Perum (ed?_ ) Downs
8.9.16
Dear Colina,
I received your letter last week & was pleased to hear from you. The Winter is just starting hear & it is getting very cold. I am going to the front of Friday. I tried to get away last week but they would not let me go. Things are very bad there they say. They say the landing was only a picnic to France. I believe it is something terrible now, it is worse than ever. The papers are just full up of the causaltys every day. It will be a long time before it is over yet and I don't think there will be to many of us left when it is finished.
England is a grand place. No wonder the Germans would like to get it. You would never believe what it is like till you see it & the people hear think there is no one living like the Australians. They go crasey over them. We had a weeks holiday in London & it's a sight worth seeing, it would take a good month to see it all. Melbourne is like little country place along side it, & you can get lost very easy. We went to all the main places and I never enjoyed myself better. The next leave I get I am going up to Scotland. They all go there from hear. I believe it's a nice place.
Cris Cameron is in this camp with me. He is looking well. NJ was down the town with him last night. He is a hard doer. He won't be going back to the front for six months, so he will have a good time doing nothing. He was lucky to get off like he did but it as not made any different to him as he could not look better. I have not seen many of the boys from Rushworth but I will see them next week in France as there neally all there.
I have not heard from home yet. And I wrote from Cape Town. We stayed there three days & we had some great fun. It's a big place, but half of the people are black there. We was a month getting there from Melb & we never seen land all the time till we got there. It took us none weeks to come over. We called at Cape Verdon after we left Cape Town. We never had s o good a time after we left there as we was in danger waters from there on & we had to be on the look out for any German boats. There was a young fellow died on the way over. He was only 18. It was sad to see him thrown overboard. He came into camp with me. He was from Euroa.
Well Colina I have no time to write you any more news as I have to go out to Drill and they give us plenty to Drill hear, so I will give yo all the news next letter so I hope you will excuise these few lines.
I remain
Yours Truely
Don
I will put my address on this so turn over
No. 5646
18 Reif
7 Batt
AIF
France
Give me Tobes address when you write as I don't know if she is still at the same place. Les Merkel as two stars on his shoulder so he as done well. I have not seen him yet.
(ED notes: Tobe would be Colina's older sister Lucy, who was known as Toby. I have retained spelling errors and vernacular eccentricities within the text)
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