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| Card sent to Mabel, James, Eva & Lloyd Pilgrim in 1916 from Melville Geyer (aka Mick) |
"May 5th 1916
My Dear Sister Brother Eva Son (Lloyd)
My Letters are coming to ?? I received another letter from
you today ?? to hear from you and to know that you are all well and trust that
these few lines will find you all enjoying the best of Health as they leave me
at present. I am still in France having
a good time. I am glad to hear that you
have plenty of hay this year. I am longing to see the Nips son must be a trick now.
I think that it would be better if the Boys that are getting married came and
answered their countrys call and helped their pals instead of hanging back. Ern
is anxious to come isn’t he and would if Lloyd ever thinks of coming it’s not
a bad job after all said and done.
Letter to follow. Love from your loving brother Mick"
Melville Geyer (known as Mick) was the first of the Geyer brothers to leave for World War 1. You can read more about Mick here.
Melville Geyer (known as Mick) was the first of the Geyer brothers to leave for World War 1. You can read more about Mick here.
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| Ernest Geyer 1916 |
"23 . 9 . 1916
Dear Mabel,
Just a photo of myself, hoping you are quite well as I am at present. There is no news at present so that is the reason of my short note.
Best of Love from Ern"
It is interesting to note that this short note was written on the same day that Ern was charged with "Disobeying in such away as to show wilful defiance of authority and lawful commands given personally by his superior officer"
You can read more about Ern here
Unfortunately, I do not have the second part of the note but I know from the handwriting that the card was written by Lloyd as the initial words and writing are identical to those written here.
"France 18/10/18
Dear Mabel Jim and Kiddies
This Card for Eva, XXXXXXX
Just a few cards to let you know that I am quite well hoping these few lines finds you all the same I also received a very welcom letter from you dated 18/7/18 and was very pleased to hear from you. I have not got that stripe yet but I suppose it will come through some
day. It is hard luck getting the codlin moth in the apples. What Church was it that got knocked about you did not tell me. Tell Jim from one who knows that he is better off where he is, it is not bond over here. It gets
me down at times. I have sent the buckle home so you can write to Mother for it, I sent it this week so it will be home by xmas. We are having very funny weather over here rain one day, and sunshine the next. I met
Charlie Paterson over here, his father had the....."
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| To Eva With Love From Uncle Lloyd Undated "silk" embroidered card |
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| 1917 card from Lloyd Geyer |
France 18 July 17
"Dear Mabel & Jim
Just a few lines to let you know that I am quite well hoping you are all the same. This Card is for Eva. Well the other day we had a visit from the King, It was at our sports and he seemed quite pleased with the events. We are living in another rotten Village now I don't know how long we will be here I hop it won't be to long. If we want to buy anything we have to pay double the amount that the Tommies pay for them. A lot of the Villages......."
Unfortunately, I do not have the second part of the note but I know from the handwriting that the card was written by Lloyd as the initial words and writing are identical to those written here.
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| 1918 card from Lloyd Geyer |
"France 18/10/18
Dear Mabel Jim and Kiddies
This Card for Eva, XXXXXXX
Just a few cards to let you know that I am quite well hoping these few lines finds you all the same I also received a very welcom letter from you dated 18/7/18 and was very pleased to hear from you. I have not got that stripe yet but I suppose it will come through some
day. It is hard luck getting the codlin moth in the apples. What Church was it that got knocked about you did not tell me. Tell Jim from one who knows that he is better off where he is, it is not bond over here. It gets
me down at times. I have sent the buckle home so you can write to Mother for it, I sent it this week so it will be home by xmas. We are having very funny weather over here rain one day, and sunshine the next. I met
Charlie Paterson over here, his father had the....."
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| Totally off topic this week as Anzac Day - Click to see more Sepia Saturday Posts |
According to your 2014 post regarding Ern, all three brothers returned alive from WWI. Ern, however, slipped away to America for a while before his enlistment was actually up & he was charged with desertion. I was surprised, then, to read that he returned to Australia some 5 years later, but was never arrested on the desertion charge even though his return was made public in a newspaper article. Perhaps his service in the 14 Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps in WWII was atonement for the earlier desertion charge? The most important thing, of course, is that they all returned home from the first war - one way or another!
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed that you read about Ern! Thank you! Yes, I have always wondered about Ern. There is no records of how he got to America. There must be more to this story than we will ever know!
DeleteI think there is a tie in with the sweet little girls on the cards. I'm glad they came out alive. Now to go read more to see what he did to get in trouble.
ReplyDeleteWe the prompt did make me think about these cards.........so there must be a link....even if only small :)
DeleteI especially like the first card with the little nurse and sailor. I wish I could read the French caption. I wonder what Mick was doing in France that allowed him to claim that he was having a good time.
ReplyDeleteNous voila tous deux aux bords des grands flots
DeleteNos reves a nous sont de doux complots!
Google translate says
Here we are both at the edges of the big waves
Our dreams are sweet conspiracies to us!
Such a lovely tribute, I enjoyed all the cards and the messages on them. I had to click on the link to read more about Ern, what a remarkable young man and how lucky you are to have so much information about him.
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbara. I send thanks to my Grandmother for keeping memorabilia from a young age. I am so thankful and appreciative.
DeleteThat is one colorful colorized card! I had to laugh at Ern saying there was no news when he had disobeyed an officer. That sounds a bit like a guilty conscience although I suppose he could have disobeyed AFTER he wrote the letter.
ReplyDeleteYes I was thinking guilty conscience too!
DeleteThe coloration is great! and Ern quite a guy!
ReplyDeleteI think of their mother. I cannot imagine 3 of my children being away at war..........and no mobile phones to call home either!
DeleteCharming cards and interesting notes. Ern was, as we say, a bit of a lad!
ReplyDeleteLol. I would like to know what really happened!
DeleteErnest is quite dashing, and the last two photos are remarkable, very pretty captures.
ReplyDeleteThey are very pretty cards. I am very thankful that my grandmother kept them!
DeleteAlways like to read correspondents, it is like tapping into another world all together....
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather wrote from World War 11 but unfortunately his letters did not say very much at all. I think they were written purely to let my grandmother know he was ok.
DeleteI have a few of these French postcards too, including a couple of "silks."
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of work go into the "silks" and they have so much character and meaning.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSorry about the duplication of my replies, but what I mean to say was, how lucky for the Meyer family that all three brothers returned home in the end. Their cheery letters made no mention of the fighting.
DeleteThere was a letter about war activities published in the local paper but it seems that these cards were more to say "I am alive and ok so don't worry"
DeleteAs I read the cards in your post, I was thinking back to when my Uncle Allen was stationed in Australia during WWII. He was my wild uncle, a bit of a cad, so to speak, but I adored him. How I wish he had sent me a card from Australia.
ReplyDeleteSo where was your uncle stationed?
ReplyDelete