"The Music will not be Pleasant" T.Anderson

20/3/17

Dear Colina

I received your ever welcome letter 22 Nov and very pleased to hear from you well Colina it is not so cold now as it was when we landed but it is cold enough to wear your overcoat through the day, I have met with Rube and Charlie since they landed that Collie is in the same camp as Charlie only 2 beds from him I did not know him on the boat coming over both Rube and Charlie are looking well I had a letter from Don Saturday he is well he just received letter from you and Doll Leslie Merkel is over here with his 2 stars up his (two indecipherable words) Willie Brown received a DCM Distinguished Conduct Medal Good luck to him and all those that gets them and stars and stripes in the field, I saw Les Burns Widget and a few more Rushworth boys over with Charlie there is thousands and thousands in his camp and there leaving in thousands for the front more than likely they will be over there shortly we are waiting to be brought up anytime now only too soon we will be in the fray we have been going very solid since we been over here  there M Guns shakes your nerves up a bit you will have a bit of an idea of the noise they make when five hundred shots a minute is ringing in your ear 17 thousand shots through one gun in 39 minutes I can just fancy myself in the mire up with millions of shots ringing in one ear the music will not be pleasant by any means but it is to be done and someone has to do it.  It is my dear Wife and children that I am worrying over it is hard to leave them all behind but dear Colina it is for them and honour that we are all here giving up all for one word honour I would do the same again sooner than see my comraids here in need of help and me at home by the fire side I could not stay behind a cold footer. I now what I have to face and I’ll face it come what may I do not recon myself cleaver as forgiving from it but I will do my best to account for every hun that shows his nose in front of our M Gun, and too soon we will be amongst them now, Dear Colina I hope and pray that I come through for my Dear Wife and children and for poor old Doll’s sake God Bless You All I hope it will soon end we have a bit to go through yet before the end worse luck, well Dear old Friend I have been on the (indecipherable word, looks like rgn) shooting today and I get my old nerves shook up a bit with the explosions in my ears it takes a long time to get used to them although I’ve had 9 months of it but not so solid as we have here day after day you get very shaky after a heavy days shooting on an M Gn I am very shaky tonight but I’ll get used to it after a good rough up with them Well Colina there is no news here to write about I always try and pen you a few lines so for the present Goodbye and God Bless you all at Home I Remain your sincer friend,

Tom Anderson

No 41

(Ed note: this is an early transcription, and at the time I was undecided about whether to retain the lack of punctuation. In this cars I have retained it, but I no longer do this.)