Archive Record
Images
Additional Images [5]
Metadata
Object Name |
Letter |
Title |
Lincoln Frederick Armstrong - Correspondence |
Creator |
Armstong, Lincoln Frederick (1893-1918) |
Year Range from |
1915 |
Year Range to |
1916 |
Description |
Lincoln Frederick (Linc / Link) Armstrong (1893-1918) - Correspondence Canterbury Mounted Rifles 7/1184 (6th Reinforcements) Letter from: Zeitoun [Egypt] Includes envelope [N.B. envelope stamped in Akaroa 16 Mar 1916. Front side unreadable. Looking at size of envelope and size of letters most likely sent early 1916 from Egypt] Address to: My dear people [Digitisation courtesy of Christchurch City Libraries. Transcription by Annabel Armstrong-Clarke. Please Note: Some letters contain language and terminology that reflect the attitudes and beliefs of its time. Some expressions may be considered offensive, racist, or inappropriate by today's standards. They have been preserved in their original form to maintain the historical integrity of the record. We acknowledge the impact such language can have and encourage readers to approach this material with critical awareness of the social and cultural context in which it was created.Letters transcribed as written and include punctuation and spelling errors.] Transcript: A pair of socks now and then would go alright because when we go along we can only take three pair with us, and if a pair reaches us when away they are very useful. Troopship 'Hororata' Christmas Day My Dear People, Here it is Christmas Day & I am on my way back to Alexandria. This is the time when one misses home more than ever because there is no place like home to spend a day like this. The only thing, here, that reminds us it is Christmas Day, is that we had a little bit of duff for dinner, otherwise, it is just like an ordinary day, as we are too crowded to hold a service or have a few hymns on board. It is a long time since I last wrote to you, but you must not blame me because, for some time past all outgoing mail has been stopped, and I hear it is going to be held up for some time to come yet. I think this is because of the evacuating of the Peninsula, but anyhow, I am going to Page 2 do a little bit of writing while my luck is in. Lately, I have had a good run as far as mail is concerned, and I think I must have received all my parcels and letters, excepting those of the first two mails. Just a day or two before we left Anzac, we got the first of our Christmas mail, and among it, I spotted Vern's cake, so of course, as there was a doubt about it ever finding him, I claimed it, thinking that we might join him before mine came along. Well, we didn't pick him up at Lemnos Island (although we stayed there for three days), but we struck our Xmas mail, and I thought I would hang on to Vern's, and by jove, he had a pile. I had to get my old jersey and tie the neck and sleeves, and that just acted Page 3 the purpose nicely for his lot, so if I don't come across him in Egypt, I don't know how I will get on. You might think I am a silly to have taken them, but there is a very poor chance of him receiving them otherwise, and besides, I suppose it will be some time before we leave Egypt again, as I suppose we will have to do some training on the horses. We were on the Peninsula for five weeks, three of which we put in up at the firing line, the other two, as you know, we put in lower down. I think we had more casualties when we were out of the firing line than when we were in it, and talking things right through, we have had a sort of a picnic, and I think we are lucky beggars to have come over when we did, as we were the last reinforcement to see fighting on Gallipoli, and just had a Page 4 nice little stay at a quiet time. I will always have something to remember, as I spent my 22nd birthday in the trenches and it was on this day that I fired my first shot. One day when I was down on the beach for stores, I came across Ditely and Arthur Jacobson and had a long talk to them. From all accounts, Ditely has a good job on, I should say the best to be had, as he seems to do practically as he likes, and can get what he likes. He gave us jam & milk and stuff and told us that next time we visited him to take a sac with us and get some things, but of course we didn't have another trip to the beach. When Ditely saw me, he asked me if I had had the toothache, or was it fat that made me look so funny, so you see I am not doing so badly since I joined the army. These boats agree with me. I never feel so fit as when I am on the sea Page 5 and this two or three days trip is far too short for me. By jove I nearly forgot to tell you about the way we were treated on a battleship, on the morning that we left the Peninsula. From the time we got on a boat at Anzac Pier to where we landed at Lemnos Island we were on four different boats, two before we got to Lemnos harbour where we were put on the battleship Hibernia, to wait for a lighter to take us ashore. As soon as we got aboard her about a dozen sailors got round each of us and took our packs and rifles from us and bundled us into their mess room, where they had prepared a tip top meal for us, and it is only a shame how they waited on us. As soon as we had finished that, they took us down to what we needed most of all, and that was a real good wash (the first wash for three weeks for most of us). The only drawback to our stay on Gallipoli was the shortage of Page 6 water, we hardly got enough to drink, let alone anything else. Well when the sailors had straightened us up in this way, they took us around and couldn't give us enough cigarettes, matches, and tobacco. 