Letters from William Edward Peach to his family, 1915

Peach, William Edward MM (Sergeant, b.1896 - d.1966)

- Series 2: Letters from William Edward Peach to his family, 1915-1919

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Places	Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Alexandra Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Melbourne Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Melbourne, Broadmeadows
Accession Number	RCDIG0001563
Collection number	PR00597
Collection type	Digitised Collection
Record type	File
Item count	8
Object type	Letter
Physical description	32 Image/s captured
Maker	Peach, William Edward
Place made	At sea, Australia
Date made	1915
Conflict	First World War, 1914-1918
Copying Provisions	Digital format and content protected by copyright.

Description

Letters relating to the First World War service of 4272 Private William Edward Peach, 7th Battalion. These letters were written by Peach to his family between 14 July and 30 December 1915.

In these letters, Peach writes of volunteering with his two best mates, Percy David ‘Perce’ Mansfield and David ‘Dave’ Collis, with Peach and Mansfield vowing to look after each other during their service abroad. This, according to Peach, gave Mansfield’s mother enough peace of mind to let her son enlist. He also writes of other friends that have enlisted. Peach writes of camp at Broadmeadows and his first taste of inoculation, suffering a stiff and sore arm which temporarily prevented him from writing. While in camp he writes of encountering others from Beechworth and Alexandra. On 29 December 1915, the men embark from Australia aboard the troopship HMAT Demosthenes, Peach writing of the sadness of leaving Australia and Mansfield’s father having come out to farewell the boys. The last letter in this file, written on 30 December 1915, finds Peach settling in and writing of the conditions on board, such as the food and sleeping quarters, the troopship having just left the Port Phillip.

This file contains:
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, Alexandra, 14 July 1915 [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, Melbourne, 23 November 1915 [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his sister, Broadmeadows, 2 December 1915 [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, Broadmeadows, 19 December 1915 [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, At sea, [28 December 1915] [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, At sea, [29 December 1915] [includes envelope];
Photographic postcard of T.S.S. Demosthenes from William Edward Peach to his mother, At sea, 29 December 1915 [includes envelope];
Letter from William Edward Peach to his mother, At sea, 30 December 1915 [includes envelope].