As Charlie expressed his concern to his aunt, Allan wrote to Jim. It was a fortnight since Passchendaele and the reality of the casualty list had dampened Allan’s initial reaction:
In the field
28-10-1917
Dear Jim
Just a few lines to let you know we are all well & hope you are the same Jim we are back in bonnie place. It is the same place as we were in before we went up to the line. There is an Australian mail in & I am anxiously awaiting for mine. I’m down at brigade instructing my junior N.C.O.’s. There is 14 of us here. Charlie is of the junior N.C.O. and he is getting on well. I expect to get something good soon I have a fair chance of going to Blighty to a school if I don’t get that I am putting in for leave for Paris. So I am thinking seriously of cabling for a £10 if I don’t you tell mum to take anything like that out of account. There seems to be nothing but dam strikes in Ausy lately. They ought to send them over here & give them a taste of what we have had lately and I’ll bet they would not strike again. I won’t forget to thank the Jones’ for their kindness to me. I have had a lot of letters to write lately. We had two buggars of stunt Jim as long as I live I will never forget them you really don’t know what it like here under bad conditions. Different lads were wounded and they wrote to me to fix things up for them. I had a letter [from] my cobber last night Spuddy Kerr. He was bad wounded & he lay out in the battlefield for 2 night & days in the cold & rain. He had his leg taken off above the knee. He is a fine fellow. If he ever comes up our way fetch him home and get him to stop a night. He can tell you all about us and poor Albert. Jim there is nothing doing up the [meaning Pyramid Hill] now. No four finish.14
On the same day he also wrote to his parents:
… We [are] still in the same old place and my word mum it is tra bon. We are likely to be here for some time… I had a letter from my best cobber last night & he is Spuddy Kerr. He has had his leg taken off above the right knee. I am terrible sorry. He is such a fine fellow. He is cert for Ausy. Mum if he come up our way at all you must get him to stop a night with you he can tell you all about us and dear old Albert. He is such fine bright lad. I know you will do this mum. There is only Percy and I left out of that Pyramid & Mologa mob, all our cobbers are killed or wounded. I think we all will be home for Easter. Well my dear mum & Dad I will say goodbye for the present trusting you are all well. Mum I have not had a days sickness since I left Australia.
Well goodbye all
I remain
Your Loving Son
Allan S
Myrtle Stone’s brother Joe briefly wrote to Jim of his wound, ‘a bit of shrap’ which had pierced his finger:
Somewhere in France
October 30th 17
Dear Jim
… I suppose by the time you get this you will be well on with the harvest I suppose they will be long and tangled this year on account of it being a very [good] season. I have not heard from Percy lately expect a letter any time now I have saw none of the Mologa lads only T Alford since I came over I received your last letter up the line, came out all right got a small bit of shrap through one of my fingers it is about healed up now. It is getting a bit on the cool side over here now we have had no snow yet but I think they have had it in Blighty according to the Papers. Has Charlie Fyffe gone home I heard he had. I have had a bit of a touch of Rhuematics this last few days I suppose it will be hard to get men for the harvest this year. Well Jim news are scarce so I think I will ring off
I remain
Yours Sincerely
Joe [Stone]
7326
It was now close to six weeks since George had been killed. Charlie wrote:
Oct 31st 1917
My Dear Mother Father and Jim,
… I have not had any word from Geordie but perhaps he has written to you before this, I have not heard anything about him from the base in London nor from his unit although I wrote last week, but I believe he will be alright and there is no need to worry. I am still at the school, Percy went to a Lewis Gun School this morning I believe he will be away about 12 or 14 days. The weather has not been the best here lately of course we can expect as much, but still it is not very cold. I wrote to you last Sunday also to Pearl, I only got one letter from you this mail but I think there is more to come in. We had a note from Les Townsend he is getting on alright …
As October drew to a close, American forces were now being sent in limited numbers to the stalemated war on the Western Front. By the end of the war two million American soldiers would have arrived in Europe. To the east, Italy was experiencing grave difficulty. The might of the German and Austro-Hungarian forces was rapidly eroding the Italian defences. However Allied forces celebrated some successes in the battles fought in Palestine. On 3 October in the Third Battle of Gaza, the 4th Light Horse famously charged Beersheba in what is regarded as one of the last great cavalry charges. Effectively the Australians cleared the way for the capture of Gaza on 7 November. By December Allied forces had reached Jerusalem.
BENDIGO, OCTOBER
In Bendigo, life continued as Pearl recovered from her illness and settled into life with baby Eva. She wrote to Sarah of her concern for Tom Alford, the friend and neighbour of the brothers who had written very candid letters to Jim. His records do not indicate that he had been listed as missing, although close to this time he had been withdrawn from the front due to illness.
