NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
Dear Mum & Dad,
This week turned out well for after the parcels which I mentioned last week, some letters came & yours of 25th Jan. was very welcome, it was over five weeks since any had come.
We just read to-day of the arrival in Aussie of some of the A.I.F. lucky blighters.
I am hoping to hear from
Tom Sanders struck it lucky, no doubt, rather a surprise.
Believe it or not, we had a slight fall of snow on Monday – it was bitterly cold then on Tuesday morning there was a quarter of an inch of ice on the water. However it seems as if that was winter’s last flutter & it is quite warm now.
We had a shoot this week & I didn’t do too well, 33. Bill Stanly scored 48, two off a possible, his worst shot was /16” off the bull, that’s good shooting.
I saw “ Gone with the Wind.” Again this week, cost me 115 piastres, that’s over 3/-.
On Tuesday morning, being just prior to pay-day, Phil Cunliffe-Jones ran a concert . It was a good show, the band, some good artists & a free bottle of “ wog” beer from the canteen fund.
Well I hope everyone is well, I am quite O.K.
Cheerio,
Lots of love,
Bruce.
Gordon Craig was in
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
Dear Mum & Dad,
A little late this week but I’ve been on different things & we had a concert & I am making an effort now although there is little to tell.
We are in shorts now, & the days are glorious although sometimes there are cool winds, mossie nets are up again but few insects yet.
I saw “ The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle” again last week quite a pleasant show. A few nights ago Jim Gerald’s party gave a show for us, it was good, Jim Davidson has a snappy hand & the comedians put on an excellent turn, all the boys enjoyed it.
No more mail to light since yours of 25th Jan. maybe some this week. I hope ours are getting to you.
We heard this week that a large number of chaps are back home, lucky blighters, although most of them certainly deserve it.
I am not putting stamps on now because we have been told that the letters will go as quickly as possible without them.
I am looking forward to hearing from
Some of us have started on Arabic classes. I do not know how they will go. It will mean a little homework, I think, as it is fairly complicated.
I am wondering to-night how you have spent & will spend your birthdays. I hope you have a happy time.
Last Sunday we had a game of cricket. Some fun. I hit a lovely four in the first “ dig” and that was my total for the day but it was good-o.
We were pleasantly surprised this morning when real Aussie butter was handed out, the first for about six weeks. It was lovely. I ate so much I was nearly ill. Wonder of wonders we’ve had jelly several times recently, quite unusual.
Well, I’ll say cheerio & hope everyone is well & happy. I am quite O.K. Good tucker, good bed & now Saturday afternoon work to keep me quiet so why should I complain?
Goodnight & lots of love to everyone,
Your son,
Bruce.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
Dear Dad & Mum,
Another week gone by & the weather is really warm now, as hot as it was where we were this time last year & a few mossies around as well.
I’ve had a day on the jumper bar to-day, first real I have had for a long time & a couple of blisters to show.
No more mail has come, that is , no letters since yours of 28 Jan. a few January papers arrived & were interesting looking back. I suppose this remnant of the A.I.F. is past news now with so many back in Aussie plus the Yanks. Anyhow we are still enjoying Aussie butter. It is certainly good.
Has Nev. Wood shown up in H. Park
yet. I would not be surprised if he did.
We had another knock at cricket last Sunday & it was good fun. The pitch is just a pitch & the field is full of furrows & is half way up the slope of a hill all of which makes the game lively.
I am still on the Arabic class & making some progress, can talk a little, very little with the “wogs”. They are very keen to learn English & so we get on quite well.
Since I last wrote, I have seen two shows & the coy had another concert which went over quite well. There is not much for the boys to do at night & anything different is welcomed.
There are some bonny poppies on the hills though not too plentiful. I’ll pop a leaf or two in. they may reach you. Some chaps tell me the Arabs get some drug from them but whether true or not they are pretty.
Well, I shall close this letter & next time maybe I’ll have more to tell. I am extra well. We all are. I hope you are the same.
