Pte Michael Griffin (Lilydale), 17th Battalion: Is evacuated from the field to hospital in England suffering from a sprained knee.
Trp Bert Hutchinson (Lilydale), 4th Light Horse Regiment: In camp in Palestine. In a letter to his future wife, Jessie Mackenzie of Yalca, Vic – ‘I have travelled across the desert. We had a good trip and were fortunate in being able to get bread instead of biscuits most of the time. Some days we travelled along the coast and it was lovely riding along in the water but it got monotonous. I was surprised to see millions of crabs on the beach. We visited the famous battlefield at Romani also several other battlefields along the route. Wild poppies and daisies growing on the hills were beautiful, these flowers were growing on the desert, oh it was lovely to get back again in fertile country and see the cattle feeding on the hills. The cows are very small but they are in splendid condition.
Our camp is on the top of a hill surrounded by cultivated land. From here we can see the ocean and the other morning I watched the battleships bombarding the Turks. It was very pretty but I am afraid it was dangerous where the bombs were falling. At the foot of this hill there is a large native village also an old mosque but this place is out of bounds. The population consists of old men, women and children. The young men are away fighting.
Fig trees are very common in this fair land and I usually write and read under a fig tree but I am writing this letter before breakfast or in other words it is a few minutes after six am. To the east of our ‘home’ the country is flat and it is all under crop. Thousands of acres of wheat and barley appear to be going to waste. (Such is war.) It is quite possible that the people will be able to save a good portion of the crop if the firing line is moved on to Jerusalem but there will be a lot of heavy fighting to do before we reach that city.
My ‘home’ is not in the firing line but we are not far away and may be called up at any time. We have to ‘stand to’ every morning. Yesterday the enemy aeroplanes were very active and dropped bombs at several places but they did not do much damage’.
Thomas Hunter (Wandin): Leaves his orchard in Wandin and enlists in the AIF, he is 32 years old and is married.
Leonard Watt (Lilydale): Leaves his orchard and enlists in the AIF, he is 18 years old.