The Baker Boys Episode 4

England
19^th February 1917

Dear Mother,

We arrived here safely and had a good trip over.  We called in at Sierra Leone after we left Cape Town.  It is terrible cold and wet here.

I had a letter from Ross yesterday.  He will be over here on leave soon so very likely I will be able to meet him.  I will not be able to get in with him.  You have no hope of getting out of the infantry here and I would not like him to leave what he is in to join the infantry.

I have met a lot of chaps I used to know in Mitcham here.  We will get our leave in 3or 4 weeks’ time and take the usual trip to London.’

I think I will be in France in a couple of months’ time.  They stick the training into you here but it will give a fellow a better chance when he gets into the real thing. I have not heard anything of the other boys so I hope they are all still going strong.  One of the troops ships had just discharged their troops and was sunk not far out.  We passed over where two different boats were sunk coming over.

Well mum, I am writing this in a hurry as the mail will soon close.  I am quite well, hoping you are all the same.

With best love to you all and hoping to be with you all again soon.

Your loving son,
Les
No 7099 Pte LJ Baker,
23/10 Inf 3^rd Brigade

The mail did not close when it was supposed to so I have time to write a few more lines.  There was about six inches of snow all over the ground here about a week before we arrived.  It took 9 weeks to come over.  The sea was as calm as a mill pond all the way.  I had six teeth out on the boat.  I had to go under ether to get them out.  I am writing to Ross and I will try to get my leave when he is over here.

Well Mum, I will write a long letter on Sunday

Lark Hill Camp
Salisbury Plains
24^th February 1917

Dear Mother,

We arrived here safely after 64 days on the water.  We landed at Devonport about half past six in the evening then took the train to Ainsbury, arrived there about 3 o’clock in the morning, then marched to the camp, lobbed there about half past four in the morning.

You are up over your boots in slush walking along the roads here.  They talk about the green fields of England but all you see here is fields of mud and dirty looking pine trees. The villages about here have funny winding streets and thatched roof houses.

We had a good trip over.  The rickshaw runners were very funning in Durban but there was more in Cape Town.  WE were anchored out at Sierra Leone for five days but we did not go ashore.  The “niggers” used to bring fruit out to the boat in canoes.  We passed over where a boat was sunk about six days before.  We seen a bit of the wrecking floating about.

I had a letter from Ross since I been here.  He will be over on leave shortly.  Things are not too bad here. We have huts, 30 men to a hut, we also have a stove in the hut.  We are allowed five blankets.  The food is good, what there is of it.  But I am not going too bad.  I weighed last night and went 12 stone, 11 pound.

There was six inches of snow over the place just before we came and it froze and the ground was all covered in ice.  But it has all melted now.  The water taps were all frozen up for three weeks. 

There was a case of meningitis taken out of our hut yesterday so we will be quarantined for three weeks.  It will put us back a good bit in our training so we won’t get to France as soon as we through we would.  We have not had our leave yet so I can’t tell you anything about London.  We are not allowed to leave our hut so we don’t know what to do with ourselves.  We have been up to all sorts of games, skipping and jumping, anything to keep us warm.

25^th February 1917

It is a beautiful day today, the sun is shining.  This is the first time I have had a decent look at the sun since I landed.  It is pretty rotten being stuck in the hut on a day like this.  The chap that had the meningitis is seriously ill but none of the others in the hut have any sign of it, but we will be cooped up just the same.

There is some very interesting old places about here but we have not been able to get out to see them yet.  We get issued with mackintosh cloaks and woollen gloves here, they are alright too,

Well Mum, I will say good night.

With best love to all at home, your loving son,

Les.

There was a chap round selling silk handerchiefs to day and one of our fellows bought one and raffled for 2 pence a member and I won it.  I am sending it to Nell.

Lark Hill
March third, 1917

Dear Mother,

I received your letter and was very pleased to hear from you.  We had a pretty quiet Christmas on the boat.  I was pleased to hear you received my letter from WA.  I suppose John will kid himself a bit now.  I did not know that Bob Hart was in our unit until I got your letter yesterday but I made enquiries this morning and found out he was but he went into hospital this morning but I do not know what was wrong with him.

I received two letters from Girlie.  The darkie got let off.  Fancy old Bottom putting the kybosh on himself.

I was just thinking that it will be Ross’s birthday tomorrow.  I am going to write to him directly.  How is Auntie?

It snowed all night last night and everything looked lovely this morning. 

We will be in London for four days leave in about a fortnight’s time.  I sent some souvenirs from Durban.  I hope you received them alright.  I hope you are getting my allotment money alright.

