1915 Letter 41
Lemnos
Oct. 28th, 1915]
Dearest Mother and Papa -
Your letters of the 16th and 21st arrived at dinner to-night. We have had no mail for two weeks and when the mail man came staggering in with nine sacks of mail the suspense was terrible. Everyone has brothers or lovers in France and no one had had any news since the big advance. While we were at dinner two bags were carried in and we sorted our own amid the wildest confusion. I got your two a card from Eric Oct 1st - so I suppose he came through safely - and a note from Ruth Birdsall. Not much but it made me feel a lot better to know you were both all right. Have had no papers or Posts for about a month but at least two mails have gone down and we'll never know what we've lost.
I hope by this time you have my letter about Miss Munro - Lemnos so far as the British are concerned is divided into two parts East and West Mudros - on either side of Mudros Bay - of course that doesn't take up the whole of the island but the most important part.
Oct. 31st.
Well as you see I never got this finished. For two nights we have had wild excitement preparing costumes for a Hallowe'en masquerade to be held to-morrow night - Several officers of our own unit and three from one of the camps came in to be dressed. We dressed two huge men from the Scottish Horse as little girls in bathing suits - hats with veils hanging down in streamers, long coloured stockings and white bed socks for booties - They acted their parts to perfection - A huge man in our unit is to go as a bride in a white night gown - drapings of gauze - a medical dictionary for a bible with long pieces of bandage for markers and a long fly net for a veil gathered around the top to resemble a wreath. We are to photograph them all - and will send you some - The two "girls" are to be flower girls - and one of the girls is to be the groom - dressed in a short shawl for a kilt - and a mirror for a sporan. One of the most dignified men is to be a nun. One of the navy men gave us a long piece of stiff black cloth and it is pinned on to him to make a robe - one of our veils does for a head dress - and a red cross pin cushion pinned in front completes his costume. The girls dresses are most ingenious - but only pictures can do them justice.
We had a piano given to us from Friday till Tuesday - and it has never been still a minute.
This afternoon Myra, Micky, Cecily Galt and I were at tea on the Agamemnon - one of the largest battleships barring the dreadnoughts. It was most interesting. The men showed us all over the ship - and had the big turret guns worked for us. Each gun weighs about 75 tons. They were in action at the Dardanelles and we saw where shells had hit them - doing considerable damage.
I had never been on a battleship before. The Glory gave innumerable teas but I didn't know any of the men particularly so didn't like to go as some of the other girls knew them - We often go to the Blenheim which is a cruiser, but this was of course - much larger. Its sister ship - the Lord Nelson was lying quite near. We went up half a dozen ladders to see the view which was certainly worth the climb.
We had tea and then the men came back with us. It was a beautifully bright warm day and I enjoyed it very much.
It is about 8 pm. and I am writing in the mess tent, waiting for some people who are coming for a game of auction. It is beginning to blow and there is every prospect of a big thunder storm so I am hoping they won't come so that I'll get this letter finished. Myra and I are going in for auction again - it is a way of spending the evening.
Monday.
Well it didn't storm and the men came after all - after we'd given them up and got ready for bed to write letters.
Will close now and post this. Your letters of the 23rd & 26th came yesterday and bundles of papers and Posts from Papa. They are a blessing. Could you send a magazine - Smart Set or [Anisles] or Maclures occasionally. We can buy nothing - absolutely - here.
I got a cable through to you yesterday. Hope it reaches you.
Good-bye now and God bless you both.
Yours always.
Helen.