Correspondence relating to Mary Anne 'Bessie' Pocock, pre-1914 - Part 1

May 7. 1900.     Sister Pocock
My dear Sis. It is so long since
I wrote the last bit that I have
forgotten what I put in it, - so if
you get the same thing twice do
not mind. I hope you are all 
well. I wish some of you were
over here, but it would not do
for me to get any one, for
they might get any thing
to do, and there are no 
private nurses employed
here at all, so one would 
starve, I'll make friends 
here and then you can 
come for a trip some day
I had a note from dear old
mother. fancy her writing
to show me she was getting
well I expect Everyone here 
says the war will not -
be over for 12 months longer 

[[Hope?]] the Smiths x family are well
I never got any Papers yet
nor the stamps tell him.
I think he has forgotten me
We had Lord Brassey & his
daughter through on wards
last week they were both
very nice and so very friendly
I happened to be out in one 
of the tents, where we have 
an officer who has been 
very ill. (nursed in a tent). now alright nearly.
& Captain Hennessey came
out Sister Pocock was wanted
at once urgently I did 
wonder what was wrong
I left Pt Med. Off. & Everyone
when after frightening me
on the way in he told 
me it was L Brassey &
he must see the Australians
as soon as I put in. Came
back [[?]]   Major [[?]]
introduced me as Sister Pocock
& etc said many pretty things
about our work. the old 
gentleman said and you 
are from Australia I must
shake hands with you Said
that we had been such 
near neighbours & all that
he was so nice and plain
and simple. I felt like
flirting with him. It is quite 
likely I winked at him
you know that is a failing
of mine I never known
the Australians were all
(2 of us) in it - the English had
to take a back place
altogether he asked abt
the Hospital Sydney & all
the daughter was very
plain and nice they
stayed abt The office how with

all over our building tents & back in the
large paddock where we store our foods
& etc shook hands with me again leaving
I had to go with them being in charge of One
nursing staff I have to go with everyone &
he praised us up shockingly, abt, good of
us to leave home, and I cannot tell you
here all he said. Of course I told him
I should have been sadly disappointed 
had I not come. he is a real dear old man
I wished he had praised me up behind my
back to somebody [[thi?]] I hate listening to it. I
do love being praised to strangers. not before me
(family) Col: Kelly from Australia was with him so
he can go back & tell Miss Gould & that horrid
 

N^{o 12} Stationary Hospital
2^nd June
My Dear sister
only beginning
my letter tonight but will
finish it when I go further 
on where I expect to go
on Tuesday next. I think
to Kroonstad, near Johanesberg
so we shall at last see more 
of S. Africa. it will be lovely
for our own R.A.M.C. Officers 
& men go with us so we
shall not be lonely again
being with strangers, I
will send you a few lines
as soon as I can when
we get to our destination
wherever it may be, I hope
up near the front for we
have been the last base all
through.  

June 13^th
Well here we are still not gone yet -
we were all packed ready to go
and given over our Hospital
to Officers and Nurses of the
S.S. Spartan. wh. boat should 
have come in and taken the
remainder of our men on board
& then shut up the Hospital
here. but something happened
the railway line. they say
the Boers blew it up and
we got a wire to wait
a while. So here we are
waiting still in Lodgings with
all our clothes & etc packed
up at the Hospital. Every
day and hourly nearly
waiting for the wire wh.
is to send us on further
they say that everything
comes to those who wait 
I hope it will come quickly
I am tired of idleness as
much as we were tired of work
lately. A rest will do us good
Major James says he is quite
happy at getting it. he has
been so many years in
the Army he knows how
they give and countermand
orders but for me you know
I hate uncertainty. he says
I am a bad soldier.
of course I know it is better
to be safely waiting here than
half way on our journey to
be taken prisoners with
all our Stores & etc.
We hope every day that it
will be the last. No women
but nurses are allowed to go
where we are going. So we
shall have rather a good
time I'm thinking but a lot
of work as many men are so ill.
 