Well Mum, I will say Good Night.  With best love to all at home,

Your Loving son, Les.

PS  Give the flags to Bubs and Nell.
Lark Hill

Fifth March, 1917

Dear Dayde,

I received your letter and was very pleased to hear from you.  I was sitting by our little old coal fire yesterday afternoon, it being too wet and cold to go out and feeling a bit miserable when in came one of the chaps with three letters for me, two from you and one from Mum.  I can tell you I was pleased to get them.

It started snowing yesterday afternoon and snowed all night.  It looked bonza this morning, the ground all white.  There were a few snowballs flying about.  I got a bonza in the ear but they don’t hurt much.

I have only had one letter from Ross.  I think he must be in London on leave.  I am glad you got the brooch alright. 

I wear two pairs of socks here, the ground is so cold and wet.  I wish I was there to have some mulberries.  There’s no place like home Girlie. The “Briny” did not trouble me much only it gets a bit monotonous being cooped up on a boat for nine weeks. We passed over where two boats were sunk and only missed a submarine by an hour the day before we landed. 

So, Mary and George are going to do the trick at last.  Don’t worry about me old kid.  I will come back safe, sound and single, even if 1000 Australians are going Picadilly every week.  The Pommies hit us to buy for everything we buy over here.  What-ever you do don’t have a Maltese even if it would please old “Jim”.  I will be pleased to get the socks but keep the supply to Ross as I won’t be over in France for a while yet.  We are out of quarantine now.  I will shake hands with you on that.  Wish that we will all be back before next Christmas.

Old Fritz is getting pushed back a bit now.  They have a good few German prisoners working about the camp here.  They are a good stand of men in most cases, that is physically but I would not mind pulling any of them for a scrap. They seem jolly pleased to be here and they get fairly well treated.  You see dozens of aeroplanes flying around here some days.

We went down to Amesbury on Saturday and had a look through an old church there.  It is about 1000 years old and the work on the inside of it is beautiful.

Well Girlie, I will say Good Night.  With best love to all at home, hoping you are all well.

Your loving brother,
Les

In the Snow and Mud

Dear Dayde

I received your letter written on the 20^th January and was very pleased to hear from you.  I am ashamed to say I received one from you Mother and one from Nelly about three weeks ago and am only now answering them.

I did write one to you and Nelly but I went on leave to London the next day and I have been carrying the letters about in my pocket.  I lost the one I wrote to you,

Well Girlie, I had four days in London and had a bonza time.  Had a good look round at all the famous places but I will tell you all about them when I get home.

The people there are not bad, they will stop and show you where to go and walk half a mile out of the road to show you a place you want to find.

We used to have some fun, another chap and I were having dinner in a flash restaurant, asked one of the tabbies for prickly pears and cream.  She did not take a jerry, she said, “we have no prickly pears but we have Barlett pears!”

They call us Ozzies.  You would be going for your life along the Strand, Picadilly, Leicester Square or some other bloomin’ place and the tabbies try to stick you up all over the place.  They go mad after the Australians.  I think London is worse than Cairo.  You see nearly all the women going into the pubs and get their drinks and smoke just the same as men.  They are just the same all over England.

We were round in the Anzac Buffet, you can get as much as you want to eat there for nothing.  They are all Australian women that are running it.

We had a look round Westminster Abbey.  Two munitions’ girls took us around and showed us round.  One was an inspector at the Woolwych arsenal and the other was working in the factory and two other munition makers were about the only respectable girls I seen in London.

I’ve seen awfully young fellows coming over here and marrying girls who they don’t knows what they are and in a few weeks are in France and their wives get their money and then carry on as before.

There are some bonza theatres in London, we went round to a good few of them. I stopped at the Union Jack Club, it is a club for soldiers and sailors.  You get a room all to yourself for a shilling and the rooms and food are very clean although there is nothing fancy about them. Parties of us used to meet at the YMCA and get a guide around to the different places of interest, the Tower and all those places.

We went on a route march today and went past the Old Chestnut Tree, it still has a part of the old forge under it.  You remember the old poem “The Village Blacksmith?”

It is snowing again tonight.  The people here can’t remember such weather as this it.  I am used to it now and don’t mind it much.

I have three letters from Ross, he is well and going strong.  I suppose I will be hopping into Fritz by the time you get this letter. He is getting pushed back now and getting a pretty bad time. I was through the gas here the other day.  You can’t notice it much with the helmet on but it turns all the buttons and rising suns on your tunic black as ink.