2/1/16 Since I started writing this letter things have been pretty brisk for us, and we have been kept on the move, with our training getting straightened up for our mounted training. We were at it on New Year's Day and today (Sunday) so of course we are looking forward to a fair sudden shift somewhere. When we got back to Zeitoun camp here we were very agreeably surprised to find a lot more Peninsula boys amongst the Seventh & Eighth Reinforcements. We also came across Dave Curry & what surprised us most of all was Page 7 to see Dick Spooner among the Australians. Dick came along our lines the other night to see if he could find anyone he knew, and when I went up to him & spoke, he said "I don't remember ever seeing you before!" (I suppose it is because I have a little moustache, and now that I weigh 11st 8lb the heaviest I have ever been) I suppose I have altered a little bit. Poor old Vern I have not heard anything definite about him yet, but two or three chaps have told me that he is dangerously ill in Malta, but of course it might only be a rumour, because two or three have been surprised to see me back here, saying they heard I was wounded. Well as far as I know I was far from being wounded, although the Page 8 beggars drew blood on me. You see a Turkish bullet has a very thin coating of nickel on it and very often, as it is going through the air the casing gets so hot that it bursts, and I was looking over the parapet one night when a piece about the size of 2 (pence) of it hit me on the side of the face. Of course it gave me a fright, but it was nothing, so after it had been a fortnight it worked out again. That same night a fellow who relieved me had a bullet through his hat cutting the top of his balaclava, & another through the collar of his overcoat, and yet it wasn't touched himself (a miss is as good as a mile). Mail is coming in for me as fast as I can read the letters & spin the parcels. I didn't know I had so many good friends Page 9 before. Why even today I received about 15 letters, a dozen parcels & 5 papers, and goodness knows how many have come to light this last week. It is jolly good of you people to send so many things and many of them are most useful and are things that I would never have thought of myself. The only thing I have not received (and what is most useful) is a box or two of wax matches, you can't buy them for the love of money, even in Egypt, and you know what these wooden things are, the box breaks and the game is goosed. Well my dear people I must write a few more letters tonight so I must be pulling up, but as there are so many people to write and thanks for presents and things, I probably won't be able to find time for some days, so I must ask you to do so. Page 10 "There is Mrs. A, Rhodes, Aunt Nellie, Aunt Min (I don't know her address), I Taylor, Frank & Kathy, Joe & Evelyn, in fact the whole family (Ida & Win have been very good) as hardly a mail comes along without something from one of them. Then there is Elsie who has also been a good friend with the Akaroa Mails and the Christmas cakes. There are heaps of them, you will know. I will post this in the envelope you so kindly addressed for me, I know I'm a bad correspondent, but you must excuse me for having to wait so long because it really wasn't my fault. Will write again next mail, goodbye, for the present. I remain Your loving son, Link Excuse all the mistakes as I haven't time to read it over. I have never been in better fettle in my life fair dinkum. |
People |
Armstrong, Lincoln F. K. (Link) Armstrong, Robert Vernon "Vern" Armstrong, George (jun.) Armstrong, Mary nee Gray (Mrs George jnr) Armstrong, Mary Angela Winifred (Win) Armstrong, Bert Armstrong, Francis Gray (Frank) Armstrong, Ida Charlotte Armstrong, Evelyn Armstrong, Kathleen Mary nee Julius Ditely, Lytton Alphonse Jacobson, Arthur Robert Curry, David Weir Spooner, Dick |
Search Terms |
Akaroa Mail Gallipoli |
Subjects |
Letters World War I Soldiers Military retreats |
Provenance |
Armstrong family archives. Gift of Jan Shuttleworth and the Armstrong family |
Web Rights |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ |
Collection |
Armstrong Family Archive |
Catalog Number |
2025.20.87 |
Credit line |
Gift of Jan Shuttleworth and the Armstrong family |