Thomas James Richards, Diary No. 1, 26 August - 18 November 1914 - Part 5

Murphy was out drilling in

the ranks. George Hills

case was similar he was

confidential clerk in a

large solicitors office drawing

£4.15.0 a week, he came

out & saw Dr. Newmarsh at

9 o'clock one morning next

day he was plain Private

Hill drilling & sleeping with

a lot of unthinking xxx worthless

kind of fellows.

Washing one cloths as xxxx

on board is a terrible proposition

under such extreme difficulties

There are, I understand, some 14

cases of venereal disease at present in

the isolation hospital, and it is

said to be a small number for as

many men.

The shipping company have

contracted to provide the men with

food at 1/9 per day sargents at 3/6.

The clippers have been hard at work

getting the fellows heads cleaned

I will, at the first opportunity, get

my head cleaned right off it will

prevent one from becoming lousy.

I've heard there is are a number

of lousy men on the infantry

already.

The Bag-pipes & the brass band

are well appreciated each day &

night when playing of from the promenade

deck to the crowd in the

aft well deck.

The concerts given off the same

place are good but under

extreme difficulties.

There are 10 cases in the 

general hospital and [some?] 

25 to 40 out door patients

called for treatment this 

morning.

The following lines from [Munsigs'?]

Magazine struck me as being strangely

fitting to my own state of uneasiness.

An Idyl of Idleness

I cannot work in the City --

That person of brick & stone,

Where distraction waits at the outer gates

And speaks through the telephone.

The labou labors of men only vex me;

The pleasures of men tempt me sore,

And I fret and whine for the smell of pines

And the sound of the sea on the shore.

-----------------"-------------------------

I cannot work in the country-

There's so much else to be done;

The flowers I've sown see that I am alone

And beckon me into the sun,

The waves roar a hearty welcome;

There is lure in the shade of each tree,

"I could slave", I say, "were I hidden away

With nothing but walls to see!"

I cannot work on the ocean -

It is easy to understand

How that swaying deep rocks the will

to sleep ;

But I cannot work on the land.

I know I am not an idler -

I could drudge were the conditions fair ;

But Summer reigns in my tingling veins,

And I can't work anywhere !

Mail Day

Sunday  Oct. 25th

It was on the 26th Aug.

that Fritz Schwarz and I came

into camp. This is over two

months ago.

Letters to [?], Mother, Bill & Bert

Boardman, [?], Elvy, Broad,

Church passed off pleasantly to day.

We are expected to arrive at Albany

to-morrow but have no idea as to

whether we will be allowed ashore or

not. All hands are busy

writing yet there are a number of

gambling schools going strong, many

games have been barred such as

two up, crown & anchor, under &

over 7. One man got 90 hours

in the cells for playing crown &

anchor.

Several new cases of pox in the

hospital to day.

Albany. arrived

Monday.   Oct. 26th

We are somewhere near

Albany though the weather is

too thick and wet to see any

land. Our mail bag was

supposed to close last night.

I have very pleasantly

recollections of Albany from

years ago, particularly when

on the "Amrah" at sunset

Father and I landed here

in 1907 from South Africa.

and spent some time mining in

Kalgoorlie.

We are now in Albany and

anchored, the Harbour is fine

and there ^is are room for half

a hundred steamers, there is

some 16 transports here now.

and I believe in all the total

is to be 41 and a convoy of

10.

 

Tuesday   Oct. 27th

We are anchored in

St Georges Sound with 22 others

Albany seems to be some miles

away and through the narrow

opening between the huge grand

granite rocks that make

decent sized Islands.

The fellows would like to

get on land but are fairly

patunt patient and seem to be getting

much more contented with the

food & general ship life.

I can see another 7 or 8 weeks

of it and quite prepared to put

get through the monotony

and confinement of it all.

I posted an article to Hollingworth

for publication in one,

or other, of the papers the Herald

for preference.

I wrote a 9 page letter to

May [?] she won't

know what to make of me

as there is a story. I overheard

between the infantry men so

full of swearing. I gave

here a lot on Astronomy and

scenic beauties also.

To [?.Z.B.] I wrote six pages

and confessed much of my xxx

longing for her, and at the same

time giving her liberty to get

another man; if he is a man,

I won't grumble. I would

not say this, but how is it

possible for me to offer anything

in the way of comfort and

convenience. Yet it will come

hard to part with her, and

I cannot keep her waiting

for what may be a forlorn

hope. When I reason coldly

Win is no good to me, but my

heart won't agree and [?] her wildly.

 

I am with Mess No. 52. E.

in charge of Corporal Gregg Donnellan

and consists of 20 men, two

of whom are appointed permanent

mess orderlies they draw the

food and serve it up from

the head of the table. As they

have hard work to do we each

put in ½d per week and give

them 10/- each. They are

Hucking and O'Sullivan.

The first named is an [?]

North of Englishmen and a rather

slow thinking, dull witted type

he carries the troubles of the whole

mess on his heavily burdened

shoulders, and is in his most

congenial mood when he can

get the fellows asking for things

he then airs his officiousness

in a majestic manner. To grool

growl is a special delight, and

to be short of food, and complain

of the fellows eating too much is a

boom to him. His off-sider,

O'Sullivan, has been a much

sworn at fellow every since he

joined the ranks, that is

now 8 weeks ago. and he

cannot march in step to save

his life. I thought it quite

impossible for any man not

to learn his right leg or hand

from the left after having an

instructor and everybody who

marches behind him calling

out 20 times each parade

Yet "Sully" is a cheerful

optimistic sort of fellow

without a hard word to say

about anyone; though I have

heard him telling Hucking

he was worst, worse than

an old woman and that he

was full of working with him

Sully is left-handed and can

never serve out either the

porridge or the tea evenly, the

first few plates are filled up

then the quantity decreases until

the last few get but very little

and a possibility of nothing at

all being left for himself.