We were out in review yesterday, there were about 20,000 Australian troops there.  We have to go on another on tomorrow the 9^th to be inspected by the King.

An aeroplane came down here the other day, we went over and had a good look at it.

Our boat the Berrima was torpedoed two days after we came off it.  It was torpedoed right in the part we were quartered in coming over.  They ran her ashore and will be able to patch her up.

One chap who came over with us got meningitis and when he got better they sent him home but the boat only got out two days and got sunk.  The submarines have got this country pretty short of food.  Tobacco is an awful price here, you have a job to get any decent tobacco.  Havelock, the kind that Dad smokes is 22 and 6 a pound.

I had another letter from Ross, he is quite well.

Well Girlie, I will say good night.  With love to all at home, hoping you are all well.

Your loving brother,
Les

Lark Hill Camp, Salisbury Plain.
19^th April, 1917

Dear Mother,

I received your letter and was very pleased to hear from you. Fancy Mary getting married.

I wish we could exchange a bit of weather, it is jolly cold here.  We had the heaviest fall of snow for the year the other night, it was up to our knees.  We had great big snow men all over the place. The weather is getting warmer and drying now though.

We got issued with black boots here the other day, they are bonza boots for the wet.  I wish I could send a pair home for Dad, they would be just the thing for him over there. 

I will be having a smack at Fritz by the time you get this.  They have some of the Prussian Guards working on the roads round the camp here and if they are the best Kaiser Bill has I don’t mind hopping into them.

Our battalion got cut up in France the other day. I have been on leave in London and had a good time.  A fellow could put in a month there and then not see half of what there is to be seen.

America has hopped into old Bill now.  Most of the people here seem to think the war will end this year but I don’t think there is any such luck.

I was pleased to hear Ted and Roadie were still going strong.  Have you heard anything thing of Joe Cox, poor beggar, I often wonder where he is.

I have been getting letters from Ross pretty regular.  He is quite well and Keelty is still with him

How is Auntie?  I suppose the weather is getting cool over there now.

Well Mum, I will say good night.  With best love to you all, hoping to be with you all again soon.

Your loving son,
Les.

May 1^st, 1917

Dear Nell,

I received your letter and was very pleased to hear from you.  I have been in the hospital here with mumps but will be ging back to camp next Monday.  I would have been off to France tonight if I had not got them.

Another chap and I were out for a walk through the woods here yesterday and we found some wild violets, we also found some yellow flowers but I don’t know the name of them.  I am enclosing a few of the violets.

We also caught a little rabbit, he run into a short burrow and we dug him out.  I suppose the old pot that owned the woods would have went crook if he had caught us catching his rabbits.  I look a bit of a character with the blue hospital uniform on.

Well Nell, I will write a longer letter next time.

With love to all,
Your loving brother,
Les

PS  I am forwarding a paper, the bit about the lections that is in it is all we have seen or heard about them.

May 10^th 1917

Dear Mother,

I received your letter dated 16^th March and was very pleased to hear from you.  I have been receiving all the letters from home regular.  I got four this afternoon and two yesterday.  I got back into camp on Tuesday from hospital.  I was in three weeks with mumps.

I sent a cable from here but it didn’t go through Head Quarters in London and I never heard any more about it.  Some of the cables were sent but most never get any further than Head Quarters.  I hope you have received my letters alright.  None of the sketches in the Souvenir were of me, I did not know any of those chaps that threw that message overboard.  We are having lovely weather now.  I saw Parkers photo in the Chronicle.’

John is a bit of a goer.  Fancy him being able to shoe horses already.  Don’t ever let John come to war Mum if it lasts another ten years. 

I am alright but the treatment some of the poor beggars get for the slightest offence is awful.  It was terrible here in the winter, poor beggar s would go on sick parade and the camp doctor would send them on duty after a few days.  They would go on sick parade again and would get sent to hospital and would generally be too far gone to do anything.  It was generally pneumonia and bronchitis.  There was a few cases where the poor devils dropped dead on the parade ground.  There is not much sickness the warm weather began.  Things are looking much better here now.  Instead of the ground being covered with snow it is all lovely and green and the wild flowers are beginning to bloom.

A lot of our fellows went to France while I was in hospital.  We have heard that one of them is back in London wounded but I don’t know whether it is true or not as it only a little over a week since they left here.

I get letters pretty regular from Ross.  I wrote to Ted Bonnett and Kilpatrick yesterday.  Ross, me, Tom Edwards and Roady and Mick in France.  Another draft of our chaps is going on Tuesday night but I will not be going for a while yet.

