| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2018.19.105 |
| Collection number | PR00441 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | File |
| Item count | 30 |
| Object type | Letter |
| Physical description | 166 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Leach, William Rawson Elsworth |
| Place made | France, United Kingdom: England, United Kingdom: Scotland |
| Date made | 1918 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copying Provisions | Digital format and content protected by copyright. |
Letters from William Rawson Leach to his family, 1918
Description
File of letters relating to the First World War service of 34298 Gunner William Rawson Leach, 8th Australian Field Artillery Brigade. The letters cover the dates 20 January to the 25 December 1918 and detail: his recount of his two periods of leave and going to all the sites; calling himself a real warrior and a seasoned soldier; the quietness of where they are, stating that you would barely know there was a war on; attending a concert; a description of a Christmas parcel he received from the Australian Comforts Fund noting the contents; attending a picture show and how it relieved the monotony of the place; descriptions of France; comments on the air raids over London; the continuation of fighting even on a Sunday; descriptions of their daily routine in the firing line; the attempted escape of one of the German prisoners and one of the boys killing him with a bayonet; discusses Billy Hughes and Joe Cook; news that the French have capture 10 000 German prisoners and 300 guns; comments that they're on the threshold of victory; comments that they are all tired of the war; comments on wanting an honorable and lasting peace; Americans joining the fight; staying in an evacuated French village enjoying the luxuries of mattresses and tables; food parcels from his parents; French towns being turned to rubble; his visit to Glasgow commenting that it reminds him of Melbourne; his learning of the end of the war, finding it too good to be true; German prisoners helping them clean up and his comments that they are decent men and good workers; his plans to get a job with one of the English machinery firms while he waits for his boat home in England.
This files contains:
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 20 January 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 3 February 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 8 February 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 21 February 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother 2 March 1918, France
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother, France, 10 March 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 17 March 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach, France, 18 March 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother, France, 31 March 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father 20 April 1918, France
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 7 May 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 9 May 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 20 March 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 6 June 1918.
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his father, France, 21 June 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his father, 4 July 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother, France, 19 July 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his father, France, 27 July 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his father, France, 4 August 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 18 August 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 10 September 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 16 September 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his father, Rosemont, Horsforth, England, 10 October 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother, Trafalgar Square, London, 22 October 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his sister Ruth, France, 29 October 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 31 October 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 11 November 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his sister, Marjorie, France, 4 December 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother, France, 10 December 1918
Letter from William Rawson Leach to his mother and father, France, 25 December 1918