208 Barnard St
Bendigo
27th 1917
Dear Mother,
Just a line as I am sending a letter on from Charl also a photo he sent for you, he does not look well in it by any means. He said in my letter Tom Alford was missing I am sorry for his people it is hard on them. Charl sent a photo for Mr Walker. I went to see him the other day he think baby is a real Marlow, he kissed her and made a fuss of her she liked it. She had a bad turn Xmas night with her teeth. Mrs Grant came in and put the cloths on her she soon got alright again, she is fine again today she has another tooth through that is two at the bottom. I will close now dear Mother hoping all are well as we are with love to all and best wishes for the New Year, with love from
Pearl and baby Eva
Mother & Dad are going to Melbourne later on it is too hot now for them to enjoy it.
MOLOGA, NOVEMBER
As winter approached on the Western Front, at home in Mologa preparations were commencing to begin the harvest. The death of George was now widely known and Sarah, Charles and Jim received letters of condolence as they struggled to come to terms with the deaths of two sons. Lizzie Glass, widow of Dave who had been killed in March 1917, wrote to Sarah from Queensland:
Riverdale
Nov 2nd 17
Dear Mrs Marlow
It is with regret that I now write to say how very sorry I am to hear of your second great loss, I’m sure you must have a terrible anxious time let us hope that the other three boys will return safely, I have received all of Dave’s little things back & it all opens afresh the wound. I hope you will excuse the shortness of this Mrs Marlow & someday when you feel inclined I would like to hear from you with sincere sympathy
From Lizzie Glass
News of George’s death also reached some members of the family in England before his brothers could be informed. The length of time it took for word to reach them almost certainly exacerbated their grief.
Drayton
Nr Uppingham
Nov 6 1917
My Dear Brother & Sister
i cannot tell you how sorry we are to hear of your great loss & pain what a blow it would be to you both i hope his dear Mother will bear it as well as she can i am so sorry for her i have not seen him but she said what a dear boy he was i should have liked to have seen him but i was to poorly when he came to Leicester i could not go i did not see Albert either i do hope i trust that the other will be spared to you this war is dreadful isn’t it i do wish it would end Ted youngest boy went up last week but they sent him back he not big enough Harry has got his discharge but
i think I told you dear brother give my love to my dear sister & Jim & except the same your dear self i know you will excuse a short letter this time hoping you are all well as it leaves us all well Thank God we are having a lot of rain here & the potoes are going very bad i am sorry to say well my Dear Brother & sister i will now close with love from us all i remain your ever loving sister
C Wilson XXXXXX
In the south of England the Lee family had yet to hear of George’s death, although Annie, sister of Charles senior, appears resigned to the worst:
Water Farm
Manaton
Moretonhampstead
Nov 8 1917
My Dear Sister & Brother I feel I must write you a few lines to tell you how very pleased we were to see dear Allan he is a dear boy We all fell in love with him Since seeing him we feel very anxious about them all the enclose snapshot was taken while with us I thought you might like one and one for Jim with my love I heard from Allan on the 6th he said they were quite well we are very sorry about Poor George as they have yet no news of him you have our sincerest sympathy in your loss of loss of Poor Albert he wrote me several nice letters although we did not see him we knew he was very nice by his letters We are looking forward to seeing Percy & Charlie I do hope they will be spared to you it is a awful war their seems no ending yet and the weather is very hard for them it is nearly always raining it will be nearly Christmas by the time you get this I am writing to ask Charlie to try & get leave for Christmas if he does not get it before he says Percy may get his any time now I am afraid my letter will not be of much interest to you I hope you will excuse a short one Trusting you are all quite well with love to all from your loving sister
A Lee
Allan on leave in England — a photo his aunt sent to Sarah and Charles.
