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2 September 1915

Anzac 2/9/15

Dear Homefolks.

Another week gone & we are still safe & sound. Vernie says he’ll be getting his second star soon. He’s getting on OK isn’t he. I’ve dropped back to a section commander again. Two Sgts have turned up & they are both above me. Percy has turned up safe & smiling. He has been drafted into No 2 platoon of A coy. I got 6 of the reinfcmts added to my section so am a bit stronger now. Thanks so much for the Dugong oil. It’s come in quite handy. Can have fried bread now for a change.

The flies here are something awful. They stop on your tucker all the way to ones mouth & then they have to be threatened with death by mastication before they’ll depart to something else you are waiting to eat. Things can’t be too good with them tho, cos they commit suicide in thousands wherever they can find hot tea. Poor things I suppose they have their troubles too. Perhaps they are unhappily married or something. Who can tell?

You’ll be sorry to hear that Wal Parke of G.L. has been killed. He was in the 2nd Bn. From what I can hear, he exposed his head over the parapet & a bomb exploded close by & killed him. Poor chap. I was so sorry to hear of it. Things got pretty lively night before last. Very heavy firing burst out as if they were going to attack & lasted quite a long while. We were all ready, bayonets fixed & all, but they didn’t come at it. They’d have got a hot time if they had. One of their 75’s slightly disturbed one of our shelters & hurt 2 men whilst at it, one of them, a chap in my section being only slightly hurt. You’d be shocked to see how we get about here. At present & in fact all the afternoon I’ve been knocking round in my “little short shirt” _ _ _. Any thing for an easy life. I’ve never seen Vernies batman with a shirt on yet, I don’t think he has one. Mum your birthday will be over & I suppose forgotten by the time this reaches you. I wish you many many happy returns of the day. I’ll be thinking of you on the 20th & wishing myself back at home again. I think of you every day but I’ll be thinking of you more than ever that day, & I hope that you have a thoroughly enjoyable holiday. Mind you don’t do any work. But here I’m telling you what not to do & you wont get this until about the first week in October. The letters of mine that Vernie sent to England have not turned up yet. That chap that wrote that piece of poetry in the sun about a remark of mine had a neck I must say. You can post me a copy of it if you happen to have one. I’d like to see the Jd rag that has my letter in it if you can manage it. I’d like to see it in print. I forget what I said. Hope I didn’t let out any trade secrets _ _ _. I’ve read several letters written by chaps here & by jingo talk about drawing a long bow. Some of them were splendid examples of the most barefaced exaggeration I’ve ever seen. Their people must be very credulous to believe it all. And they not only believe it but they get it published. That’s the beauty of it. We haven’t had any mail for over a week. Hope that some turns up soon. It puts quite a lot of heart into you to get a letter or seven while the absence of them has the other effect. Well I’ll close now hoping every one of you are quite well & happy as we three are here, yours sincerely
Bert

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