World War 1 Letters Home - July 1916Arthur has no time for the rumour mongers, enjoys his new quarters, doesn't miss the air raids ...July 18th, 1916
My Dear Mother Yrs. of July 7th & 10th & enclosures, also Aust. Paper sent on, all came yesterday morning. Quite imaginary, I fancy, rumour is that no letters were being sent to France, like so many other rumours, pure imagination, any way so far as concerns us people. I don’t know about British forces, but probably their letters do just the same. Came here on Sunday after 3 wks, at my last place. Alone also here, a small town of some 5000 inhabitants, quite pretty spot on the Moselle. I fancy will be here only ‘til next Sunday, but don’t know. Fine now & quite warm today. I have a nice large room over a jewellers shop & the lady brings me up my petit dejeuner every morning, for which & the room I pay 12f 50 a week! My shover & I feed together at a little café in the town, the patron & his wife feed at other end of our table at dejeuner & she waits on us & eats between times & he and she get up at intervals to attend to various soldier customers who keep stopping in for their wine. |
All this makes a little change from being all together & the noisy (at times) mess, which one gets rather tired of. My shover, a very nice steady fellow, was in the army, what a difference army training makes, such a different respectable type to the average shover with no army training!
Was sorry in a way to leave where we were, then I fed at the hotel, nice people I made friends with & at our garage too, they would not charge my shover anything for his room! ... It is quiet here & one is not bombarded by airplanes which is an advantage, we had 3 bombardments in the three weeks I was at the last place. They have taken to bombarding one at night & fly quite low, you can hear them very plainly but hard to see ... Our new army seems to have done splendidly, lots of praise in French papers about it. The Russian recovery is wonderful ... Ireland seems very unsettled. What are they going to do with the wretched country, why on earth they could not leave it alone & never introduce a Home Rule Bill. It will become a sort of wild Mexico I suppose, cheerful! |
Illness and the wounded, dirty work, reports of Battle of the Somme casualties ...
S.S.A. No.3
July 28th, 1916
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 17th a few days ago & enclosure from Fin & Teresa. How disgraceful about Dick being so infected when so ill. He is not strong at best I fancy, or was not, but I daresay better. Rather a shame to send them out before 19 at earliest, but perhaps he is 19 …
I think I see Dick Maxwell has been wounded, Dublin Fusiliers, he may have exchanged into them; I sincerely trust not seriously. I hear from London a great number of wounded are very slightly hurt, I only hope it is true.*
Been hot & very dirty here & continual carts & troops to kick up dust …Close to front line again …
Best love
Yr.affect son
Arthur
* Possibly referring to Battle of The Somme casualties reported in the papers?
July 28th, 1916
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 17th a few days ago & enclosure from Fin & Teresa. How disgraceful about Dick being so infected when so ill. He is not strong at best I fancy, or was not, but I daresay better. Rather a shame to send them out before 19 at earliest, but perhaps he is 19 …
I think I see Dick Maxwell has been wounded, Dublin Fusiliers, he may have exchanged into them; I sincerely trust not seriously. I hear from London a great number of wounded are very slightly hurt, I only hope it is true.*
Been hot & very dirty here & continual carts & troops to kick up dust …Close to front line again …
Best love
Yr.affect son
Arthur
* Possibly referring to Battle of The Somme casualties reported in the papers?
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