The submarines are doing a lot of damage here.  One of my mates, a chap named Frank Emery, has been reported missing, he only went over on the 3^rd of May.  He was cooking in the Signal School at Mitcham while I was there.  He has a wife and family in Adelaide and was a rea nice chap too. He came over here on 21st of the 10^th.

Well Mum, I will say ta ta

With best love to you all at home,

Your loving son,
Les

In the Field,
July 10^th 1917

Dear Mother,

Just a line to let you know that I am still going strong.  I had a letter from Ross the other night, he is getting his leave to go to England.

I saw Ted Bonnett, Roady and Tom Edwards the other day.  I also saw Arthur Todier.  They were all looking well.

I have not had a letter from home for some time now, but I suppose I will get a heap all at once before long.

Well Mother, I am quite well and not having too bad a time of it.  The chats are a bit of a nuisance but a fellow soon gets used to them.

I can’t tell you much news so I will say ta ta.

With best love to you all at home,

Your loving son, Les.

Address No 7099
LJ Baker
D Company
10^th Battalion, AIF, on active service.

In the field
July 21^st 1917

Dear Girlie,

I received your letter dated 20^th of April and was very pleased to hear from you.  I saw Ted Bonnet, Roady and Tom Edwards and Ern Newbold a few days ago.  I had a letter from Ross not long ago, he was expecting to get leave to go to England.

Ted or the other boys haven’t heard anything of Fred Johnson since he went to England. I heard that poor old Joe Cox was killed and Welly was pretty badly knocked about.

I would like to meet Ross and of course I might run into him any day.

That cable was from me.  Ted and them seen Callard and he is still going strong.

I hope that you enjoyed yourself at the picnic.  I would not have minded being there with you but hope to be with you for the next one.  I was pleased to hear you won the paint dishes, you must be a bit of a spruiker.  I wrote a “whiz bang” to you today.  One of those Field Service Cards. We call them “whiz bangs”.

The weather is bonza over here Dayde so you wish is granted but I suppose the winter will soon be on us again.

I hope you win on the knitting turnout. I wish you best of luck anyhow old girl, and hope you get a win.  I have about half a dozen pair of socks I have not worn yet so I am pretty well off just now.

I will be jolly pleased to get the snapshots.  I often look at those others I brought with me.

Well Dayde, I can’t tell you any news about the war or anything like that so I will say good night.

Hoping you are well,

With best love to all at home,

Your loving brother,
Les.

In the Field
July 21^st 1917

Dear Mother,

Just a line to let you know that I am quite well.  I received a letter from Girlie yesterday but that is the last one I have had from home for some time.

I had a letter from Ross, he was quite well and expecting to get his leave to Blight.  I hope he has got it, it is jolly near time he had a spell. 

Ted and Roady and the other boys looked well. I have seen Arthur and Jack Gordon over here too.  Bob Hart is is the same battalion as me.

Well Mum, I can’t tell you much news so I will say good night.

With best love to you all at home,

Your loving son,

Les.

PS I am just going to write to Ross.  We always let one another know where we get a letter from home.

In the Field
August 8^th 1917

Dear Mother,

Just a line to let you know I am well.  I received a letter from Girlie dated 18^th May but it had been chasing me all over the place.  I will be able to get them more regular now.  I got that one of Girlie’s very quickly.  I received it about the first of August.  I was pleased to hear that you had received some of my letters. 

We have been having a good bit of rain here this last day or two.

I have not seen Ross Yet.  I met Tobin Winkless the other day, he looks well on it.

Well Mum, there is not much news to tell so I will say ta ta.

With love to all at home,

Your loving son.
Les

In the field
August 4^th 1917

Dear Girlie,

I received your letter dated 18^th May and was very pleased to hear from you.  I saw Winkless the other day, he had a letter from Connors and he told me that Jimmy Callard was killed.  I did not know that Steve had been killed.  I was sorry to hear about him and poor Callard.

I am pretty well off for socks but a fellow uses them a good bit this weather. It has been raining a good bit this last day or two.

Winkless looked well.  I have not seen Ross yet.  I was pleased to hear that you had received some of my letters.

Well Girlie, I cannot tell you much news so I will say ta ta.

With love to all at home,

Your loving brother,

Les

In the field
27^th August 1917

Dear Girlie,

I received your letter dated first of June and was pleased to hear from you.  I also received the two parcels and was jolly glad to get them I can tell you.  I just saw them at tea time and they came in jolly handy I can tell you.  The socks are bonza.

I saw Ross the other day and he is looking real well.  I did not see Keelty, he was away on leave.

