Andrew Balneaves, WWI Letter - October 31st
Digital Image
Identifier: D28410002
Dates
- 1917
Creator
- Balneaves, Andrew Ewen (Young Un) (Author, Person)
Transcription
France, Oct 31st 1917
Dear Kate and Corf
I have just received your letter of Aug 9th and am pleased to hear all is well with you. You will be getting good weather now and we are getting a bit of frost but mostly wet weather. You will probably have heard that we were all out in reserve for this last stunt and by all accounts it was pretty rough. The mud appears to have been the biggest trouble and being held up with wire but the heads seem... to make out that the boys did all they could See more
Dear Kate and Corf
I have just received your letter of Aug 9th and am pleased to hear all is well with you. You will be getting good weather now and we are getting a bit of frost but mostly wet weather. You will probably have heard that we were all out in reserve for this last stunt and by all accounts it was pretty rough. The mud appears to have been the biggest trouble and being held up with wire but the heads seem... to make out that the boys did all they could See more
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Extent
1 digital object : TIF File.
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Physical Description
Pencil on paper.
Dimensions
H 160mm x W 100mm
Full Letter
France, Oct 31st 1917
Dear Kate and Corf
I have just received your letter of Aug 9th and am pleased to hear all is well with you. You will be getting good weather now and we are getting a bit of frost but mostly wet weather. You will probably have heard that we were all out in reserve for this last stunt and by all accounts it was pretty rough. The mud appears to have been the biggest trouble and being held up with wire but the heads seem to make out that the boys did all they could
under the circumstances. The Brigadier was pleased and the General was well satisfied so that is the main thing. Just now we are out in our training area and getting the boys fit again. The billet we are in is all right but the biggest part of the platoon have got a rough spot. We are rather lucky just six of us here and plenty of room but I expect they will be sending more along soon. Doie is at a signal school just now and will be back here again in about a weeks time. Bill and I put our names down for a railway job the other day but it may
be weeks away yet before we are sent away. It would be all right to strike a decent job for the winter. I sent you a Xmas card last week and hope you get it all right. The froggies make it pretty hot with their prices now so you will have to excuse the card. We are expecting our leave any of these days and will be off to Scotland “Toute de Suite” when it comes along. Today we all got a Buckshee parcel from the Lady Liverpools Fund and landed a tin or two of tongues and two tins if jam besides some chocolate and meat paste. It is just five past five and
I will have to get a candle to finish this. We hear that the proposed leave for the main body men is a washout. This is hard on them after it being promised them. I expect you will be getting big casualty list out there just now and we expect to hear a bit of a howl about it from the people of NZ. 1 Nov. I could not finish this last night as I did not have a candle so I got one today and am sitting up in bed right now. Last night an officer came round to see if all hands had rubbed their feet with whale oil and Bill and I got landed. This cove
is a new chum or late reinforce and he and he had the choice of coming out as an officer or having to come as a private so you see he is regarded as a conscript as he just dodged it. Anyhow he is not any good as an officer and should never be in charge of men; he doesn’t know the meaning of tact. I can see a rough time ahead for him even from the heads. Well we have several men in the company with “Buckshee” stripes just joined up and if they were men at all they would earn their stripes in the lines. Harry is just away in to get some “Poms” from the froggie
in the house. When we arrived here about half past eight at night the old froggie gave us a drink of cider which was very decent. Well I think I have done fairly well this time and as I am going to write home tonight I will close with heaps of love to you all from Young Un
Bill and Harry wish to be remembered to you. AEB
Send this on to Lizzie
Dear Kate and Corf
I have just received your letter of Aug 9th and am pleased to hear all is well with you. You will be getting good weather now and we are getting a bit of frost but mostly wet weather. You will probably have heard that we were all out in reserve for this last stunt and by all accounts it was pretty rough. The mud appears to have been the biggest trouble and being held up with wire but the heads seem to make out that the boys did all they could
under the circumstances. The Brigadier was pleased and the General was well satisfied so that is the main thing. Just now we are out in our training area and getting the boys fit again. The billet we are in is all right but the biggest part of the platoon have got a rough spot. We are rather lucky just six of us here and plenty of room but I expect they will be sending more along soon. Doie is at a signal school just now and will be back here again in about a weeks time. Bill and I put our names down for a railway job the other day but it may
be weeks away yet before we are sent away. It would be all right to strike a decent job for the winter. I sent you a Xmas card last week and hope you get it all right. The froggies make it pretty hot with their prices now so you will have to excuse the card. We are expecting our leave any of these days and will be off to Scotland “Toute de Suite” when it comes along. Today we all got a Buckshee parcel from the Lady Liverpools Fund and landed a tin or two of tongues and two tins if jam besides some chocolate and meat paste. It is just five past five and
I will have to get a candle to finish this. We hear that the proposed leave for the main body men is a washout. This is hard on them after it being promised them. I expect you will be getting big casualty list out there just now and we expect to hear a bit of a howl about it from the people of NZ. 1 Nov. I could not finish this last night as I did not have a candle so I got one today and am sitting up in bed right now. Last night an officer came round to see if all hands had rubbed their feet with whale oil and Bill and I got landed. This cove
is a new chum or late reinforce and he and he had the choice of coming out as an officer or having to come as a private so you see he is regarded as a conscript as he just dodged it. Anyhow he is not any good as an officer and should never be in charge of men; he doesn’t know the meaning of tact. I can see a rough time ahead for him even from the heads. Well we have several men in the company with “Buckshee” stripes just joined up and if they were men at all they would earn their stripes in the lines. Harry is just away in to get some “Poms” from the froggie
in the house. When we arrived here about half past eight at night the old froggie gave us a drink of cider which was very decent. Well I think I have done fairly well this time and as I am going to write home tonight I will close with heaps of love to you all from Young Un
Bill and Harry wish to be remembered to you. AEB
Send this on to Lizzie
Creator
- Balneaves, Andrew Ewen (Young Un) (Author, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Invercargill City Libraries and Archives Repository