Letters from William McKenzie, 1915

McKenzie, William (Lieutenant Colonel, MC, OBE)

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Places	Africa: Egypt Africa: Egypt, Alexandria Africa: Egypt, Cairo Africa: Egypt, North Egypt, Mena Europe: Greece, Aegean Islands, Lemnos Mediterranean: Malta Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli, Anzac Area (Gallipoli), Lone Pine Area, Lone Pine Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli, Suvla Bay Area
Accession Number	AWM2018.785.86
Collection number	PR85/185
Collection type	Digitised Collection
Record type	File
Item count	1
Object type	Letter
Physical description	170 Image/s captured
Maker	McKenzie, William
Place made	Egypt
Date made	1915
Conflict	First World War, 1914-1918
Source credit to	This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government.

Description

Letters relating to the First World War Service of Chaplain William McKenzie, 4th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. In his 1915 letters to Salvation Army Commissioner James Hay, McKenzie writes about his activities as a chaplain in the First Brigade. In the beginning of 1915, McKenzie was in Egypt with the troops, and describes camping in the desert, joining the soldiers in their duties and training, and leading large meetings, concerts, and services. He later writes about marching out of Mena Camp, boarding a boat to Turkey, and arriving at Gallipoli. McKenzie’s Gallipoli letters relate how he buried many dead under heavy fire, comforted the wounded, conducted services, and read to the men in the trenches in order to lift their spirits. He also wrote about daily life in the trenches, including lice, flies, not being able to take one’s clothes off for a fortnight, mail being lost, and lack of sleep. Additionally, McKenzie was with the 1st Brigade as they charged Lone Pine, and he relates his experiences of that battle and the aftermath. Also included in this collection are several letters from Lemnos and Alexandria, where McKenzie was sent for short periods of time to recover from illnesses. McKenzie concludes his 1915 letters after the evacuation of Gallipoli, his last letter written aboard the S.S. Simla on the way back to Egypt. Many of McKenzie's letters were published in the Salvation Army magazine, the War Cry.

This file contains:
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 4 January 1915, [missing page 4].
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 8 January 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 9 January 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Mena, Egypt, 15 January 1915, [missing page 3].
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Mena, Egypt, 22 January 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Mena, Egypt, 29 January 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Mena, Egypt, 10 February 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Mena, Egypt, 29 February 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 5 March 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 11 March 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 16 March 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 31 March 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 2 April 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Afloat, 14 April 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli, 5 May 1915.
Incomplete letter from William McKenzie to [Commissioner James Hay], [c. May 1915].
Incomplete letter from William McKenzie to [Commissioner James Hay], [c. May 1915].
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 14 May 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 20 May 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 12 June 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 17 June 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commander James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 17 July 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 25 July 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 2 August 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 16 August 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 28 August 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 9 September 1915.
Incomplete letter from William McKenzie to [Commissioner James Hay], [c. September 1915].
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Lemnos Island, 20 September 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Lemnos Island Resting Camp, 23 September 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 29 September 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Lemnos Island, 5 October 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 18 October 1915.
Incomplete letter from William McKenzie to [Commissioner James Hay], [c. October 1915].
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Alexandria, Egypt, 28 October 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Egypt, 7 November 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Alexandria, 14 November 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, Gallipoli Peninsula, 26 November 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, 5 December 1915.
Letter from William McKenzie to Commissioner James Hay, S. S. Simla, 26 December 1915.