Mrs Tilley, 60 Spencer street, Essendon, received the following letter from her son Harry, in which he refers to the death of Sgt -Major Percy Tilley, his brother.
No 1. London General Hospital.
8th December, 1916.
Dear Dad and Mum, Just a few lines to let you know how things are going. Poor Percy only had ......days of active service when he was struck by a shell. He ought never to have been there then, for his ankle was not properly better from the accident he had in training, but he was so anxious to ... amongst it that they let him join up .... two days before we went into the ... me front. It was a great shock to me when I got the news. It was told to me ... the Hospital, and must have happened .... I was on my way there. He had been attending a wounded comrade. Had he been spared I think he would have made a name for himself, for he still .... that cool, don't-care sort of mood under fire, which is a great thing. He always used to say to me: "If there is a sacrifice to be made from our family he hoped it would be his, for he had no .... like us."
We see such horrible sights so often, that one gets hardened be.....d all feeling. I myself have had some wonderful escapes from both bullets and shells. One shell landed within three feet .....e, but it could not have had my number on, for it was a dud, and failed to explode, thanks to Fritz's bad ammunition. Had it gone off, so would I, and they would not have been able to find the pieces. ....is only one of many. The people at home have not the slightest idea what the soldiers have to go through in France especially in winter. I expect they will ...... to bring in conscription over there .....they intend to keep up reinforcements, we get thinned out very quickly in ......n. You will see by heading that I am .....in England, and things are not too ..... here. Living is a terrible price; in .... I don't know how soldiers', wives live .... 0s a week. Eggs are hard to get at ...ence each, and butter is out of the ....tion.
OUR SOLDIERS. (1917, March 1). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 3 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74601853
|
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.