Letters from James Joseph Makin to his family 1918 - Part 1 of 6

Finance Section,
A.I.F Hdqrs,
London,
15/1/18.

My dear Mother & Father,
Yours of 23/11 to hand, also one from
Perce and a newspaper cutting of Mr.
Hughes speech on the Referendum. This
is the quickest mail we have had for
months and probably came via Panama.
It was the first mail from West Aus.
since about the middle of September, so
you can tell it was looked-forward to
by all. I had a letter last night
from Les from Warminster. He has
received his Xmas parcel you will
be glad to hear, and is much
more cheerful in tone than he has
been of late. He came up to
London for the weekend whilst I
was away at Catford with Dr Gibson,
but he says he will be up again
on leave shortly, when I hope to
see him.
Tom McGrath came in to see me
yesterday. He is almost as tall as
I am and I should hardly have
known him but for Paddy telling
me he was in England.
Had a letter a couple of days
ago from Charlie Trewartha. He is
a sgt. with a M. Medal and is
at present at an Officers' School at
Cambridge. He says his brother and
cousin are getting on well, and
wishes to be remembered at
Middle Park.

2/
I have not heard from Bill Robbie
for a good while now and have lost
trace of his movements.
I have not played football the
last two Saturdays but expect to
be playing in a Charity Match on
the 26th to be witnessed by the
King and Queen. I played in
that match, the result of which
you saw in the Melbourne papers.
I have been going to a few
dances lately and it is a
good thing to drive away the blues.
Perce's remarks about dancing
"tickled me to death". (Do you
rag it kid?" - to wit).
We have had phenomonally cold
weather, the thermometer being below
zero for the first twelve days of the
Year. All the ponds are frozen
and there is a good deal of skating
in consequence. I am dressed warmly
and am more used to the frigid
conditions than last winter. I shall
have to become acclimatized again
when I get back home.
I met my old section Commander,
Cpl. Clancy, one night last week. He has
only had nine bullets through various
parts of him, and is now unfit. We
went to a theatre and talked of old
times. I learned that almost all
of my platoon were killed or missing,
just a few lucky ones like myself
remaining.
Well, dear people, news is scarce these times.
I shall write again in a few days. Love to all
from your affectionate son, Jim 1 DRL 474 1/2

Finance Section,
A.I.F Headquarters,
London,
14. 3. 18.

My dear Mother & Father,
Since I last wrote to you Les
has been up on weekend leave to London.
I spent a few hours with him on Monday.
He is looking and feeling much better
than when I saw him last. We are
getting four days leave at Easter, and
our football team is going to Bournmouth.
Les hopes to be able to go down
with me if he can fix up the leave.
We went down to Brightlingsea (on
the east coast between Southend and Harwich)
last Saturday and beat the Australian
Engineers 17-16 to 2-5. I had another
photo taken there, so you will be
getting a lot of football photos shortly.
There is another Australian mail in
dated 23rd Jan. from Melbourne. I have 
had none from you by that mail as yet.
Neither Les or I can get over the
size Ruby and Perce have grown
during the last couple of years. The
weather is finer and warmer, and
consequently much more appreciated
by Australians than months of winter.
The team from the O.T.C. at
Cambridge, which we played on A.N.A Day,
is coming down next Saturday. We hope
to beat them again.

TRIAL BALANCE. Unit...........................................
Date............................................191
___________________________________________________________
Regtl. No. Net Rate £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.
_________________________________________________________
2/
We have just finished a big balance
period. We have been doing a lot of
night work, and am feeling a bit fagged.
It is good to look forward to a good
game of "dinkum" Australian football
on Saturday afternoons.
Have not had any letters from
Paddy Scanlon or Bilby Robertson lately.
Les thinks that the talk of a
big German offensive is a big bluff.
The turn of events during the last
6 months owing to the collapse
of Russia does not tend to make
one very optimistic about the
duration of the war. I should not
care to have to guess when it
will end to the nearest 12 months.
The submarines are still taking
a huge toll on our shipping each
week, and shipbuilding is being
speeded up both here and in
America. As usual we realize
such vital facts always too late.
What kind of a summer have
you had this year? It seems
ages since I felt the heat of
the sun at all.
I hope you are all keeping
fit and well at Harold Street.
Much love to all from
Your affect. son,
Jim.

