D Company 8th Reinforcements
Sat 13th Nov 1915
Dear May,
It doesn’t seem much good writing today as I will not get a chance to post this for about 10 days or so but I will try to scribble few lines every day & post them as I get the chance. We left Trentham this morning at 7 am & were on the boat from 8.30 to 3 in the afternoon when we disembarked & marched through Well. The streets were packed with people & we got a great send-off & arrived back at the boat with bunches of flowers & with our pockets full of roses & lollies. I wasn’t particularly well pleased with our exhibition of marching. We have often done better but we had such a small space to march in & so many people wanted to push in & shake hands that steady marching was out of the question. The scene at the wharf was great. Looking down from the deck we could see nothing but up-turned faces, mostly girls & everyone seemed so merry. The bands were playing & everybody was singing & cheering & altogether our departure was anything but sad. We lay in the harbour until about 6.30 & are now heading well out into the open sea on our way to Lyttleton. We have got 3 bunks
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close together but they are well forward & we will probably get shaken up a bit when she gets going. There is more room than I expected but I fail to see how they are going to find any room to drill us. Must make my bunk now & turn in – had a big night at Trentham last night & feel pretty sleepy after the day’s excitement. Sunday 14th Have had a glorious day. After a good trip we arrived Lyt. about 6 am & entrained about 7.15 for Chch. Were met at the station & supplied with 3 or 4 lovely big apples each. As there are about 3000 of us you can understand that it was a big undertaking. After a spell we lined up & marched through the streets to, I think, “Hagley Park”. All the way we were cheered & cheered & hundreds of pounds worth of lemonade, lollies & fruit was passed into the ranks & girls & women handed us great bunches of roses with little cards attached giving their names & addresses & conveying all sorts of good wishes. Of course it put us all in great heart & our marching was perfect. It was a lovely morning & we marched with fixed bayonets & with the sun shining on them it was a great sight & you should have heard them cheer as company after company marched into the Park
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ordered arms & stood at attention. I can tell you we all felt mighty proud of ourselves. There was to be a Church Service for us so, although next-of-kin passes had been issued by the 1000, word was passed round that civilians were not to enter the ranks however civilians are not too well disciplined & are not afraid of C.B. so that within two minutes they had taken possession of us in spite of the orders & simply swarmed all over us. Passes had been freely issued & many had no particular friends but just passed in & out shaking hands with us & giving us fruit & lollies & wishing us good luck. Occasionally an old girl would blow along inquiring for her nephew, Willie Jones, or some such name & expect us to know all about him she wouldn’t know whether he was mounted, artillery or infantry but he would be medium height & sort of fair. Of course we did our best for all of them & I think in most cases they found the man they wanted. Uncle Frank, Aunt Dora, Averil & Norman found me out we had a yarn for I suppose half an hour or more. I never heard a word of the service in fact I didn’t know when it started or when it stopped. There was so much to take up our attention. It was terribly warm & dozens of girls were going along the lines with jugs of water for us to drink & you have no idea how much we enjoyed it. At last we had to
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leave so they just had to march us out from among the crowd. Once onto the road we had a clear track but it was through a regular sea of faces. They are great sports & by the time we got back to the ship we were well laden with all sorts of good things, in addition dozens of boxes of goods were sent on board for the use of the troops. It is the best send-off we have had they are so hospitable & friendly & did all they could for us & everyone seemed so pleased. It was one of the days we’ll never forget. At Lyttleton the wharf was crowded & they threw us up fruit etc & just as the boat was about to sail they threw up rolls of ribbon, they held one end & we caught the other & then as the ship moved out hundreds of ribbons tightened up & as the strain got too great one after another broke. The bands were playing & as they cheered & we cheered you couldn’t imagine a happier scene. A dozen motor launches accompanied us across the harbour & the tug came right out to the heads. As far as we could see, the crowd was still on the wharf waving their handkerchiefs & occasionally we would just catch the slightest sound of a cheer. A merrier or more contented lot never left N.Z.
