Ewshott Barracks
Fleet
Hants.
England
Aug. 11th. 18
Dear Mary
The N.Z. mail came to hand again last Fri. 9th with it your letters 3 & 4 I also received two from Nellie one each from Jess & Aggie & one from Mag. The bundle of Farmers which you sent arrived about a week after I was in Camp; it is very nice to see the old Farmer again in this part of the Globe there is generally something interesting in them the violets, of course were all withered up months ago. You
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asked if I required anything to say so and you would try and send it if you could. I mentioned lollies but I have been thinking it would be nice if you could send a small tin or something of the kind with sugar for it is one of the greatest scarcity’s in the way of food stuffs over here a few lollies now and then would be nice but I can generally buy some sort of lollies in the neighbouring Villages though they are not very plentiful most of the lollies on sale here are the cough drops & Eumenthol jubes while the Canteens sell mostly chocolates I don’t know
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if these things will be procurable in France or not but sugar cant be bought here at all without coupons and then only in very limited quantities and of course we cant buy coupons when we go on leave we are given coupons to draw meat, sugar, & butter or margarine, to the amount of our daily allowance; sometimes our food in camp could do with a bit more sugar on it so I thought that I could appreciate a small gift of sugar as much as anything in the way of eatables but if you do send some dont make it a bulky parcel by any means brown sugar would do as well as white. I can always get plenty of buns and such like at the Canteen.
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There is paper called The Newzealander which is printed in London and contains all the latest N.Z. cables, it is printed every fortnight and distributed among the various N.Z. camps. I saw by this paper that there had been a very heavy snowstorm over there this winter in fact I see where there has been a second fall almost as heavy as the first and great losses of sheep are reported from the back country; it mentions Canterbury in the first instance and both C. and Otago in the second, I am wondering how Southland fared. This paper also reports the loss of the Wimmera off the “Three Kings” sunk by mines,
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I didn’t understand from your previous letter that the Rev. Clark was leaving Wyndham for good yet, I hadn’t heard that he had accepted the call to Waimate. I was sorry to hear about Shaw Thompson, and the other fellows it is to be hoped they are all safe; Nellie says that Mrs. Cranstoun had received word that Willie was a prisoner of war in Germany so I am hoping that the others will be also they will probably be better off there than they would in the trenches. Mrs. Cartwright is surely going some isn’t she, perhaps she is securing a home for some of her sons-in-law when they return from the war.
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What a pity about Jim Rae, his mother will be in a state over it I know. I wonder has Phil Laurie been draw in the ballot yet. Well, now, I must tell you something about my trip to see our relatives in the north; we received our draft-leave eight days after our arrival in Camp, we were given 3 1/2 days, from Fri. midday until 11p.m the following Wed. so a number of us lost no time in getting to the train at Fleet which we caught soon after 1 p.m. arriving London about an hour and a half later the distance being about 35 miles; when we arrived at Waterloo Station we were met by one of the Y.M.C.A. secretary’s
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and he piloted us to the Y.M.C.A.’s Shakespeare Hut by way of the Tube system of railway, when we got to the Hut we had a dinkum good feed and another one later on, & hot bath etc. I took a stroll up one of the main streets of the City but didn’t go very far; I left Kings Cross Station again at 10.30 p.m. for Newcastle by the “Great Northern” railway arriving at that City 5.20 next morning; I had some breakfast and a bit of a look around there before going further. I went out to Whitley Bay during the forenoon I’m not quite sure of the distance but, I think it is something like 12 miles
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from Newcastle; they are all electric trains running on that line. I had a little difficulty in finding 17 Park Parade but managed to get there alright and found them all well and expecting me as I had written to Uncle Willie saying that I might be coming on that day; in fact Uncle was at the station about midnight thinking that I might be coming by a train which arrived there at that time, as soon as I saw him, I could see the resemblance to our father in him, he wears a full beard and of course is now almost white in the hair it having been of a light red
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is considerably different to what I thought he would be; he is very free & sociable in his manner, but he is also, I think subject to anxiety a characteristic which is, I think rather highly developed in the most of us Halls. I had him along at the Photographers getting his Photo taken so I hope to have some decent ones to send to N.Z. Uncle was inclined to look too concerned about the matter when being taken; he said that he hadn’t been taken before for about 30 years so he wasn’t to willing at first to come but I said that he would have to come because the folks in N.Z. wanted to see what he
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was like so he meekly consented he is very active for a man of his age being 75 years old he enjoys going for out a walk he took me out a few times round the Bay and through the Town. I thought he was a good bit like Mag. as he always getting ahead of me about a pace and I had to keep holding him in, and the morning I came away he went into a booksellers to buy a newspaper and told me to walk on and he would catch me up so I strolled slowly on for about a chain when I looked round & there he was coming running full tilt round the corner to catch up
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Unfortunately, I was not feeling too good all the time that I was away on leave; I had a return of that trouble which I had in Egypt only not quite so bad, yet, I didn’t enjoy my holiday quite so well as I otherwise would have; it didn’t prevent me getting about on my tour, but, I wasn’t able to do much past walking and no sooner was I back to camp again when I began to get right again, my cold is completely gone again also. Well, now, I had better tell you something about Mrs. Wm. Hall she is very kind hearted, but, rather fussy I think, she trys to do everything possible that she
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can for a stranger and a great deal more than what is necessary as Uncle Willie says – she is just the same in regard to the boarders that she treats them with every sort of kindness possible but neglects the financial side of the business, she is not a good manageress. She is really a splendid cook I had some of the finest meals there that ever I had, she bakes her own bread and I really thought it was bakers bread, she has a niece of hers helping her; a Miss Vallance. I wanted Aunt to come and get her Photo taken along with Uncle but I couldn’t persuade her.