THE WESTERN FRONT, NOVEMBER
In France, Charlie, Percy and Allan remained in training. Charlie wrote:
November 3rd 1917
My Dear Mother, Father and Jim,
… I am still at the school Allan is there Percy is at a Lewis Gun School. I was talking to the Lewis Gun officer this afternoon he says he will get a stripe out of it, it was the officer who sent him there. I told you that I was a temporary Corporal. I can now draw 4/6 a day over here as I cannot make an allowance while I am temporary rank of course Pearl’s money goes on the same she draws 4/- 1/6 deferred 4/6 goes into my pay book which makes 10/-a day. I was going to cable home to you for some money but now I will have a good bit in my book, I am promoted a Corporal via a wounded man if he returns inside 3 months I will go back to Lance Corporal, but I think I am pretty safe. Allan was a temporary Corporal right up to the time he was made a temporary sergeant, he is now a sergeant and will stand a good chance of getting a commission as a second Lieutenant there are always a certain number of sergeants get commissions and he will stand a good chance, if he does, he will very likely got to a school in England for 4 months and then 2 months at the training battalion in Lark Hill. I will not be a Lewis Gunner now but will be in charge of another section, Percy will be in charge of the Lewis Gun section, if Geordie had been in the infantry he would have had a commission by now or he would have stood a good chance. I expect a letter next week to say how he is and I will let you know at once …
Percy penned a letter to his aunt:
In the field
Nov 3rd
My Dear Auntie Florrie & All
I am at a Lewis Gun School, and we have plenty of writing, and learning to do, it is a good way from the Battalion, they are still in the same place. We get a lot of lectures, and have to take notes, and write them up at night. Charlie & Allan were still at the school when I left, which was three days ago. We have a nice little camp, huts to sleep in, and good meals, work from nine till one, two till five two smoko ¼ hour each. I will be here twelve days. There is a fairly large town about two miles away, but I never bother to go in. Poor Spuddy Kerr, got his leg taken off above the knee, blood poisoning set in, it was a pity for him he was a good fellow, one of the best in a stunt. He will go to England later on, when fit to travel. Have not heard yet from Bill Street or Albert Brooks either Hugh Martin.
There is some heavy fighting in Italy just now. Fritz has pushed them back a bit. You will be well into harvest by now. Just about twelve months since we came to France. The weather is very miserable & I suppose it will remain so for a while now. I had a terrible slow train ride to get here, started 9 am got here at 10 pm, quite no distance, was in a carriage with a New Zealand chaplin, he was saying it would make a parson swear, the trains are always slow here. There is a chap in my Company that was relieving the station master at Mitiamo about four years ago, named O’Brien knows Uncle Jim Mahoney well …
Allan’s next letter to his parents lacked his earlier buoyancy and his bravado has clearly been shaken — he admits he has had enough of war:
In the field
6-11-1917
My Dear Mum & Dad,
… It is a fair while since we had a letter from Ausy I can [can’t] make it out but we always hope for the best. Well dear mum it is raining a treat now but thank God we are out of the line for Xmas, anyway we have done our share of fighting for a while. Twelve months solid fighting without a spell is pretty solid. This will be the first spell we have had since being in France. We situated in a nice quiet little place. Free from shells & gas. Tra bon mum. The last two stunts are enough for me especially the last. Well dear mum I am now sure we will not be home for Xmas but cheer up there is a good time coming. I don’t know whether I told you my last letter that I was an instructor at brigade NCO school. Charlie is here is getting on well. Percy has gone away to a lewis gun school. He is lucky. When this school ends I am going to hit the captain up for a school. I have had one school since I enlisted and it lasted 6 days. Well dear mum I say in every letter that I am going to cable for money but I havent done so yet. I believe I can get to Paris for 10 days anytime I like after the school breaks up. If I do I will cable but if not I won’t cable. I get plenty of letters from England. Mum you all are worrying a terrible lot over dear Albert. Do look at it at the bright side. When I sit for a while it nearly breaks me up and when I know that you all are worrying it makes it worse so cheer up. Just take note of the date of this letters & I might have good news for you one of these fine day. Keep these letters. Well I suppose you all are busy with the harvest. I think I would make a good lunch boy. In fact I could sew the bags. I was never too good at it. Well dear mum hows bobs I could do a night camp there. Well dear mum dad & Jim I will say goodnight wishing you all as brighter Xmas as circumstances will permit,
I remain
Your Loving Son
Allan S. M.
P.S. I hope you get the few little things I sent home
While choosing not to mention George to his parents, he is clearly Allan’s first concern in his letter written to Jim on the same day:
In the field
6-11-17
Dear old Jim,
… We have not any word from Geordie. It is terrible to get letters at times over here. Well Jim it has been very wet lately but thank God we are out of the line. I am still instructing at brigade. Charlie is here getting instruction as a N.C.O. He is doing well Percy is away a Lewis Gun school. He is very lucky … I’m afraid we will not be home [for] Xmas but I hope you have a good one. Have a little extra duck for me. I say in every letter I am going to cable home for a tenna but haven’t done so yet. They tell me I can go to Paris anytime I like after the school. So that is tra bon it would be lovely to see it. Well Jim I might have some good news for you very soon. Just take note of this letter the date. I tell you I wont forget to thank Mrs & Eva Jones for the parcel tra bon ah. Have you got a girl yet. Eva is a beaut is she Jim. Is Bill Jones married yet. Let me know when it is coming off. Im finished now with so & so up the road. Well Jim old man I think I have you or mum all the news so with best love to all
Your loving bro
Allan
Their h
opes that George had recovered were now shattered as the truth was clearly spelt out to the surviving brothers. Officially, AIF Headquarters responded to Charlie’s inquiries on 6 November. By the time he received the standard letter he had also heard from George’s commanding officer in a brief note received from the trenches on 8 November.