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Monday 15th So far I have not been seasick but it has been pretty bouncy coming through the straight & I am feeling a bit shakey tonight – it has got the best of Hargest long ago. It is very cold & windy & there is not much pleasure on deck so I think I’ll go up & have a last look at the old N.Z. (St Is & [censored]) & then turn in. Got a big mail today including 2 from Mother. All our Fri & Sat mail went straight onto the ship. By the way I wrote mother on Sunday morning & posted the letter on the boat but doubt very much now if the box was cleared at Lyttleton. Tue – We’re well out onto the briney today. Nothing to see but sea & sky & the troopship 36 sailing along behind us. It is blowing a bitterly cold gale with occasional hail showers & frequent puffs of spray blowing across the deck. We have a full set of underclothing on & our sweaters, overcoats & balaclavas & still have a job to keep warm. The food here is very good but today a good many have not taken advantage of it. I am still holding out but might go off at any minute. Bagrie had to let his breakfast go before he could eat his dinner today.
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Wed. 17th Lost my tea last night. The smell of the cook shop is all along the passages & put the finishing touches on me. I just got on deck & shot it straight over the fence, & as I felt much better I went straight back & had another tea & blew off to bed. Today is much the same as yesterday, still windy. Spent most of the morning at semaphore signaling. We are feeling a bit steadier but are not quite sure of ourselves yet. Have had no parades of any sort yet & I don’t think we are likely to. Thur. Had a very rough night, we are right at the front of the ship & get the full benefit of every wave. Slept very little owing to up & down motion of the boat it would lift us right into the air & then go away from under us. It is a rather sickening sensation. Occasionally by way of variation she would roll sideways. Altogether it is not unlike a sort of nightmare the only difference being that waking up brought no relief. It is the first night’s sleep I have lost since we came on board. Today is still rough but we are feeling not bad & have been patronising the canteen freely. Everything is very cheap 1/- tins of apricots etc are sold for 6d & small tins of pineapple that we used to pay 8d for are only 4d here. Tobacco too is sold at about half price.
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Friday. Passed another wild night but slept through it all. Woke up with water rushing from one side of the dormitory to the other every time the ship rolled & all shoes, clothing etc that had been left on the floor was lying in wet heaps everywhere. I have been in my bare feet all day & it’s alright. We have struck some big waves today & they wash right onto the deck & run down stairs & anywhere else they can get. This morning about 20 of us were sitting on the lee-side of a hatching on the main deck, she was rolling a bit but we were nice & snug when she dipped extra low & a wave washed right across the deck. Of course we got up as soon as we realised what was wrong but it was too late. A timely roll sent both those who were on their feet & those who were not sliding in a heap down to the railing & before they could recover themselves a roll in the opposite direction sent them all sliding back again. It was a great bit of sport but it was a good job we were well enough to enjoy the joke because pretty well all of them got a good ducking. My bare feet saved me from going down but it wasn’t long before another heave
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tipped the lot of us down, and as the floor was still slippery & the deck was up about this angle / (or something approaching it) you can understand what sort of a joy-ride we had. Fortunately it was much warmer than the first few days & the sun was shining brightly so we just had to lean over the south side of the ship until we were dry. It was the first bit of sport I have properly enjoyed & we seem to have got properly over our sickness now. Hargest is much better today but is not eating too well yet. Bagrie & I are keeping up our reputation. Today besides having a good big breakfast & dinner we have eaten 2 tins of fruit with bread & butter, a packet of dates & three apples each & although it is only a little after 3 p.m. I am feeling ready for tea. This afternoon the sea is much calmer & it is warm enough to be comfortable on deck although we still have our overcoats on. There is land in sight so I might get a chance to post this today. Calling at [censored] so must close in a hurry & post now.
Love
From Len
P.S. There is nothing of importance here so if the censor happens to apply his pencil you will have missed nothing. L.