Bob is O.K. also Love to Vera, Bet,
Lots of love & don’t worry,
Yours,
Bruce.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
Dear Mum & Dad,
This week has been a good one for us in mail & everyone has scored which is good-o. your letters of Feb 1,8, 15, & 23 arrived two days ago & to-day the one of Mar. 2 turned up. It was great to get them and to know how things are . I am very eager to hear how is doing . you said he was a corporal. That’s fine/ he should go well.
I have been writing each week & so it appears as if the mails are held up. I hope you have received some of mine by now. I wrote to acknowledge at least five cakes which you sent which arrived in very good order. Thank you.
I have quite a lot of Bet’s “ Women’s' Weekly”s. thanks for them. Jake Young , the carpenter, has sent a few papers , he & his wife write some very nice letters.
It is quite a change having letters to answer instead of just talking about the very few unusual things which happen here.
It is good to hear that the works are progressing near you. Maybe it will replace the one we lost.
Bill Carter was the chap whom you saw with our colours. Fancy his being in the same unit. I’d like to have the job of bouncing him, any good , eh!
The Far Eastern business was far from pleasant but I read in a “ Bulletin” just now of the job the A.I.F. did against such odds & it was heartening even though pitiful.
We are all itching for some thing to happen & I suppose it will soon enough, funny, when everything here is perfectly peaceful & we are all in very good nick.
Last Sunday our chaps, with no training other than their daily work, scored about ¾ of the athletic events against Tommies
& Indians & of these B Coy won nearly all. Jolly good show.
The days are very warm now & we are all well tanned. Its great to strip off, if only we had a beach. Fortunately unlike
We entertained a few N.Z. boys the other evening. Fine chaps who have been through the issue. They are well respected by all.
A small parcel from the Baptists came yesterday, very nice. Just between you & me, the books & pamphlets etc which the Meth.
& C.E.
send are rather useless. You can imagine what they are like. The last book was “Lily” Press as Pure as a Lily”. I do not think you could read it or anyone else over ten years of age. But I suppose they are trying to keep us on the straight & narrow. It is obvious that they have never been in the Army & certainly not a Sgt. In the Pioneers which has its own peculiar “ trials”.
One of the worst parts of this place is that there are no English-speaking churches & the church parades are still as painful as ever. There are some Christian churches but all are in Arabic and mainly R.C.
How are the Yanks doing? The papers here say some amazing things. Anyhow there must be a lot of Diggers back there now to put them in their place.
It is touching to read about the poor militia working so hard on New South Wales beaches, digging & wiring. These boys have been doing that for quite a while now & not on nice beaches near the old home town. We are hoping the A.I.F. will remain distinct from the rest after all, some of them have been in nearly three years, a bit different from being pushed in.
Well, it is getting late & I’ve another letter to write so I shall sign off.
I do hope Bet’s teeth are O.K. & that some of Bob’s letters have arrived by now. He was up last night and seems quite well.
Love to everyone.
Goodnight.
Bruce.
Clyde Sanders. Bruce’s only and older brother.
English soldiers.
Methodists.
Church of England.
Roman Catholic.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
10 May. 42.
Dear Dad & Mum.,
Mothers’ Day & another week gone. We have been reading about the Naval Battle near Aust. Everything is peaceful here still although we have plenty to do to keep us quiet.
No more mail has come in since about three weeks but we are hoping.
We had a couple of very hot days last week, terrific but to-day has cooled off. Such a change from a month ago.
I have lost the key which you gave me last year, cannot think how or where.
There is very little to tell. Things are so quiet here. We have to make our own fun mainly. The boys had a little last night & I ended up with my trouser ripped everywhere. All in fun!
Three of us were in
The trains do not go very fast & the urchins hang on behind and slide on
The rails with their wooden clogs.
We saw the window in the old wall from which Paul was reputed to have been lowered. You know the story. To reach it, we went through the street called Straight. Nothing to see but its antiquity & thousands of bullet holes in the roof which came to be during some riot.
My watch stopped to-day, the first time for six months which is not bad. All I have to do is find a reliable watchmaker if possible.