This often occurs and then it

is a funny pantomime to hear

Hucking and Sully in wordy

warfare. Sully is always

satisfied, the other man ^is never

so; Although he is surprisingly

conscious he is extreml

extremely jealous.

I just had a glass of beer

in the Sargents mee they have.

a barrel there and are allowed

a glass three times a day.

The Sargents mess cost 3/6

per.day the privates 1/9.

I am on guard to-day.

Dressed in full uniform we are

on 4 hours and off 8 hours but

we must remain in the staff guard

room all day long.

Wednesday.  Oct. 28th.

I finished up guard at 8

o'clock this morning having spent

most of the day in-doors and

the night on deck. At 4 a.m.

I went on the hospital door

for 4 hours. but as there was

about 12 transports on my side

and lovely Orion and his

train of stars overhead.

My first watch was from

four to eight in the afternoon

on the poop deck. My duty

was to keep men away from

the isolation area which

contain 30 venereal patients

with three already discharged.

This seems terrible on one

ship only and gives an idea

of the prevailence of this

disease even in Sydney

where prostitution is prohibited.

91 outdoor patients attended the

hospital cheifly with influenza.

 

The sun hasc shone in

patches only to-day there has

also been showers of rain

The evening came on with

a pretty variety of dull daub

coloured clouds when these

appeared a bluish light in

the West which grew & grew

first to purple and on to

crimson which in turn gave

place to real gold effects

which reflected as yellow haze

all around us, and gave

the regular wavelets from

the ships side to the shore, some

400 yards, the remarkable

appearance of golden stairs

It was a glorious sunset,

and the remarkable part was

the short space of time from

in which it all happened,

about 15 minutes only.

I tried to sleep on the open

deck until 4 a.m. when I
 

went on duty again, but

matters were very quiet and I

enjoyed the coming of dawn day.

Day commenced to break at

4.30 with a set of pretty

greys changing every moment,

but unlike the sunset of the previous

evening, its coming progressed

slowly and surely with changing

greys and wonderful soft shadows

Gradually the stars disappeared

until even those of the first

magitude had melted out.

The 22 22 ^well lighted transport at anchor

and up madeing a 

fine show during the dark

hours of the night now faded

into insignificance and left

the huge hulks standing out

against the skyline in such

irrigular fashion that they seemed

to spoil the transquil beauty

of sounds and the suns

dainty preliminaries to another

days work. TheA powerful

lighthouse on a huge granite

boulder island at the

which marks the entrance is

struggling fitfully, almost

painfully to sustain its

poud proud brilliancy but

the surrounding sky grows

lighter and after no background

or assistance and

it slowly sinks beyond 

recognition.

As the "two blb bells"

proclaim the hour of 5 o'clock.

the twilight gives as last

^gives way becomes to the day, and  the

cold looking transports show

up their adornments and

graceful ease once again.

This business of guarding

hospital approaches seems a very

funny business indeed for a

fighting spirit to contend with.

The New Zealand contingent

arrived in St Georges Sound

at noon to-day. accompanied

by some four war vessels.

There appeared to be 8 transports

while I believe their number

is about 8,000 men.

The whole ship seems to be

settling down in good style

at present. There is

much gambling going on, the

"Top of the House" being the most

popular pool game.

Poker & banker (on the quite)

still goes on and it is common

to hear of men winning &

losing from anything up to

£60.0.0.

Notice is now given that all

gambling must cease.

 

Thursday  Oct. 29th.

It is astounding how

carelessly fellows have their bits of

personal property lying about, and

after the orderly officer or cleaners

have placed things away in tiding

up. The fellow come in and

in very course terms accuse some

of stealing there towle or hat

fond as the "cleaners" are tired

of picking things up and placing

them on one side a notice now

appears on the board. It runs.

Article No 14 [S?] Bag:-

"All articles of clothing or equipment

found lying about the ship in unauthorised

places or hanging on cloth lines after

their removal has been ordered, will

be collected by the ships police and

placed in the "[S?] Bag". 

This bag will be opened every Thursday

afternoon at 4 pm in the aft [scull?]

deck when owners may claim

their property on payment of

a bar of soap, which will be

utilised in cleaning the troop

deck to which they belong".

 

Today we done did our bandaging

practice as usual (in the

morning) in charge of Bill

Summer. Bill is of raw ^Darbyshire Yorkshire

lad with a thick dilect, he is

strange to say ^ a driver with the transport

section and was given no credit of

knowing much ^first aid, but dear me

he is easily the best demonstrator

we have in the Corps.

To-day he lectured on the

circulation of the blood and in

such of a practical (though by no 

fluent) way that he did

much better than any of the

Doctors have yet done.

He is a surprise packet, although

his power as a  [wrestler?] xxxx were known.

 

The afternoon parade in

full marching order was very

dull indeed. A few of the fellows

drew their pay of 11/- I could

have done so, but am leaving

it run. I am very

worried over "Zelda" to-day. I

try to take and keep from her

but, alas, I cannot! Yet I don't

quite know whether its real affection or

longing, but its got me down.

All sealed correspondence has

now to scease cease (stop) and much

speculation exists as to what

has become of letters posted 4

days ago. They are mighty

particular just now and since

the New Zealand fleet came on.

Their transport are painted the

same colour of  as the convoy while

Australias ships are any old

colour at all.