patients, it was graced by the
presence of the Gov, Lord Methuen, and was held in the compound, all the
concerts are, they have one every Friday by the staff, but this was

something quite special, but the people here can’t si ng for sour apples.

I did wish I could draw or get a photo of it all, this little snapshot 

will give you some idea of the compound, but it s under exposed, its a 

part of two si des, the two arches being the stairways to the wards up

and down, the walls are mostly covered with odd creepers, plumbago traine d

right up, and a red flower and a yellow feathery thing, the yard is paved

with huge old stones and the building is of huge stones, walls nearly

three feet through, built about 1520 or thereabouts. In the centre of 

the compound is an old old fountain, said fountain now dry and filled

with earth and flowers growing in it, then at one end just opposite my

wards, they rigged a stage with flags etc,, all round, and comandeered

all the chairs they could find, I wish you could have seen the collec-

tion of patients, they had bandages on every portion of their anatomy

some had crutches, some just walked, but all came who could; then there

were men in uniform wherever you looked, and the sisters.     It was

bright moonlight so they had no lights in the compound, there was enough

with the moon and the lights from the wards, and then the quaint old

walls against the blue sky - sort of duck egg blue green, with the stars

twinkling, it was one of the quaintest sights you could ever see and it

was hard to believe we were only a few days off such ghastly sights.   They

always start about 7.30 ad go on till 9p.m. I was asked to a moonlight

picnic on Tuesday but backed out of it wen I found they did not expect

to be back before xx 12.30 or 1  a.m, no good to people doing war war

nursing.

By the bye there is a seargeant here in the R.A.M.C who is the image

of Mr Andrews only he is a fairer edition, he is really absurdly like

him, I got quite a shock one evening just getting dusk and I flew round

to speak to another sister, saw someorderlies standing by a trolley with

the sisters, the sister I wanted was further on, as I got to the trolley

a man stood to attention and saluted me, just for a minute I stopped

dead, and it flashed through my mind "Brother Andrews" how on earth did

he get here, and then I saw who it was and passed on, quite glad really

that it was not Mr A, for it would be rather awkward for we are not 

allowed to have anything to do with the orderlies beyond the war work, 

and must not stand and speak to one outside our wards, and all that

(Lady Roberts) the rule is being enforced because I believe some of the

sisters are by way of making fools of themselves with some of the orderlie s.

Mind you some of them, like Mr Andrews and Dr Gillies nephew, are quite

alright but some of them are awful fools, look I'd rather be born a 

woman 5 times over than be a man like some of the men I've come across

out here, blithering idiots with as many brains as a cabbage, tell a 

pro the same thing for two mornings running and she remembers it, tell

the average Tommy orderly the same thing two mornings running - and you 
keep  right on telling him - however
 

 

Im simply longing for some letters, Rose had two direct from Australia

to Malta. Now I must stop this time, Rose and Elsie and I will be

going out to eat afternoon tea, but I want to post this in case there

happens to be a mail and Ill finish it when I come in, in another 

letter.

 

Oceans of love to all from Narrie

 

 

C/o Commercial Banking Co of Sydney

18 Bircham Lane

London G. C.

9^th July 1915

 

My dearest old Kit

I seem to have written only home letters

lately, but thats because Ive not had much 

time, and certainly very little inclination my 

dear the heat here - not London - is too

awful for words, why Sydney is babyish to it,

and it makes us so desperately sleepy, I 

could sit down & go to sleep quite cheerfully

at any moment, and anywhere, certainly 

these are nights - most nights - when one

spends many waking hours on account

of cats & human cats, my dear Ive never

in all my life heard cats with such absolutly

penetrating voices as the cats of Malta, they

surely have the most healthy voices Ive ever

listened to, oh they at make some noise, &

then the humans, well when I say noise

words fail me, you simply cant imagine,

unless you have had something to do with

foreigners, what they are like, they fairly

scream at one another we are all wondering

what we will do if we have to stick it out

here for many months, I loathe the filth of

it all, we thought Capetown dirty but it was

 

 

sweetness itself compared to this, for at

least you knew the "stink" was only niggar

stink, here its, oh everything you can think

of, it rises upon the softness of the night

& steals forth, till you wonder how any town

could manage to concentrate all its odours

into that one great whole, the only thing

that drowns it is to light your little kerosene

lamp & boil your kettle, then the smell of hot

parapin outdoes the smell of - concentrated

essence of Malta - but there, its not a bad

sort of place, after 6.30 pm, then quaintness

& strangeness & even the beauty of it shows up,

but it is all so fearfully built-in, with its

walls & rocks, you look over a wall & see the spot

you want to get to just a few feet below, but

to get there you have to go round & round &

up & down, because you are simply "shut in".

I'd try & describe some of the places I like

most, old forts etc, but if the Censor read

it he would probably gum it all down or

return it, or burn it, and we can't send 

post cards of the most interesting places, as -

They also are forbidden such a pity

13^th Had a most glorious mail yesterday, some

of the letters had over lapped at Port Said or some

 

 

-where, anyway they all turned up yesterday,

I simply wallowed in them & I had a 

whole afternoon off duty, so simply removed

all my clothing all but bloomers and singlet, took

down my hair to let the perspiration dry

& lay on my bed, I had not had any letters

for quite some time, nearly a fortnight, hence

my joy, I did love them so,

Am rejoiced to hear you have at last

had rain at Gunyer,  and as so hope that it

has reached Weilt   Yes I expect you will

miss our old Mit Formbes and how she will

miss the kiddies. What a daring Kathleen

must be, she will be quite grown up before I

see her again from all accounts,-

I wish I had time to write long letters, &

please excuse the pencil, I forgot to get

ink the other day and have run out of it.

Poor old Franks is simply aching to get 

away & volunteer isn't he, I had such a nice

letter from him the other day said it struck

him I might like letters, even if there was no

news in them, which is just exactly what I 

do want, Oh please tell dear old Ronald

that my watch is the greatest comfort to me

I would write and tell him myself but I know he 

does not like letters, isnt that so, but please give