Pte Frank Morton (Lilydale), 59th Battalion: In the field, France. In a letter to Cr J McGhee of Lilydale – ‘The war still drags on and there is no sign of the end yet and Oh, what a war it is. I don’t think the people at home realise it yet or else they would not have turned down conscription as they did. I don’t know what they were thinking of. It only means that men who have been here two or three years have less chance of ever getting home than if it had gone through. Well, I suppose it gave great satisfaction to a few.
Well, as our general told us the other Sunday at Church Parade, it is going to be worse than ever this year, and great as have been the deeds done in the past, they will be a mere detail to what is in front of us. Oh, that it were possible for a few German aeroplanes to fly over Sydney and Melbourne and drop a few bombs for a change, just as our poor fellows are getting day and night almost. It would do them good.
We are having a rest at present but we are under orders for the front again, so before you get this we will be in it once more. My word, it is a terrible affair. You can’t imagine what it is like. I saw a German plane brought down the other day by two of our machines. It was a big Gotha plane and was reckoned to be about 6000 feet up. It did not last long as it could not manoeuvre as quickly as ours, and was soon tumbling in flames to the earth, and the three occupants fell out of it, turning over and over till they reached the ground. Such a sight is often witnessed at the front, and, my word, the men on both sides are game.
I think the Yanks are bound to make a big difference, and will fight to a finish. The Russians are not done with yet, I think, and will give the Germans a lot of trouble. There are rumours of peace floating around, but I don’t know whether it will come to anything. I see Tucknott now and then – he is just the same old hard case, and popular with his battalion. He looks well. When we meet again we will have a good time. I see a few of the boys occasionally. It is good of you to write, for it makes a man think in his dark hours that a few remember him in their thoughts’.