The letter Charlie received confirming the death of George.
AIF ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS
WESTMINSTER LONDON
5AR/29723 Nov 6th 1917
No. 2123 Private C.E. Marlow,
“D” Company
38th Battalion, A.I.F,
B.E.F, France
With reference to your inquiry of the 16th ult., respecting your brother, No. 2748 G.T. Marlow, 2nd Brigade, Light Trench Mortar Battery, Australian Imperial Force. I sincerely regret to inform you that this soldier died on 21.9.17 at the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France, suffering from wounds sustained whilst serving with the British Expeditionary Force in France.
The sincere sympathy of the Commonwealth Government is extended to all those bereaved by this sad loss.
Lance E Laplin
Lieutenant for Officer i/c Records
Charlie and Allan were together when the news finally arrived. They knew that George had cheated death at the disasters of Pozieres and Mouquet Farm and in the battles that raged at Lagnicourt and Bullecourt. But, after 19 months of fighting on the Western Front, his luck had finally run out; good luck charms were no match for cold, hard steel. Seven weeks after the death of his brother, it was the eldest son who composed the words of consolation to his family, his anguish as palpable as his pride for George which he expresses in his letter.
8th Nov 1917
My Dear Mother, Father & Jim,
Again you will have received the awful sad news that our dear Geordie is gone, it breaks my heart beyond words to think that I shall never see him again, I wrote and told you that when we were camped near his unit I went one afternoon on my own to try and find him. I walked miles and miles but would not give up till I found him at last I found his unit and they told me that he was wounded and that it was not serious since then I had not received any word from him so I wrote to England and to his officer and today I received the very sad news from the Captain of his unit that poor Geordie died of wounds at one of the Casualty Clearing Stations I think in France, the note I got was short as they were in the line, the Captain is writing again telling me where he is buried, if possible I will go and see his grave, he did not state when Geordie died but it must have been soon after he was wounded, generally speaking in one of those stunts if a wounded man got out to the dressing station he will get on alright but the stomach is a very bad place, his mates dressed his wound and said that he was in good spirits and was not in any pain, his wound was not deep as the equipment saved him, they carried him behind a big concrete dugout and got a stretcher bearer, who brought him out, and the unit received word that he had passed through the Casualty Clearing Station, and they thought he would be alright when I heard that I was confident that he would be alright as he was not a fellow who would go down in spirits. Geordie was reserved for the stunt he and his team but at the last minute one of the other Corporals took ill and Geordie had to go, his mates told me what a fine fellow he was, and that when he was told that he was not to go over he was quite disappointed he wanted to go, he was not a bit frightened. I could see from what he told me when I met him that he was not frightened, I can honestly tell you that I don’t believe there is another Australian living who has done as much for his country than Geordie, he has done many things worthy of a Military Medal and a Distinguished Conduct Medal. I will find out all I can, how he died where he is buried and everything about his last moments, the Captain is writing again to me as he as in the line when he wrote he is going to write and tell me where he is buried, I will write to the Chaplain and nurses of the hospital and find out all I can, I am very glad that we met over here he was just the same as always, he had that same smile on his face and looked splendid, I was out with him two days, I worked a point one day to see him, I broke my teeth and said I wanted them mended so parade for the Dentist at the same time I made arrangements to meet me in a certain town I shouted him a splendid tea, it seemed like home to be with him, I also gave him a £1 note that was poor Albert’s I divided Albert’s money up amongst us, I asked Geordie if he wanted money when I left he said no that he had a good bit in his book. I often sent him a /- note, of course it was not mine it was some of that £10 which you sent, still I would give him what he wanted if he was short. I do feel it terribly he was an ideal brother nothing was any trouble to him, I was to meet him another day, but we shifted here, little did I think that was the last time that I should ever see him again poor fellow he died doing his bit for his country and whatever he done it was done as a soldier should do it. The Captain said he was one of the best N.C.O. that he ever had. Percy is away at a Lewis Gun School, he was away when Albert was killed I have written to him today, Allan is here with me, we are both at the school, and we came here today you get the mail and that is the sadness I got, I suppose Allan will be writing to you but he does not know as much about it as I do. I do not know how you will ever stand it, but I feel broken up to think that we have lost such fine fellows as Albert and Geordie, we are out of the line for how long I do not know, but please God we will be spared to return to you as we have done our share in this war, however I trust that their lives will not have been given in vain, but it is hard to part with them. I am a Corporal now, I will take care of myself for your sake, and trust that the day is not far distant when we will be home again, I will write a line to Pearl and send it with this, I share with you the loss of our dear Geordie and deeply mourn his loss, I know you will feel it I can tell you I feel it very much, I will say goodbye for the present with love and sympathy to you all.
ANZAC Sons Page 50
