Bloemfontein
1900
Dear Mother
I am writing to you again today although I sent you a letter a few days ago most likely you will get both together, but I know you like myself cannot get too many letters and it comforts me somewhat to write to you. The men tease me a good bit about one thing and another and it makes it hard trying to do what is right. These are some of them selfish and lazy and would like to put on them who they can.
Dear mother how I would like to have dinner with you today. I am a great deal better but as hungry as a hunter but canít get enough to eat. You see we are in-groups and you canít get a full share although that is too little. Never mind I will make up when it is over. The Corporal just came up from the A.S.C and he said that the Queen had decided to give all troops in South Africa Chocolate boxes. If I get mine I shall send it to you; it is the box they think so much of not the chocolate. There has been as much as 5 pound given for them I believe. I know if you get it you will take care of it. It would be sure to get wasted with me if I never come back; you could give it to Laura if she lives to grow up.
I wish I got a book when I left home and kept a diary. If I could get a book I think I would start now. They say there will be 100 thousand troops in this army when we start for Pretoria, and they are fitting us all up. We have to wear helmets because the Imperial troops take us for Boers and fire on us. Our leggings were left at Cape Town and we were supplied with putties. We grumbled but we are satisfied. They are best they know better than we did. The Boers have been doing our troop some harm lately around Mafficking how tired they must be of the siege fancy six months of it. I hope they will soon be relieved. Three more of our men went to hospital this morning. The water we have been drinking has been condemned but I have not felt any harm from it so far thank God.
I do not know when this will be over but it will take some time yet they say. I do not know if there is anything in it, that all the Colonial troops who have been through the war will be paraded in London. In that case it will be a terrible long time before I see you, but I do hope God will spare us all to meet again. I am always thinking about the wedding and those cream dresses.
I shall expect to hear every detail what fine clever men my brothers are getting and I am only a private soldier. You will be wondering what chances I have of promotion. I have none and I am not sure I want it there was a lot of our men who got here through influence and of course they have that influence still.
We have a bank manager from Toowoomba who has a paper to show he has held a commission and we have a solicitor from Brisbane (he is a Corporal) and a barrister. Education is a fine thing even in the army there will be commissions offered to a lot of fellows, but they will have to pass certain examinations and then they would be little or no good to you unless you had a good yearly private income.
If I get back safe that is all I want. I shall not be sorry for anything I have gone through. At present, that empty feeling for one thing is not to say the least very nice. The men say I am homesick and tell me to forget all about home but that is impossible for me, as you know very well. But really I am not worrying like that but I got thin in the hospital and I want any amount of rootje as the Indian troops call bread, then I should soon be right.
I got a very nice letter from Edie it had been astray, I sent one to post for her this morning. It seems very strange those girls having fits like that there is some cause, is it tight lasing or what? I am so glad that Mrs Watson and you are such good friends, it will be so nice for you. Ever since you left England it has been nothing but work, work, work. For you it will be like the good old times when you had Mrs Harrison to talk to. I should like to hear you had got a nice girl to help you again, I meant my Queensland pay for that.
You will hear how the Free State Boers are showing that the trust Lord Roberts put in them was misplaced. It seems they give in old rifles and planted the new ones and are now fighting again. I am afraid it will take a long time to settle this war even after Pretoria is taken. There will I think be a lot of guerrilla fighting .
I wish it was over so long as it was settled the right way.
Elmar seems to have got a worse writer. I am very glad of his letters, but I thought he used to be a very good writer. I am afraid unless Laura makes a good scholar there will not be one amongst us.
It is nearly 2 oíclock and no rations have come to our camp, most of us have had nothing since last night. I went to the farm and gave 6 pence for a cup of tea and no sugar in it and a little dry cake made of paste, just as big as those little cheese cakes you make well. I will finish this and write one to dad another day.
I remain ever your loving son Ted xxxxx
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