So Ruby has caught poor old Glad.  Serves him right anyhow. Don’t let Ruby see this! 

Well Girlie, there is not much news to tell so will say good night.

With best love to all at home,

Your loving brother,
Les.

In the Field
27^th August 1917

Dear Mother,

I received your letter dated the first of June, also the two parcels and was jolly pleased to get them I can tell you.  I saw Ross about a week ago, he is looking real well.  I did not see Keelty, he was away on leave.  Ross had not been back long from his leave in England when I seen him.  Bob Hart and the Larkins are in the same battalion as me but in different companies.

I was jolly pleased to get the photos.  I just got the parcels at tea time and we had a jolly good feed.

The weather is starting to get cold again.  I am quite well and having a fairly good time.  I can’t tell you much news so I will say ta ta.

With best love to all at home

Your loving son,
Les.

Bethnal Green Military Hospital
December 3^rd 1917

Dear Mother,

I received your letter dated September 14 and was very pleased to hear from you.  Yes, Ross and I spent a good bit of time together in France.  He got that money alright.

I suppose you know by this that I was wounded on the first of October.  I cabled to you from here.  I hope you received it.  I received the parcel posted on the 24^th July and was very pleased to get it.

Pleased to hear you were having such lovely weather.  By jove the kangaroos are bringing a good price.  I wish I was back there to shoot some of them.  The vegetables must be jolly handy and the beef too.  I would not mind getting back and giving you a hand to eat some of them.

I was very pleased to hear you are getting on so well.  Things don’t see so bad when we know you are alright at home.  I suppose it will be great in Tibooburra.

I am feeling very well but can’t get out of bed yet on account of my right knee.  I still have a splint on the leg.  I hope I will be able to get out before Christmas.  I don’t think I will be fit to go back to France, not till after the winter anyhow.  But I am almost certain to get home sometime next year for my next birthday anyhow.

Well Mother, I have a lovely big vase of pink and white chrysanthemums and fern near my bed.  One of the nurses brought them in for me, they are all very good.

Well Mum, I will say ta ta with best love to you all at home and wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your loving son,
Les.

Bethnal Green Military Hospital
December 3^rd 1917

Dear Girlie,

I received a letter from Mum and one from Bubs.  Mum said you was writing but I have not received your letter yet.  I must wish you many happy returns of yesterday.  Well Girlie I am still in bed since October and the weather is jolly cold over here now.  It was snowing the other day.  I suppose you kid yourself now behind the counter.  Mum said you were all getting on well at home.  I was jolly pleased to hear it.

There is very thick fog here this morning.

I am getting on alright now, and hope to be out of bed before Christmas.  I missed a chance of sailing home a few weeks ago.  A colonel came round looking for cot cases to go home on a hospital boat.  He asked me how I was and I said I was alright so he went on to two other chaps and he booked them up to go home and they were up and walking shortly after.  They left here the day after to go straight on the boat and I can tell you I have been cursing everything ever since.  But I think I will get home before longs as I don’t think I will be fit for any more active service. 

It’s not too bad here in hospital.  The nurses are all very good, one brought me a lovely bunch of pink and white chrysanthemums yesterday, they were very nice.

I can only draw three and six a week while I am in hospital but of course I will have the rest to draw when I come out.  It is enough to buy a bit of fruit and stuff with.  We get cigarettes from the Australian Red Cross.

Well Girlie, I will say ta ta.  Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your loving brother,
Les

December 3^rd 1917

Dear Bubs,

I received your letter dated 16^th September and was very pleased to hear from you.  I suppose you know long ago that I was wounded in action on first October.  I am getting on well now; all my wounds are healing except the one in the right knee and one in the right breast.

I was hit in both knees and in about a dozen places between the left knee and the thigh.  Six or seven holes in my left hand and one in the chest and one through the face and the left side of my face and my wrist were burst with the explosion. 

My right knee is still in a splint.  I suppose I will be able to get out of bed before too long.  I hope I can get out before Christmas although I ought to be glad to be in bed this weather. I was wounded near Passchendaele in Flanders.  I am feeling alright now, don’t have any pain.

I received the parcel posted on 21^st July since I have been here.  I was very pleased to get it.  I have not had a chance to wear the socks yet but they will be very handy when I get about.

Yes Bubs, I wish we were all back with you again.  But I think this war will be a long a bitter struggle yet.  I was pleased to hear your pets were alright.  I suppose you will be riding the camel when we come back.  Did you go to the sports.

I sent a cable, I hope you received it alright.

Well Bubs, I will say ta ta, wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your loving brother,
Les.