The following are extracts from a letter dated December 22, written by Private M A Hearn, to his parents" -

"I am writing this letter at sea, between Anzac and Alexandria.  I expect by the time you get this you will know that they have finished with the part of the Peninsula we were on.  Our battalion was in the trenches at Lone Pine which cost such a lot to take.  We were there four months, and had had quite enough.  I left on one of the hospital ships suffering from frost-bitten feet. I expect to be in hospital for a while before rejoining my battalion; and where that will be I don't know.  I do not expect to get the Xmas parcels and letters, as the mails were stopped a couple of weeks before Anzac was evacuated.  It seems hard luck to have to give up after losing so many valuable lives; but I expect it is for the best.

A terrible lot on board are suffering from frost-bite.  I got off fairly well, although I was in the storm first and the snow after - on duty both nights.  It is quite a treat to be on this boat, and to get a wash and a change of clothes; and also to get away from those little things which bite.  I am being treated at the 15th General Hospital, Alexandria."

FROM THE FRONT. (1916, February 17). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 1 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved January 24, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74591933