Letter - 24 August - supplies from home and enough socks for the whole of 'C' company

Athol writes to his mother to thank her for her letters and a parcel full of useful items. Another parcel also arrives from Athol's mother with enough socks for the entire 'C' company with left overs for other men in 'F' and 'H' companies (men from the initial public schools' company 'F') and more left over to be raffled.

Gallipoli
24/8/15

Dear Mater,

Although it is only a day or two since I last wrote I am sending this along to thank you for '17' and '18' and enclosures. Also by this mail I received a parcel of choc. from J. Webb and Son, London (Thomas Webb was one of the founders of the Huddart Parker company) and 3 parcels from you containing a pair of boots, 2 K.shirts, 2 cotton singlets, 4 handkerchiefs, 4 towels, 6 dozen bootlaces, 1 pipe, 1 set knife etc, 2 pkts tobacco, 1 cake soap, 2 pr sox, 1 set brushes, 1 tin boracic, and the wrist watch, which came at exactly the right moment as my other went out of action yesterday and once they stop we can't get them fixed up.

Everything is A1 and I'm quite a dude today. (In another parcel) ...The socks arrived for 'C' company and everyone got a pair, what were over we gave to the old members of  'F' and 'H' companies. The few left we raffled among the rest of the Company. Everyone that was short got a pair of bootlaces. Also they think no end of the socks.

Yesterday I was sent away down to a place called 'Mule Gully' because the Indian Mule Transport are there, and had to get the Brigade's share of a shipment of stores to start canteens with. First of all the pile was divided into two lots, one for the 1st AIF and one for the A&NZ Division. Then our pile was divided into 4 according to the strength of the Brigades. This was quite a task as you can imagine, though of course we divided by cases as far as possible. Our Brigade got 109 packages containing all kinds of things, from Bovril to underclothing though there was really such a little of everything that when it is divided into 4 Battalions there will be practically nothing for the men to buy.

We got the stuff onto mule carts and I handed over the lot to be unloaded at 8pm having been at work from 7:30am. I sincerely hope I've seen the last of the stuff.

Who put that rot in the paper about me under the heading 'Jewellry'? If they must put things in the daily rags at least they might put true things in. I don't want anything in any of the papers about myself particularly my photo, as I consider that my doings are nothing to do with anyone outside my friends and relations who have probably got a photo and who probably know the facts without any reminder from the press.

The camel group was, I think Jack Melom, Rupert Matthews, Keith McIlwraith and I think Sperry Hill. Melom is missing, McIlwraith killed, Rupert Matthews has a commission in the 4th Battalion.

Hope Pater passed his exams, I suppose he'll get a company of cadets, perhaps my old company 'C' in 49A.

All the boys are very grateful for the sox etc.

Love to Aunt Puff and Pater. Remember me to anyone I know, also Norman Bayles.

Yours lovingly,

Athol

AWM image A03809

Indian Mule Teams in Mule Gully, being loaded supplies for the troops.

Lines of mules are tethered in the background. This image was taken in May 1915.

Athol visited Mule Gully on 23 August, 1915.