C.W.L. EMPIRE CLUB.
ASHLEY PLACE. 
LONDON. S.W. 1.
25. 3. 18.

My dearest Mother & Father,
Since my last letter ha
the much advertised German
offensive has begun, and I
am glad for your sake that
both Les and I are safe
in England. It should save
you a good deal of worry.
You have seen from the
papers of the colossal scale
of the battle and whatever
our own losses may be, it is
something to know that the
Germans are paying dearly
by using their massed attacks.
It is now that we realize
what the Russian debacle
really means to us.
I had a letter from Les
yesterday. He was to have
come up to London with the

2/
football team from his camp,
but strained his ankle on
Thursday, and so could not
make the trip. We beat his
team by 15 goals 9 to 9-8.
The weather has been
wonderfully fine and mild
compared to last March.
The Germans are fortunate in
striking such a succession
of fine days for their push.
I have tried many times
to be relieved of my job here
to no avail, and my conscience
is free. It seems certain that
I shall see the finish of the
war in the Finance Section.
The conditions of such a
position are all one could
wish for as regards comfort,
but there is little or no
chance of promotion now.
Ability counts for very little.
It is favoritism chiefly and

3/
then seniority of service.
There are many here I can
run rings around at figures
or any other clerical work,
who are holding good jobs
as S.Sgts and W.O's and waiting
on commissions. Here the
best crawler wins every time,
and that is one thing I
will not do.
I met Alf. Bull last
Sunday afternoon walking
in Hyde Park. He is well
and is now on 14 days leave
from France. He has gone
over to Ireland to visit
Killarney. He wishes to be
remembered to you all
and asks me "to strafe the
dad" for not dropping him
a line. He is in the 8th 
Battn. Post Office and has a
pretty safe job. He has not 

4/
been wounded. I have not
had any word from Paddy
Scanlon for a good while
now. It is a good while
since the last Australian
mail in. There should be
another shortly.
There have not been
many airraids on London
lately. They have been
giving Paris a turn instead.
Jack Draper, a pal of
Billy Bruce, who went into
camp with me at Albert
Park, is returning shortly.
I have told him to call on
you. I shall probably be
sending some photos &c home
by him.
There is no more news at
present so I will conclude
with love to all. Cheers!
Your affectionate son,
Jim. 

TELEPHONE: VICTORIA {8391. {8390.
AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE.
A.I.F. & WAR CHEST CLUB. 97, HORSEFERRY ROAD,
Citizens "War Chest" Fund, Sydney, N.S.W. LONDON S.W.1.
BEHIND ARMY AND NAVY STORES 
AND OPPOSITE A.I.F. HEADQUARTERS 
........................15/4/1918....
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE 
/ /

My dear Mother & Father,
Your letters of 31/1, 5/2, and 18/2
all to hand by the same mail this
morning. I was wondering when I
was going to get your next letters.
As you will see they are much
delayed these times.
I am pleased to say they
find me well and still in London.
When I read them and noticed
the anxious tone in them as to
whether I should be sent back to
France or not, I am glad for your
dear sakes I am safe in England.
But there are times I assure you
when I feel as I did during those
few months before I enlisted. I had
a letter from Les a day or so ago
in answer to one I sent him to 

TELEPHONE: VICTORIA {8391. 
{8390.
AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE.
A.I.F. & WAR CHEST CLUB. 97, HORSEFERRY ROAD,
Citizens "War Chest" Fund, Sydney, N.S.W. LONDON S.W.1.
BEHIND ARMY AND NAVY STORES 
AND OPPOSITE A.I.F. HEADQUARTERS 
2/ ...................................191.....
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE 
/ /

wish him many happy returns.
He is feeling well, and up to now
has no word of going to France.
He never forgets to remind me to
hang on here in London as long
as I can.
On Saturday we played a match
against the Australian munition workers
at Chiswick. They had a good side,
including Wally Johnson and Toohey
of Fitzroy, but we won comfortably
by 9-11 to 4-1. Did I tell you of
the Sports we held at Bournemouth
at Easter? The opposing football team
could not get leave so we arranged
a series of sports meetings. I won
a 100 yards footrace and a 66 yds
swimming race, both from scratch,
and was declared champion. You
did not know I could run, did you?