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Well now, I must get on with my trip; it was Sat. forenoon when I arrived at Whiley and I stayed there until Monday morning, when I left for Edinburgh I stayed in Edin’gh until the following morning (Tues.) leaving there again by early train for Selkirk. I had a bit of a look around Edin’bgh but of course I didn’t see very much of it either in that time. I took a walk up round the old Castle but I was too late to get looking through it; most of it is occupied by Scottish troops at the present time. It was very smoky all the while that I was there, and it spoilt one’s view of the outlying suburbs.
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I passed through some splendid country on the way to Edin’gh especially from about Berwick and beyond, coming south from Edin. to Selkirk the country is fair though not as good as it is round the coast. Selkirk is a nice little town what I saw of it as you notice by the P. Card it is situated on the side of a hill; the railway station at the foot you will notice some railway carriages there on the foreground of the card. I made enquires for Willie Waldie he is in the Army now being attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps doing Hospital duties at Oswestry (west of England) but he was home on leave just then.
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He is married with five of a family. I found his house alright, but he and his wife had just gone over to Askirk (about 5 1/2 miles) so as my time was limited and I wasn’t feeling too fit I hired a motor car to take me over arriving about 11 o’clock. So I found them all at home excepting Andrew who is a Bank Manager at Leven which place is on the north side of Loch Forth beyond Edinburgh; Maggie was at home having her summer School Holidays; I was very fortunate to see so many of them together in the one place for I don’t suppose I would have had time to go to Hartlepool on this occasion at least, Uncle Willie wrote them
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on the Sat. saying I was coming so they had been expecting me. I didn’t notice any Hall resemblance in any of them I think they take more after the Waldies; Maggie shows a very strong resemblance to an Uncle of theirs of whom I saw a Photo; she is inclined to be a bit coarse and reminds me a good deal of Mrs. Pow. in her manner of speech, she had a Photo of herself, her mother, and Archie; I said I would like one of them to send over to N.Z. this was the only one she had but she said she would get another one printed. I hope she does send one along. Aunt is not looking too good in it, but, I don’t know if it would be
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possible to get a better one now as she is getting pretty frail now being over 80 years old; she is able to get about pretty well yet though for her age and I understand that she does all the housework herself when Maggie is away; of course, there is only herself and Archie at home so there won’t be a great deal of work to do. Willie took me over to the Old Church yard where I saw the Tombstone with the inscriptions on it of our foreparents. I was sorry that I did not have a while longer in and around the district; I had quite a nice little feed of goseberries at Waldie’s they were just about their best or rather past their
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best for the most of them were off the bushes. they had also a nice lot of redcurrants all under bird netting (cord) Mrs Willie and they go halves in the small fruit. I left Askirk again about 7 p.m. I rung up for a motor from Hawick which is about 7 miles from Askirk. I got the driver to take me round by Lilliesleaf on the way which makes the journey about 6 miles further, they charge about 10[p] per mile for motor hire, I saw John Gray for a few minutes he was at the shop. Uncle Willie reckons that he, “John Gray” is about the most unsociable being in creation and I did notice that he received me with a certain amount of coolness, he told me where the estate was, on which our Grandfather Andrew Hall used
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to be employed as a shepherd and I remembered having seen the Homestead close by the road side on the way along. He also told me where the house was in which he used to live, at least, he, John Gray thought that he did and that our father was born there also; but I didn’t notice that place; if I had had longer in the district I could have had a better look for these places. I hope I have a chance to visit Scotland again and have a longer time to see around. I had to wait at Hawick until about 11 p.m. for the midland train, going through by Carlisle to London getting there between 9 & 10 next morning, had a bit of a
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look around London then back to camp in the evening. I expect to get a week end leave again and have a better look round London, and if I am here for say about 6 weeks or two months yet I may get a second weekend leave and I would probably be able to go as far as Whitley Bay. Well, now I have written to each of you giving you each a bit of news respecting our relatives over here and also am sending each some Post Cards, so it won’t matter so much if you don’t see each others letters though some of them are a little different. Will stop now hoping you are all keeping well, as I am at present. Your affect.
Bro. Jack Hall