our officers and men. half have
gone xxx to Kronstad &
waiting for us to pick them
up again, and the other
half are here with us in
East London doing nothing
with us. So we go for drives
walk on the Beach. We are
abt five min: walk from
the Beach. Picnic up the
lovely little (Buffalo River)
and such like. So we
manage to fill in the time
if not profitably, pleasantly.
but all are anxious
to move on. There is some
talk of troops going to China
if they do I hope they take
nurses and take us
how lovely that would
be. I believe we shall do
something good before we
go home yet -
 

We are paying 7.1 shillings a day where we are
staying so that will tell you. of course the Govt
will pay us after. money matters do not
trouble me now that is a great blessing.
You ought to send my letters home for I am
sure I write more often to you than
any one. Our Lodgings are just abt 2 min:
walk from the Beach and a most lovely
view beautiful days some of them or
rather all when there is no dust -
flying. like Spring days in Sydney very,
very dry. No rain and no water the one great
trouble Am glad the Bailies still send flowers
they have been very good have they not. I
wrote one letter to them they never answered it tho.

N^o 2. Stationary Hospital
East London
June 17. 1900
My dear Lil
here we are still
waiting, doing nothing. till we
hear by Telegram that we are
to leave or what we are to do
nothing much has happened
since last week. I posted a
letter to you last mail. I would
like you to send me Miss [[Bra??]]
letter I would like to write
to her from here. Also I
want you to tell Mr Smith
that he registared one letter
with nothing in it. And
another with no stamps. I
want stamps that have
not been used quite new,
some friends here are death 
on collecting them.
 

promised them get any and
one of every sort he can. You
told me in one of your letters
that you had given him the
money. I think he must have
forgotten to put the stamps
in. he sent me a little Photo
of himself very like him. You
should get one taken too.
I asked you in my last for
a couple of my Photos. Could
you [[?]] them. I expect you
have little enough money for
all the Commissions I give 
you. if I've you anything
tell me then I won't ask
you to [[?]] anything else
for a while but I would
like those things, such a
lot of people would like
my photo bother them. of
course some people I should
like to have it.
We are having very jolly times
the past week suppose making
up for the long spell of hard
work we have had.
If you were trained you could
get in here I think, but one
must be trained and then
of course run the risk of not
being taken on & passage money
& all but if I should stay here
I'll try & get you over. Get a letter
or Certificate - or something from
Gladesville wh. you leave & try to
learn all you can if you go to
the Sydney for a while.
I hope Alice goes for you River
you can get any position
if you are trained. I wish
you both had finished up.
From there of course I may
come home as soon as they
let us go. but I shall not be
so satisfied with the hard
humdrum lap of the Sya:
 

June 28.^th Thursday.
Well my dearest here we are
in the Train and actually
off to Johannesburg is it not
too lovely. We were such a
long time waiting to go for the
Railway Lines had been torn
up so much by Dr Wet &
his men. no doubt you saw
all abt it in the papers.
I am writing this in the
Train so it is rather shaky
& under difficulties so you will
excuse. We had a perfectly
glorious day. lovely Sunshine
warm, no wind, no dust &
such a lot of nice people
to see us off some of my
usual nice friends, &
who were so genuinely sorry
that we were leaving them
& told me always to [[??]]
remember that I had
left many warm hearted friends
behind me. I felt
 

quite like leaving home again
We were loaded with fruit
cakes & eatables of all sorts
for the journey. tho' of course
we get things at the different
railway stations. The Govt
giving us Sisters anything
we want free of charge
are they not good.?
We had such a lovely
send off, tho' quiet, and
everything seemed to work
together to make us happy.
All our officers & men also
are so good. We are having
a glorious time in the
Train, they look after us
so well. I hope we are
able to get on well when
we go & do something extra
good. If I only had some
of you with me it is a 
very pretty journey. lovely hills
much greener and nicer than
East London, some bush
fires. and a lovely new moon
to start with. I feel that
the same dear old moon
is shining down on you too.
I am so well & so happy
if I only can keep so. I
want to keep right far away
from Miss Gould and her
abominable posse. I like none 
of them. I did not when
they were being trained
either so it is not a
new thing.
It has grown so dark now
& so cold I cannot see
the hills & sky. So I'll tell
you other things. I get still
just as sentimental at times
you know as ever.
it is 6, pm and we are
going to have some tea you