Hornchurch C. Camp
Feb. 14th 1919
Dear Mary
Your letters No’s 15. 16. & 17 have all reached me now I got No.17 to day, I was sorry to hear that you had been so ill with Flu. & Pneumonia so Mag & Aggie say you had both, so you must have had it pretty severe. I hope it is all away again long since and that you are yourself again. The epidemic has been extremely severe all over N.Z. and it is not all away from
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this country yet either; Willie Waldie’s family had it pretty bad about the same time as you had (Nov.) it had been very bad over the south of Scotland our aged Uncles & Aunties have so far escaped it, luckily, perhaps for them; I think I told you in a previous letter of being out on New Year leave (12 days) well, I was back in camp about a fortnight when I was sent away on sick leave (17 days) so you see I have been doing pretty well in the way of leave, through
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getting sick etc. This time I visited various sights in London & while there I ran accross Shaw Thomson (going my way also) he was looking quite himself again after his starvation experience in Germany I also met Louis Pulley; from London I went to Leeds & visited one of the steel works there also engineering works & woollen mills, went through a cutlery factory at Sheffield, took a run into Bradford from Leeds, then on to Glasgow for one night only this time, leaving
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there again for Edinburgh, this was the day fo the riot in Glasgow it had occurred while I was in Glasgow but I wasn’t aware of it until the next day although I saw the immense crowd in the Square (St. Georges) & was aware that trouble was expected at any time. I visited Andrew Waldie this time at Leven he, is very nice, they, however don’t care very much for Leven and it isn’t anything startling either. I also stayed one night with the Pringle’s at Bowland, near Stow
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& from there to Selkirk, Askirk, Hawick, Whitley Bay, & West Hartlepool, W. Waldie has been discharged from the Army and has a job clercking in a Woollen mill at Hawick, and expects to be removing the family to there shortly. It was snowing & freezing a little when I was in Selkirk & Askirk, the Kiddies were having a great time sledging with their wee sledges, I walked from Selkirk to Askirk (nearly 6 miles) then from Askirk to Hawick (nearly 7) it was rather enjoyable too
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for I felt like having a good walk in the frosty mornings & bright sunshine. There has been more snow down this way, however, than they had further north and there has been wholesale ice skating from Peterbrough, & south the weather seems to be inclining more to spring now, for the days are getting warmer though the nights are frosty, since coming back this time I have been put on duty attending influenza patients & will probably be here until end of camp, this camp is supposed to be closed by the
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28th inst. my application for discharge has gone before the Camp C.O. it will probably be a month or six weeks before I will get a reply from N.Z. I am hopeful of it being granted and if so I will be granted 28 days free railway pass with pay in Britain. Sun 16th. Have just been speaking to a Staff Sergt. Major of this camp, he says, there isn’t eh slightest chance of this camp being closed inside 3 months from now and it will probably be much longer so whether or no my application
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for discharge in England is granted me, they may keep me employed here for goodness knows how long, it would suit me better however, to be discharged in summer time. You can just adress your letters as per usual until you hear of my discharge by wire; I will get the Base P.O. to forward any mail for me to Whitley Bay and Uncle Willie can sent it on to me if I am returning by way of America and if you get a cable saying – “discharged
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going America,” you will know to write me c/o G.P.O. Vancouver with your own name & address on outside of envelope, I had the money, (sufficient to take me back) cabled from N.Z. to the Bank in London in Dec. I got on to it as soon as I came over from France and just as well too for I had toe show in my “application form” that I had sufficient “means” to carry out my desire they are not keen on granting discharges in England. I managed to get a Photo of each of our relations in this country (except J. Gray) some of
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the Photo’s are not very good but I was glad to get any at all; none of our people here seem to go in much for getting Photographs. I got a mounted group from Maggie Waldie with her mother, Herself, & Andrew, the Photo was taken about six years ago, it is a fairly good Photo of our Aunt, and not bad of Maggie (might have been better) but not very good at all of Andrew. Aunt Mary, was 81 last month so would be about 75 in the Photo. I think I will send this
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Photo on to Bill to keep for me as it is too large to carry about with me, and you may possibly be shifting to Dunedin about the time it would get there; the othe Photo’s are all in P.Card form so I may just carry them with me. Andrew Simpson was telling me that Tommy Hunter was out here last Sun. & looking for me too, but I was on my way back from leave that day so missed him Tommy was just going out on leave from Sling so perhaps he
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[at top of page]
Wed. 19/2/19
will be returning to N.Z. shortly I am sorry I did not see him. I suppose Jim will be in home now. I see that there are quite a lot of N.Z. Boats held up just now owing to the strike over here, with the result that a new camp is being opened near to Birmingham to accommodate N.Z.’s who are waiting to get back, I hope things become a bit more settled soon or I might get stranded here too, under normal conditions, I should get
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back to N.Z. this year sometime. The “Farmers” which you sent haven’t arrived yet. I am wearing to get them as I haven’t seen any for such a long time. The “Flu.” has renewed its attack in this country I think it will be a long while yet before it has died out entirely, & I see that an outbreak of smallpox has occurred at Hartlepool & West H. & those places are placed “out of bounds” to all troops, so I was there on visit none too soon perhaps, the weather is again cold, snowy & wet this week. I see “snowdrops” (flowers) appearing at different places. love to all Yourselves from Your Brother. J. Hall.
