Harrogate Herald - 28th November 1917
Letters
Driver F Collier, writing from Central India,
acknowledging receipt of the Herald, says :
I was in Mesopotamia. It took the Herald almost
three months to reach me, because we were always wandering about in
different parts of he lines. I got invalided from there with
dysentery, and am still in India. I came here in May, but all the
same it does not touch Blighty. I joined the Army in 1915. Do you
remember the West Yorks recruiting for a fortnight? Well, I joined
them and went to York with them, and about three days after joined
the Green Howards and went to Richmond. I left there in September,
1915, went to the 3rd Battalion, and in February, 1916, got
transferred to the Machine Gun Corps at Grantham, and on October
11th, 1916, left Devonport for Mesopotamia. I went into action at
the back-end of November, 916, and was in the fall of Sanni-i-Yat
and marched part of the way to Badgered, and then I was taken bad
through the dirty water and bad grub.
Harrogate Herald - 12th December 1917
Roll of Honour
Driver F Collier (MGC), son of Mrs Collier,
36 Grey Street, Oatlands Mount, Harrogate, has been invalided from
Mesopotamia to India with dysentery.
Harrogate Herald - 24th April 1918
Gunner F Collier writes from India :
Thanks so much for the Harrogate papers. I don't get
them every week, but three or four at a time; but as long as I do
get them I don't mind much. It is a treat in India after
Mesopotamia, but still it's miserable here. If we want any amusement
we must make our own, which is very rough at times - the amusement,
I mean. We had a fairly decent Xmas, with fine weather. It's more
like a summer's day in Blighty than a winter's day; although it's
the cold season here, we are having fine weather. I got the papers
with my photo and letter inside, and I must thank you for putting
them in. food and native labour are both cheap in India. One can get
a good meal for 3½ annas, and a boot boy to clean boots, buttons,
and equipment for four annas a week. The worst part of this place,
we don't get half the rations the soldiers in England do. We have no
milk or butter issue. We must buy our own. Milk is cheap - it is one
anna, one pice a pint, which is 1¼d in English Money.
PS – Would you mind sending some books?
