7.6.1917
Dear May.
My leave is just about up & today I am packing up & posting to you a bundle of postcards, a tower of London guide book & most precious of all a German water bottle full of souvenirs. It contains the muzzle of the rifle I had blown up in Armentiers, two clips of German cartridges with bullets, a few german bullets that have been fired & some pieces of copper driving bands off shells, a French cartridge case & the back ring, (all I could find) of my little camera. With this letter I will enclose 4 negs that were in my pocket when our place was blown up. I haven’t seen my tunic but picked these out of the ruins. They are
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all taken in Egypt. One is a group of Gore boys, I think I sent a pt of before, & the others are, a view of our dugouts on the banks of the Suez Canal, the two Alberts on the outskirts of Ismailia, & a group of my tent mates at Moascar including Albert H. They print fairly well & I think Mrs Bagrie & Mrs Hargest would like to have copies if you could manage it. I suppose a good few people would like a pt of the Gore group but I’ll fix them up “after the war”. Now I have another little job for you. I want you to do a few pts off some of my old negs to send to the Hopes, some of the best Dome creek, Mataura, Hauroto & St. Island ones & any decent groups. Uncle Frank got the neg of their house & gp, but if you have a spare print you can enclose it. You can either post them to me or send them direct to Elsie at Lawson Terrace. They have practically no photos from out that way & you have no idea how they prize a few old specimens. You can
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also take a few bob of my pay & get a few nice views or illustrated books of the Lakes & other beauty spots & send to them. You know they gave me the time of my life there & wouldn’t let me do a hand’s turn. Sight seeing in London is alright but it needs a little quiet home life to counteract the life in the trenches & that is just what I got up there. The three days I spent there made me feel about ten years younger. I went all through the Doulton works & saw every process from the arrival of the clay to the departure of the finished article. I picked out a few small samples & they are to post them to you. If they arrive safely you can split them up with Rodie. I saw some lovely stuff there but it is so delicate that it is hardy safe to risk it in the mail bag.
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If you can manage it they would be pleased to hear from any of you regularly. They are real good sports. The “family” consists of Grandfather’s brother & his wife, two sons Charlie & Arthur (about 40 yrs) & their two stepsisters Connie & Elsie (say 23 to 25) I think there is another sister married. Charlie is married & has three daughters Doris 16, Iris about 7 & Jeannie 4. I enclose photos of Doris & their house. Connie & Elsie are in Doulton’s office, & Charlie is traveller for one of the Potteries. Any of the girls would be glad to correspond with you. At present I think Vera is the only one whom they are in touch with. Elsie is remarkably like Averil in the face & not unlike her in her ways. The old chap looks wonderfully well & is quite active yet. They appear to be in very comfortable circumstances & are as happy a crowd as you’d wish to meet.
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From there I came to London for 1/2 day & then down to the South Coast to Ch’ch. There too I got a great hearing & they were delighted to see some one from N.Z. You have no idea how they value old letters or papers that you have sent. They have a pretty fair collection & as most of them are my work I suppose they have come from home. I was the best part of two days there & visited Bornemouth, one of the prettiest towns in England, as you’ll see by the p.c’s I’m sending. I am also sending a set of Torquay p.c’s although I have not been there. They talk a lot about it at Porthill & it is a favourite tourist resort.
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I am posting quite a number of pkts to you & besides the ones already referred to I am sending one containing a safety razor that I have no present use for & several little souvenirs that I picked up in France. There are two brooches of Armentiers & some small views of Arras. I had no time to do any shopping after I got word to pack up. I have also put my hat badge in with them. After giving my nerves a good rest I plucked up sufficient courage to face a photographer today. What the result will be remains to be seen but I have ordered 4 to be posted to Mother & am getting a few on p.c’s for my own use. There is no getting away from the fact it is buying a pig in a poke but if it turns out alright you can divide them up among the family. I had intended writing you a long letter describing our work in France but I have
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never found time, but really there is not much to say. It seems too long since the Somme, to talk about it. You might have gathered from my previous letters that there was a push coming. We have been working & training for it for weeks & that is the why I was surprised to get leave. I see they started today but we know no results yet. Our objective the first day was to be Messines. It has already been taken & retaken several times, both the London Scottich & Canadians have taken & lost it & now after nearly two years we are to try our luck. Of course I have missed the opening of the push but I leave here in the morning & will join my Coy. in less than two days time so I quite expect
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to get into the push before the division is relieved. Will cable you if all goes well. It’s not much good cabling now until it is over. When writing in future if I want to convey any special word to you I will write the letters of the word heavier than the rest of the writing. The heavy letters will be in the right order but only one here and there on the page. If a whole word or more than one letter in a word is heavy ignore it. So that you will know when to be on the look out I will put a stroke under your name at the head of the letter as I have done here (but of course this time there is no word). I don’t think there is any more news except that I am feeling as fit as a fiddle. For the past 10 days I’ve been living on lamb & mint sauce, poached eggs on toast, cold pork & lettuce & cucumber salad, with stewed gooseberries & custard or fruit salad for desert. I have had some glorious feeds but will be back to the old tack tomorrow. However I feel quite satisfied now & feel as if I can face another few months of it now. Will write again when I get a chance
Goodbye,
Love to all
Len
