Letter from Roy Bruce to Maud Bruce

I am still here
having a quiet time - I should
have been away before now,
only my ridiculous inside
began to play up, and they
won't let me go until it is
quite right, because what with
bad water, heat & flies, ones

inside has to be let looked
after very carefully. I am
feeling ever so much better for
the spell, and I am glad
to say as things are very quiet at present on our
corner of the Peninsula. I am
not missing anything.
Our position at ANZAC Cove,
real name Gabe Tepe, we call
it ANZAC which translated
means Australian & N.Z. New Zealand Army
Corps, is a very peculiar one.
Coming away in the steamer
the other day it looks all
the world like an ant hill.
You see we occupy a beach
frontage of a little more than two miles but inland we
only go a few hundred yards
consequently as it is all
high cliffs the whole of the
front is covered with dug-
outs & the effect from the
sea is most extraordinary.
We have a line of trenches
on top of the cliffs, in
some cases only 10 yards
separating us from the
Turks who are about 6 to 1.
Truly it is most extraodinary.
they can reach every position
of our position with their
artillery but luckily they
have not got much although they make the most of what
they have.

General Hamilton came over
here on Sunday, he has got
a wonderful memory, he asked
me what I belonged to & I
told him, & added that he
had inspected me at Kowai ,
"Yes", he said at once "Very
muddy place".

The general opinion here
is that there will be
something doing in about
a months time. Perhaps
before then, but no one knows.

I hear the horses have
been having a rough time
in Egypt with the heat,

but we are losing very few.
I do hope we get them
again soon, I must admit
that this trench warfare
does not appeal to me at
all, however it is all part
of the game & nothing
will last for ever.

There are some birds
here belonging to some of
the English Territorials who are

down at Cape Hellas Helles By
Jove if they are specimens
of the present day young
blood in England I never
want to go near the place
again. But I am sure
they can't be, they are grocers
assistants or something.
Thank goodness there are
none we have to mix with.

This censoring of letters
is the most amusing thing
I have done for a long time.
I ought to be able to write
the most gorgeous love letters.
Abbreviations are common, such
as "M.O.D. Molly, (my own dear

Molly) or "I.L.Y.D." (I love
you dearly). "Hope this finds
you in the pink as it leaves
me" Meaning he is in
perfect health. There are
some lurid descriptions of
fighting, and absolutely
ghastly details about dead
Turks. One fellows writing
to his girl went into most
loathsome details, so I
scratched it all out.
One man in hospital said
"I have severe pains in my
back, and have been
consulted by three doctors"
Another bird with one of the most passionate letters I have
ever seen (commonplace passion)
so I slipped in a little note
congratulating the girl on having
such an ardent lover!

Well old girl next letter
you will probably get from
the trenches again, but I
am not going to hurry back
until I am quite fit. The
great drawback is that I
do not get my mail here,
but there will be a big one
when I get back I hope.

Goodbye for the present,
you & Helen can humbug each
other for me. God bless you
both my dears, you have all
my love. Roy