Late grandfather

In the trenches
11 A.M. Sunday
27^th June 1915

Dear Father & Mother,

My colleague Danny Maher & I have just had an excellent breakfast – bacon, fried onions, tea & bread & jam.  This is Sunday morning, a beautiful sunny day & the view from the top of the hill where we are is very fine, but the whole thing is spoilt by man and his vile works.  At the present moment a war boat is shelling the Turk’s trenches & every explosion over there probably means that a few more soldiers have gone to their Gawd, as our friend Kipling says.  A little after daylight this morning our friends opposite started a vigorous bombardment, and this is a sad day for the 8^th Light Horse as a shell killed instantly Major Gregory & our Adjutant Captain Crowle, & Colonel White was wounded.  Major Gregory had just been promoted to be second in command of the Regt.  He was popular with all and it is very hard luck to be killed in the trenches rather than out in the open in a fight.  Three others were killed in the morning & a dozen wounded.  I see Harry Crowther has got a commission.  A lot of Australian newspapers came to hand the other day and were much appreciated.  We are issued with tobacco which is not much good but we have to smoke it or go without.  Young Havis, our former cook at Fulham, came up to see me yesterday.  He was sent away for a week with a slight shrapnel wound in the arm.  I have been quite well since I returned from the hospital a week ago. 

We spend every third day & night out of the trenches , a few hundred yards in the rear, but I always eel too sleepy to look around for Bob Thompson or any other Saleites.  I spend most of my off day trying to get some sleep but the flies are a frightful pest.  I very seldom see Keith altho’ I don’t suppose he is ever more than a few hundred yards away from me.  I met him this morning after the bombardment but neither of us got a scratch.  I wish the Turks would surrender as it would save them and us a lot of unpleasantness; they seem to be putting up a pretty good fight. 

Tuesday 29/6/15  I am finishing this in the firing trench.  I have just been having a look over the parapet with a periscope – to put your head over means a bullet in it straight away – and I see the Turk’s trenches are only about 30 yards from ours so we are within bomb throwing distance; they have not charged our trenches for some weeks. The New Zealanders were in these trenches when the last charge was made by the Turks & the latter got a nasty punch, few of them returning to their own lines. 

General Birdwood was round here the other day.  He is a cheery smart little man with a pleasant nod for everyone.  “Well, lads,” he said, “have you shot any Turks this morning?”  Of course saluting is all done away with on active service.  We would be a motley crowd if we marched down Collins St now.  Most of the officers & men have cut their pants off at the knee and our clothes are all very dirty.  We have all kinds of head gear  - felt hats, caps & helmets – very much the worse for wear.  There is an unpleasantness about the trenches owing to men not being properly buried in the early days of the fighting.  Our Regt has lost a lot of men - sick & wounded – and I hope it won’t be long before we have a chance to get our own back from brother Turk. 

We got good news from Cape Hellas – 10 miles down the coast – today.  Our troops took 1000 yards of country with big losses to the enemy.  An aeroplane flew over us yesterday dropping circulars inviting us to surrender, as they said we were only the tools of England & they promised to treat us well.  I don’t think many Australians will surrender somehow. 

I wish I could walk into Royal Crescent for a hot bath and a comfortable meal.  I wash myself all over with a small sponge and an aluminium cup full of water. 

With love to all
Yr affect. son
AH Borthwick