The Lang Lang Guardian of April 30, 1916 (see here) printed these two letters sent to Yallock State School children from local soldiers, Robert Henry and Will Finck. They are just delightful. War gave these young men some dreadful traumatic experiences, but also gave them an opportunity to travel overseas and see new countries and sights they would never have expected to see if they had stayed home in Yallock and it is these positive experiences they are writing to the school children about.
At the Front
The following letters have been received by the Yallock school children, who write to each of the boys in turn who have enlisted from that district.
Dear Children—I got quite a surprise the other day to receive quite a host of letters written by many of you. I was very pleased to hear from you, and as I think the task too great to write to all of you. I will make the one letter do. I am sure you will not mind. It is just 9 months since we sailed from Melbourne, and I have had a good many experiences during that time, although I have not been in action yet. We have been in Egypt most of the time, doing the work that was expected of us, and often times it was very trying, because where we were there was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, and we saw hardly a bit of green grass all the time. But I am in a different country now. We had a lovely trip across the Mediterranean, as the sea was always smooth. We had to wear life belts all day and have them handy at night in case of being torpedoed, but I am glad to say we never sighted
any submarines.
After we landed at Marseilles we had a three days' train journey, which we greatly enjoyed. We passed through some beautiful scenery, and many towns and rivers that I used to learn about when I went to school. The French people gave us a great welcome as the train went by, waving and cheering, and when the train stopped they would gather round and try to make us understand how pleased they were. When we arrived at our destination we were taken to what are called billets - old barns and any spare rooms that the people can spare for the accommodation of the soldiers. We can hear the big guns booming in the distance, as we are not far from the firing line. I expect to be up amongst them shortly. At night we can see the flashes from the guns, which looks just like lightning. In fact, the reflection just looks like a city in the distance. There are many other things that I would like to tell you about, but this letter has to be censored, I think that I will close now, hoping that this letter finds you all well, as it leaves Will Finck, Bob Harker, and myself. Best wishes to all. Your sincere friend - R Henry.
Robert Harker, mentioned in Robert Henry's letter above,
photographed in 1915 at Broadmeadows
Photographer: Darge Photographic Company. Australian War Memorial Image DA10833
To the Boys and Girls of Yallock State School,—I was very pleased to hear from several of you, and as it is too great an undertaking to write to each individually I decided to write a letter to you all. Well, the end of this month (May) will make it about six months of defence for us on the Canal, four months in the trenches. Mr Turk never shows himself much around our way, but a few miles further on he used to get very troublesome, but it takes the Australians to quieten him. Several times we were expecting to be attacked, but the luck never came our way, though we have had a fairly rough time at intervals; never slept with our boots off for at least a month at a time. We had a lot of patrolling and out-post duty to do, and every soldier will agree that that is about the worst work in war time. We had to go out and crawl about among the gullies and low hills about two miles from our front trenches. It put me in mind of trying to creep on rabbits. Anyhow, between the Turks looking for us, and us looking for them, we never saw much of one another.
The weather here at times was very warm, up to 130 in the shade. We have been to many places in Egypt, some of historical note. Some of you want to know what sort of a place Cairo is. Well, it consists of a mixture. What's good you can call lovely, and what's bad is awful. Ishmaha, on the Suez Canal, is a very pretty place, with fine parks and gardens and beautiful buildings. The Canal is a marvellous structure, and a very nice place on a hot day. Many a swim we have had in it. I may not post this letter in this country, as we may shortly be going on another sea voyage. We Yallock boys have come in contact with each other pretty often. I think L. Coates and J. Casey are arguing the point with the Germans by this time. Harry Casey, Will Lineham, C. Ware. J. de Little and Bert Boxshall I see every night. Bob Henry, Bob Harker and myself are always together.
France, 4th July.
We have arrived here, and are billeted amongst the farmers, so you can guess we feel at home. Some kiddies are tormenting me, so you'll excuse scribble. Have been doing some haymaking and milking to-day, and am booked for killing a pig to-morrow. Things are much cheaper here than in Egypt, a place I never want to set eyes on again. I am sure the Australians will show their grit here, because it seems as if we are in Australia defending our own shores. We want a bit of revenge against the Germans for their brutality to the civilian population. I will close now, with love to all - Will Finck.
[Since the above letters were written, news has been received of the death of Private Harker, and Privates Henry and Finck are reported missing since 20th July].
France, 4th July.
We have arrived here, and are billeted amongst the farmers, so you can guess we feel at home. Some kiddies are tormenting me, so you'll excuse scribble. Have been doing some haymaking and milking to-day, and am booked for killing a pig to-morrow. Things are much cheaper here than in Egypt, a place I never want to set eyes on again. I am sure the Australians will show their grit here, because it seems as if we are in Australia defending our own shores. We want a bit of revenge against the Germans for their brutality to the civilian population. I will close now, with love to all - Will Finck.
[Since the above letters were written, news has been received of the death of Private Harker, and Privates Henry and Finck are reported missing since 20th July].
John Alfred Casey, mentioned in Will Finck's letter, above,
photographed in 1915 at Broadmeadows.
Photographer: Darge Photographic Company. Australian War Memorial Image DA11799
The first letter was written by Robert Henry and he mentions Will Finck and Bob Harker. The second letter was written by Will Finck and he mentions L. Coates, J. Casey, Harry Casey, Will Lineham, C. Ware, J. de Little, Bert Boxshall and the aforementioned Bob Henry and Bob Harker.
These are the men referred to in the letters and their Service Numbers (SN). The men are listed on the Yallock Honour Boards, so you can read more about them, here. Ten men are referred to and four were Killed in Action.
Henry, Robert (SN 344) - Robert was a Prisoner of War, but made it safely home.
Finck, Louis William (SN 399) - survived the War.
Harker, Robert (SN 345) - Killed in Action July 20, 1916.
Coates, Lawrence (SN 2623a) - Killed in Action August 18, 1916.
Casey, John Alfred (SN 2593) - Killed in Action - August 23, 1918.
Casey, George Henry 'Harry' (SN 2603) - survived the War.
Lineham, William James (SN 2711) - survived the War.
Ware, Charles William (SN 3585a) - survived the War.
de Little, John Cyril (SN 220) - Killed in Action October 10, 1916.
Boxshall, Albert Victor 'Bert' (SN 3481) - survived the War.
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