1916 Letter 11
[late May-early June,1916]
Dear Mother –
I am waiting for your next letter to know about Don. Papa just mentioned that he had enlisted.
What a long way off this is – There are so many things I long to know about Don. Your last letter was April 30th, before you knew.
I am awfully glad the boy is coming over. The complete change of life and surroundings will do him a world of good, and I know he’ll love it all. I want to be in England when he is. Do cable me if he’s coming soon or write if it’s not to be for some months yet, so that I can take steps to get back.
I hope he won’t be in a hurry to rush over – the war is going to last for ages yet and I do want him to come with a commission, unless he himself is against it. What can you do about it? In the trenches his being in the ranks may be well enough, but between officer and man socially there is a great gulf fixed and I think Don will be much happier on the other side.
Don has always taken what offered and never complained but now he is making a change and I think he should have all the advantages possible, don’t you? It’s alright to say that a good man will work up, but there are too many good men trying it and once he comes over here he’s out of touch with any influence we have at home, and all promotions are made from Canada, practically.
We have no one in England to help – Eric’s troubles in the same direction have proved how hard it is to get a commission over here, unless one joins the Imperial Army, so the only way for Don to get his is to wait at home till he does, and I hope Papa will do all he can.
He didn’t ask anything for me or for Eric and I don’t resent it and I don’t suppose Eric does, but Don is the oldest and he’s entitled to the best there is going.
You know the time and bother I had, so begin early with Don. He has a certain amount of standing as a bank manager which should make it all the easier. Could Mr. Henderson do anything for him or are his own boys coming?
The usual practice seems to be to apply to your O.C. for a recommendation, and then get all the influence you can, but do urge Don to try hard.
There’s a certain amount of risk once he comes over and it will us all happier to know that he had as much pleasure out of it as possible, if anything should happen.
I don’t seem able to think or write about anything else. How I wish I were at home, to talk it all over with you and Don.
You needn’t show this to Papa. I’ve already written him, only stronger, and I shall take a long time to forgive him if he sits still and doesn’t help Don.
I told him I thought that as our boys were the sole representative of the family the whole family ought to help them to be a credit to it.
I also told him that a girl here named Merriman is a niece or cousin, I forget which, of the first Mr. Jamiesan and no doubt knows about Aunt M’s position. It was nasty but I’ve held it back for a long time and his simple announcement that Don had enlisted, sandwiched in between two piffling paragraphs about the weather and the war made me simply furious.
Have the Fowlds family no friends of any account at all. It seems alas that they have very few, unless you count Sam Stickles, Mrs. Lynn and the like.
I know the great objection to asking for anything has always been that some day Papa might want something himself, but I am fed up with the family doctrine that children should be a help and a delight, etc. to their parents. He seems to forget that parents owe a certain amount to their children except a wise arrangement of life insurance. That’s beastly though isn’t it?
Our boys are both in this thing now for the duration - so am I. The last generation went through mostly everything, and plans for future generations are mythical under the circumstances. I am settled for the present. I have no desire whatever to be a matron – ha ha – so there’s nothing to be done for me.
Eric’s college is over for some time to come, so there’s no use worrying over that. Any money there is ought to go towards giving the boys a little better standing in the war than the Ser[vices] and Clappers.
I hope he’s got a commission already and we can laugh over all this but if he hasn’t you will stir Papa up won’t you?
I wish you could come over to England – ye gods it would be heavenly, or if Don is to be in Winnipeg for a few months could you not go out to Aunt Teddy.
Mother, you’ve sat back long enough – let us live in the present, for once. That money of mine in the bank could never give me greater pleasure than if you spent it being with Don.
June 4th
Still no mail though I believer a boat is in. We might have had a very exciting week, for the French have taken our Salonica – post office – banks, telegraph & telephone & cables – barracks and electric lights.
It was some big Greek fête day and in a speech to the people Gen. Sarrail said he was sorry to upset their holiday but it was a retaliation for their giving up of Fort Ruppel. No one was allowed in town until to-day, when time had shown that there was no likely disturbance imminent.
How little interest one takes in these history making episodes unless one is directly involved. The whole affair might be an every day performance for all it has mattered to us.
To look at this beautiful county one can’t imagine it to be so near a war. Of course the whole place is covered with camps but one gets used to seeing them and forgets they are there.
It is very clear to-day and Mt. Olympus and the whole coast range show up very distinctly all glittering with snow.
The weather has been hot but not unbearable, and by 5:30 all the flies are quiet and it is delightful.
The other night the O.C. had a meeting of the Sisters to consider ways and means of our getting leave of absence for a while. There are 3 who have to go back and the Matron about two weeks ago put up a poster granting leave – three or four put their names down but the majority of us decided that we were foolish to put our names down, as the thing was sure to fall through, and then we had showed plainly we wanted to leave and the Matron would see that we got all the work possible to do before we left.
Of course we were right. No leave is being granted in the Levant forces for obvious reasons. And in his talk the O.C. said the only way was to be invalided, or in an urgent case, apply for a transfer by cable.
The Matron said she would have no more reinforcements, being a good many kind of a fool, but no one can go without applying in time to have a substitute on the way.
I do not want to go back just now. There may be something doing here and if Greece comes in the possibility of a move nearer or leave to Athens, and I want to wait until I know Don is coming and then go back as I’ll have three weeks leave in England due me and can be with him.
If he gets a commission he will be able to afford to go around a bit and I want to take him to Scotland. He’d simply love it and I want to go again.
I haven’t had a line from Eric yet, but mails are so uncertain he may have written a dozen times without my ever receiving his letters.
I’ve asked you once to go out to Don and I won’t repeat it, if he’s going to be stationed in Winnipeg please go, and take all of that money if you need it. The future is so uncertain it isn’t worth thinking about, and why deny ourselves at this time. Anything may happen to the three of us within a year and then you’ll have regrets. Go out and see the boy and see him started right and leave the old barracks and Papa to Aunties. They’ll all be satisfied.
It may sound as if I am bitter but not so at all. It is the best thing in the world to view one’s family from a long distance once in a while and from a year’s gazing at ours, not your side, I have concluded that it’s about struck bottom and if it isn’t going to remain there to get all blue moulded someone’s got to start something right away. See -?
I must get to work now. I am in charge of a line, and a very busy one so I don’t get much time for writing.
Do sit down like a dear and tell me you’re going to please yourself, for once since you married the Fowlds family and be my own dear Mother. You’ve simply got to. Now please do this and make me very happy.
Yours always,
Helen.