Handwritten Letter from Tpr. Harold (Harry) Endrick MORLEY 2819, to his Mother

“Palestine / 28th Sept 1917 / My Dear Mother / It is coming towards / the end of the week again so / I must try and let you know / as far as possible my movements / for the last few days. / Our work has been / patrol outpost and guard duty / and on that subject nothing / further can be said. / We moved from / our part of the front on Wednesday / afternoon winging our way to / the old camp where we made / hurry only about a hundred / yards from the ground occupied / previously. / It is necessary from / time to time to change the camping / grounds as you can quite / understand that the earth / will get stale and my cause / an outbreak of some serious kind of sickness. / The days are getting / cooler while the nights are / much colder. The dew saturates / the blankets of those sleeping out / in the open but the men who / have [sic] are in [sic] way. / However the warm sun in / the morning soon takes all / the dampness from the / bed clothes. / At present I am about two / miles from camp on grazing / guard and the camels are quietly / eating close to the small sun / shade we have erected. / Not from where we are / the Bedouins have had a small / orchard I should say about the / size of an acre. / I have not seen any orchards / about here any bigger than an / acre. Some have boundaries of / prickly pear while this have just a / mound of earth at the height of / some fifteen inches. / On some parts of our front where / I have been a kind of flower grows / on a long stem the head consists / of a large number of tinny flowers / forming a cone shape with / colouring of a yellowish white. The / bush grows practically flat of the ground. / These flowers seem to have / been planted in rows at various / intervals and seem to mark / the boundaries of different / properties. / It would take a lot of studying / to find out and understand the / customs of this country and the / nations inhabiting it. / I have often wondered whether / anything further has been done / about that sandhill country. I would / like to know for I believe that piece / I applied for is necessary for us / to have because a hold on that / country gives us the right to gauge our stock there without disquiet. / 29th Sept. I hope everything is going / right at home and there is / a brighter outlook as far as / the crops are concerned as well / as the times. / We hear but little news of / Australia and nothing about / the war at all. Only rumors / seem to prevail. I wish some / of them were true. / I have just finished / washing a shirt singlet / towel and a pair of [sic] socks / sent to me by my dear little / wife. We have to wash all in the / same water bathing in it first / ourselves then up [sic] going / on with the clothes afterwards. / We can’t spare any liquid to / rinse in. / The garments do not get very / clean but the effect of sweetness / is frowned. / We see our own aeroplanes so / often that hardly any notice / is taken of them. When Jacko / comes into sight it is a different / tale. It is always a case of whether / he drops a bomb or not. / Dangerous game this war / I can tell you. / I would like to have the / address of Mrs WHITTOCK. Please / give my love to her and Mr W. / Best wishes to those who ask / after me. / Love to Dad, Little Ron, Elsie, Ted / and Wallie and to your dear / self. / From your loving son / Harry No 2819 / H.E. Morley / 11th Company / 3rd Battalion / Egypt / Imperial Camel Brigade / On Active Service”