Letters of 2nd Lieutenant CF YEADON

Date of enlistment	15^th February 1915
Age at enlistment	26
Profession	Mechanical Engineer
Town	Brunswick
Status	Single
Rank at enlistment	Private
Company	C Company, 22^nd Battalion
Significant events while with the AIF	Left Australia on A38 Ulysses, 8^th May 1915 Served in Gallipoli & France Hospitalised as a result of gas asphyxiation, 29^th October 1915 Awarded the Military Cross, Pozieres Promoted to 2^nd Lieutenant Killed in Action at Pozieres, 5^th August 1916

2^nd Lieutenant Yeadon’s full WW1 service record can be located in the National Archives of Australia. Full details are available online, NAA Series B2455

The following extracts are taken from the letters of 2^nd Lieutenant Yeadon while training in Egypt and while in France. The originals are stored in the Australian War Memorial research centre in Canberra, and acknowledgement goes to the family of 2^nd Lieutenant Yeadon and the AWM enabling the subsequent publishing within this commemorative project.

Egypt

26^th June 1915: Now we are drilling very hard and having some hot and long marches a good few of our boys are getting knocked up but so far I am going strong. Last Saturday and Sunday we marched out over 20 miles and back a total of 40 miles over the sandy deserts and it is very hot here in the day but the nights are almost cold and one has to use a blanket every night.

1^st July 1915: I am pleased to have had the chance of meeting French people, their style seems so much for making friends and not so rough and course as the average crowd of us Australians. Our boys are by far the roughest here when on leave, great drunkenness and knock the natives about more than the Tommies. But when our boys are on parade or trench digging they knock out the English Territorials. Their own officers are sent over to see our men take up a new position and entrenching it and cant our boys use the pick and shovel. On average we are bigger by a good deal than the Tommies and they are a bit jealous of us

France

17^th June 1916: What grand news about the Russians they seem to have more than making up from last year’s retreat in fact everything seems to be going on to our advantage and sometimes I do not think it will be very long before they are trying to call for peace. [A common sentiment in letters at this time]