“D”Coy “

20th Battalion,

CASULA.

Dear Father,

I came home tonight for the first time for quite a week, various duties etc. having kept me at the Camp. As you have read no doubt, the two Camps at Casula and Liverpool have been having rather jinks lately which the papers have magnified into “horrible atrocities” committed by “mad soldiers”. To give you my version of the affair, the facts were thus: It really began over the old “sore”– LEAVE. The worthy soldiers in Casula and Liverpool were informed that it was the wish of Gen. Mackay, Senator Pearce and a few other big nobs, that they were to do another 1-1/2 hours of drill per day making 42 hours per week instead of 35 hours. This day drill was to finish up at 5 pm instead of 4 pm. The rumour also got about that there was to be no smoke-oh between times and that there was to be no week end leave and that the night leave was to be partially stopped. The soldiers thereupon had a meeting in the breakfast interval, comprising about 500 of the silliest of them and decided to march to Liverpool and there to rouse the men in that camp and protest to the Camp Commandant against the new regulations. The 500 odd thereupon formed fours and marched through and out the Battalion lines of the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and Depot Battalions in Casula collecting on their march practically every man in Camp who formed fours and followed the crowd. They were got into the procession by cries of “Cold feet” and “Come on boys and join the fun” etc. and very few resisted the call because no one saw much harm in the thing. They were doing wrong of course but then it wasn’t every day that the chance came to have a bit of a “birthday” like that procession promised to be. Well, having collected the men into a procession which measured quite a mile and a quarter long, they marched through Liverpool , over the bridge, onto the camp. The leaders of the procession had the foresight to caution the Hotels, who closed up, with the result that the procession went into Liverpool in quite an orderly fashion. In Liverpool no one tried to stop the procession except a couple of Officers who were hunted off by the soldiers. The procession was increased to about 8000 in Liverpool and delegates went and interviewed the Camp Commandant and a couple of other “Heads” with the result that the men were told to go back quietly to camp and go on as usual under the old regulations until the Commandant had time to wire to the Minister for Defence and on receiving a reply we were to be informed at once. The Casula men thereupon left Liverpool and went back to Casula almost to a man. On arriving back the general idea seemed to be for the soldiers to get into uniform and proceed to Sydney as they evidently were not satisfied.

A comparatively small number did so, but the remainder found no dinner prepared for them in a couple of the Battalions, while in one Battalion, the Major is reported to have told some of his men to clear out again with the result that a large number, probably 2000 or so went into Sydney to have a day out and see the fun. I was in the procession in the morning and went into Sydney to see the fun but can honestly say that I did not harm or help to harm or encourage to harm one pennyworth of property and in fact felt very ashamed and disgusted over the whole thing. Well, as I said, the Casula men went back to Camp and the “public house soldiers” and Larrikin element in Liverpool took advantage of one of the publican’s temerity in opening his bar to the procession, to help themselves. From that moment on the trouble started. About 50 or so of these undesirable soldiers began to paint Liverpool red by helping themselves to drinks, smashing shop windows etc. When we came back from Casula we found Liverpool strewn with bottles and windows smashed and soldiers drunk and riotous all over the place and a small party of four or five policemen and a few Officers and a parson trying to stop the affray. The small mob of drunks broke open the street opening to one of the public house cellars and hauled up a couple of barrels of beer and some whisky and also a couple of cases of beer which was consumed by the mob in any old way which came to hand, such as out of fire buckets, frying pans, etc. As each train came into the station it was filled up with soldiers “out for the afternoon” but who had no intention of destroying or rioting at all, and then steamed for Sydney. During the afternoon, police reinforcements arrived in Liverpool and quelled the disturbance and I can guarantee that even at the most lively time no one was interfered with by the soldiers as stated in the papers who exaggerated the affair a great deal. The whole riot could have been stopped in Liverpool in half an hour if the Camp Commandant had had any brains or courage. He could have called out the Camp Guard and with about 50 or a hundred volunteer pickets with rifles and bayonets he could have picketed the hotels and the Bridge and other spots in such a manner as to frighten and beat the 50 or a hundred drink maddened maniacs who were too much for the few Policemen who received hardly any support from the Military. Failing that, it could have been arranged that no trains were to stop at Liverpool, so that no one could have gone to Sydney. Weak knees you see. Well, something like 5000 or 6000 men went to Sydney where a couple of hundred or so got drunk and disorderly and were egged on by the Sydney Larrikins and civilians and police until they smashed a few more windows and harmed a few inoffensive barrowmen and Cordial carts and Greek fish shops etc. with the result that about 30 or so got run in by the police. I honestly think that no more than 500 soldiers at the very most took part in any lawbreaking episodes and the best part of those only looked on and got in the way of the police. The balance of the 5000 odd soldiers went sight seeing and just walked the streets and in no way participated in any disturbance at all. The papers fanned the thing into a chapter of awfui outrages and horrors, of women screaming, children trampled on, blood everywhere etc. until people became alarmed and the Military had to take the thing seriously, with the result that at tea time, armed pickets were all over the place. Nothing much happened after tea except that an occasional drunk got run in and the police got followed up and hooted by the crowd etc.

About 11pm the worst of it all happened. The Military picketed the station heavily with armed soldiers and the belated drunks who were excited after the day out found that they could not board the train for the Camp, as usual. Being under the influence of drink, they got annoyed with the Guards who ordered them to disperse which they would not do and the only alternative was to fire on them which was done, one being killed and 8 or 9 wounded. Next day was as usual and we had our drill and carried on as if nothing happened at all to disturb the regular routine. We all received our pay as usual, minus 5/- which was docked from those absent in the afternoon. Something like 4000 of us were fined amounting to about 1,500 pounds or so in fines which ought to pay for the damage which was done by the outlawed few. There are 18000 troops in Liverpool and of these some 400 or 500 kicked up a row with the result that all men in khaki are now branded as something akin to Huns or Turks. With a little backbone on the part of the Military and a little common sense on the part of the Police, the thing could never have happened. There is as you know a big percentage of the I.W.W. Union clique in camp together with any amount of dare devil harum-scarum coves who stick at nothing and they with the fool who opened his public house, and the week-kneed Military were the cause of it all in my opinion. The pubs all close up at 6 pm now and drinking is limited in Liverpool and I hope it stays like that,

I am going March 7th on the ‘Orsova=. I think so that you ought to be able to see me yet before I go. I could have gone to Melbourne today, had I chosen, as they wanted volunteers to make up the first reinforcements to the 31st Batt. to sail almost immediately. I, however, considered I was well enough off already and would most likely see Melbourne in any case, so I did not volunteer for it. Mother does not look too well at all but she swears she is all right so I suppose she is. Your beans are growing fairly well and have a lot of young beans and blossoms on the plants. Hilda came home for the week end this afternoon (Friday) and I will be home for the same again tomorrow.

Well, goodbye, hoping you will enjoy this tale of horrors which is only my version of the affair but which I think is fairly correct all the same as I was an eyewitness to most of it.

From your affect. son, Walter.

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