Shared note | From the Front A Posthumous Letter Message from Captain Hitchen Private A J Tracey The following letter, dated France, January 29, has a pathetic interest , inasmuch as the writer, Private A J Tracey has since made the sacrific e for his country. Private A J Tracey, who enlisted at Mudgee, from Coon abarabran, died of woundson February 23. He has a bRother at Bylong: "I am going strong. As I told you in my last letter we are out of the tr enches for rest now. Sorry things in our little island are so mixed. The re has been rain there, no doubt. Is it true the hotels are closed? My b Rothers, Tom and Tibby,are in hospital in England. I haven't seen the m since we landed. I am told Tibby looks well, but Tom is very thin. I h ave not seen Arthur Miller since I came back. There are a lot of boys fr om around here with us. Tell Mrs Riley the boys arewell and going stron g. Poor old Captain Hitchen. I saw him just before he died. We were in th e same ward for a long time in the hospital. Then he sent for me in Augu st. I saw him on the 14th. He cried when I left him, and never let my ha nd go all the time I waswith him, and he used to keep on saying, "You k now, Albert, I can't write, that you tell the people from me it wasn't m y fault I never got to the trenches." He was too old, poor old fellow, f or the Army, but he was a good man, and shouldnever have been let com e away. If everyone of those that talk so much did for the boys what tha t man did they would do some good. His whole heart and soul were with th e Army. His son came over from France to see him. Poor old fellow. I kne whim all my life. He would say "Tell the people that it's not my faul t I never got into the trenches." He said, "I want to show the people o f Australia that I'm not out for the good of my health, but for the boys ." Poor old Captain! This is a little different walking about here in this country amongst sh ells and on snow to driving and riding buckjumpers, which I was used to , and the air is rather chilly compared to that of the back country. Don't worry. All of us, the whole five of us, will come out of this al l right and back to Sunny New South Wales." |
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Last change | 7 January 2022 – 14:36:04 |
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Albert James Tracy
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1886 |
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28 February 1917 |
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Albert, France |
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