First Offensive- The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal
Oct 11, 2026 · 3 hr 55 min · 43 segments
"War Letters From A Young Queenslander-Robert Marshall Allen" offers a poignant glimpse into the thoughts and emotions of a young soldier during a tumultuous time. Through heartfelt correspondence…
Dedicated to the cause of freedom and a lasting peace, to all who have joined the deathless army, to those who have blazed the trail and made it easier to follow.
The writer volunteered on the outbreak of war and entered Aldershot on the eleventh of September, nineteen fourteen.
Things have changed since I last wrote.
The call only allowed me forty-eight hours.
However, I had my things handy and packing did not take long.
At present, all the regulars have left, but there are one hundred thousand of Kitchener's army training.
The country is very sandy and covered with heath and not specially interesting.
I reported at headquarters and was soon fixed up.
I was then sent to report at two hospitals.
Here again, all the men were very kind, though obviously working under high pressure and understaffed.
It was a trial going down the streets with so many Tommies saluting, but by now I'm quite used to it and the return salute is mechanical.
I arrived at ten PM in pitch darkness, but had a warm welcome from the officer's mess.
I had no blankets with me, but the colonel lent me an overcoat and several rugs.
Next day, I reported at the detention hospital and began my duties.
This is a training center for infantry and artillery.
We form part of the next division to go abroad, the first division of Kitchener's army.
They should be ready early in January, but long before that I hope to be shifted on nearer the front.
I have charge of two thousand five hundred men and the married quarters in addition.
Everything is in a chaotic condition and it could not well be otherwise.
They get as many recruits in a day as in a year previously, and with most of the regulars away, it makes things harder for those left behind.
As red tape is not altogether absent, delays are still common.
Dedicated to the cause of freedom and a lasting peace, to all who have joined the deathless army, to those who have blazed the trail and made it easier to follow.
The writer volunteered on the outbreak of war and entered Aldershot on the eleventh of September, nineteen fourteen.
Things have changed since I last wrote.
The call only allowed me forty-eight hours.
However, I had my things handy and packing did not take long.
At present, all the regulars have left, but there are one hundred thousand of Kitchener's army training.
The country is very sandy and covered with heath and not specially interesting.
I reported at headquarters and was soon fixed up.
I was then sent to report at two hospitals.
Here again, all the men were very kind, though obviously working under high pressure and understaffed.
It was a trial going down the streets with so many Tommies saluting, but by now I'm quite used to it and the return salute is mechanical.
I arrived at ten PM in pitch darkness, but had a warm welcome from the officer's mess.
I had no blankets with me, but the colonel lent me an overcoat and several rugs.
Next day, I reported at the detention hospital and began my duties.
This is a training center for infantry and artillery.
We form part of the next division to go abroad, the first division of Kitchener's army.
They should be ready early in January, but long before that I hope to be shifted on nearer the front.
I have charge of two thousand five hundred men and the married quarters in addition.
Everything is in a chaotic condition and it could not well be otherwise.
They get as many recruits in a day as in a year previously, and with most of the regulars away, it makes things harder for those left behind.
As red tape is not altogether absent, delays are still common.
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