ENILL Y D.C.M.
Llongyfarchwn Reg Sergeant-Major R. H. White, R. W. F., New Street, ar ei waith yn enill y D.C.M am wroldeb o'i eiddo yn Gaza, yn Nhir yr Addewid.Eled yn uwch eto.
Yr Udgorn 24/10/1917
A Letter From a Pwllheli Soldier.
"IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIGHT GO TO EGYPT!"
Mr. G. Cornelius Robert, mayor of Pwllheli, has received the following letter from Sergt.- Major B. White, New-street, from Palestine :-"And sut y mae pawb bellach?
Good news from all fronts. Looks as if we shall soon be back in dear old Cymru again. What do you think of the effort, of the E.E.F.? Some push ynte? As the troops say, 'That's the sort of stuff we give 'em.' And so well administered was it that I very much doubt if they will do the unwise thing, i.e., ask for more. The boys on all the fronts are doling out the same sort of medicine to the firm of Fritz and Co., and it seems to me that this renowned firm will soon be wound up with the Hohenzollerns out on parole, either as undischarged bankrupts or ticket-of-leave men.
By the way, have you ever heard of the music hall song, 'If you don't want to fight go to Egypt'? What do you think of that for an unwarranted slander on the E.E.F.? What a slur on our uncomparable G.O.C. Those who applauded that song a short time ago must feel small now that the very last of the Crusaders have accomplished the task that Christendom set itself to do hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and that was to clear the Holy Land of the Saracen or Turk. The story of this clearance will live for countless ages.
You may have heard that at the joining of our battalion with another I became an out of work. Well, for a while, I was on the Mount of Olives, but at the opening of the stunt I was back again. Everybody moved up. Our move was one of about fifteen miles.
At present I am sergt-major of the XX. Corps, Reinforcement Training Camp. But it is a problem to guess what anyone will be out here in a week's time. Our lads have made so good a job out of this last affair that we are all exercising our minds on the geography of the remaining fronts and guessing to which one we shall be sent.
There are no Pwllheli boys at present in this camp and I do not know for sure the whereabouts of any of them. Some are certain to be with the joint battalion; but which of them I cannot tell.
Felly nid oes gennyf ddim newydd i'w anfon i chwi am hogia y Pwll, ond mae yn debyg eu bod yn anfon gair eu hunain 'rwan ac yn y man."
Cambrian News 08/11/1918
A Letter From a Pwllheli Soldier.
The following interesting letter has been received by the ex-Mayor (Mr. G. Cornelius Roberts) from Regimental Sergeant-major Bert White, 19, New-street :"Dear Mr, Roberts,
I read with much regret that you will not be mayor of Pwllheli when we all come home. All we soldiers from Pwllheli have regarded you more in light of the O.C., Home Depot, than as mayor, and after all your past kindnesses we were looking forward to your 'well done, boys,' which we felt would be your first greeting to our old home-town.
Anyway, Mr. Roberts, the fact that you will not greet us in any official capacity does not alter in the least our deep sense of gratitude and affection for all your many kindnesses and for the sincerity of your regard for all the lads who left Pwllheli for the field where Christians hurled ironmongery at one another. The bond between us is a personal one and is none the weaker in that burgesses of the old place owe allegiance to another mayor.
Now for a bit of 'hanes.' We are at Alexandria, in a canvas camp, doing nothing beyond keeping fit. At any moment we may be ordered to pack up and clear out. The boys are all rolling in from their various detached duties, and many old friendships have been renewed. Many old faces missed for years are to be seen again as of yore, smilingly proud to be back with the parent regiment. We are still the 5/6th R.W. Fusiliers, and possibly will remain so.
'Be waeth? Cymru ydym ni gyd yn edrych am gael myned tua'n cartrefi,' and it matters not whether we go as we are or on our heads, on our heels, - whether we swim it, walk it, or fly it, so long as we get there. I wonder whether we shall?"