I am wondering how
Well, I shall close & hope you are both well & happy. I am quite O.K. except for a slight touch of tinea, nothing serious. Cannot get a day off with it so it cannot be much.
Cheerio & happy dreams to everyone.
Lots of love,
Bruce.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
17 May,42,
Dear Mum & Dad,
Well, we’ve had a warm week & plenty of exercise, in fact, yesterday’s march was the toughest I have yet struck. Even so, Ivan Wallis & I had enough energy to go & see “ Balalaika” again.
We did about 16 miles over the stony hills & they were solid after being up all night before. It was some fun though & the boys went very well.
One bivvy we had was in a lovely cool valley with ice-cold water running through. We even had jelly in one meal.
There were a lot of women working on the roads. They carry baskets of spoil on their heads & quite outdo most of the men on the job.
Last night we had a round of strawberries & cream. Cost about 2/- but it was lovely. Tea tonight again had jelly & fruit salad. Just the thing for this weather.
We have had no more mail yet. Must be a ship in soon.
The country is very different now to what it was in winter, quite pretty in lots of parts. We had a look through an Arab village during the week & I climbed up the minaret , all stone and just wide enough to take one man. There was an excellent view of the countryside from up top.
Bob was up a while ago and is quite well.
Well, there is little to report. Things are normal & I am quite O.K. though plenty tired & ready for bed.
I hope you are all well & might hear from you soon. Hope my letters are reaching you.
Cheerio & greetings to everyone.
Lots of love,
Bruce.
CENSORED BY ROSEVEAR.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
27 May. 42.
Dear Mum & Dad,
At last some more mail has arrived & four of your letters came along with one from
I was very pleased to hear from
Some of the lucky ones are back, all the better for Aussie. They’ll stiffen the others.
Pleased to hear Bet’s teeth are in. I hope she has no trouble with them. I shall try for a re-model this week. Its about time.
I have not met Gordon but may do as he is near me now.
Clive Onley has done well. I suppose he is in
We are at a different spot now & a daily dip in the
Have you heard of Nev. Wood yet? I thought he would have hit
I heard of one of the Baptist boys copping it in
Has Bert Douglas ever shown u[. Its beyond me, the way some chaps disappear.
The papers have come this mail. Have all the
The weather is glorious, now, darkness does not fall till about
Well, I’ll close & hope everyone is well. I am quite O.K.
Cheerio,
Lots of love,
Bruce.
Betty Sanders. Bruce’s youngest sister.
NX27395
Sanders. B. Sgt.
B. Coy.
2/3 Pioneer Bn. A.I.F.
Abroad.
13 June. 42.
Dear Bet,
Here I am again and how are you? I suppose you’re doing alright with your teeth fixed up & I hope a new position.
You have had some fun with subs & so on. I hope you have kept out of their way.
No more mail has come in for about three weeks. I wrote to say that the socks had arrived. I have just posted a snap to Mum & Dad & hope it will arrive. I sent Pam one also. Have you seen her lately. How is she getting on as a teacher?
I am in a grand spot just now, within walking distance of snow, which may sound unusual in June in this country. I am so used to walking over hills now that the flat country seems difficult to negotiate.
We had a march several days ago & it was a “trouncer”, about 22 miles the first day & nearly all uphill. We were very pleased to strike some streams flowing from the ice in the distance & ease our feet in them.
The beer on the way was too expensive to be enjoyable, 100 piastres for a ½ pint tin of Lion, an American beer that is about 1/5, some drink, eh?
There has been quite a lot in the papers about how the Yanks are doing in Aussie. If they are as good as the papers say, the war is practically finished.
I have not been to the pictures for a month or so now. Leading a quiet life. It is not dark until
My watch stopped for about a month & then started again and has been going well ever since. The band which I bought on final leave is still in use but I will soon have to use the one I bought in
Have you seen Nev. Wood or Bert Douglas?
Well Bet, time to say cheerio, hope you are enjoying yourself, love to Dad, Mum, Vera & Marg & yourself,
Be good,
Love,
Bruce.
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