Post by BereniceUK on Apr 6, 2017 7:22:33 GMT
LOCAL MAN IN CHINA.
WITH THE PEKIN RELIEF FORCE.
The following interesting letter has been sent to us for publication. It is from Edgar Mercer, seaman, to his father and mother who live in Wordsworth-street, Bootle.
H.M.S. Centurion,
August 9th, 1900.
Mess 19, China.
My dear Father and Mother,
I now take the pleasure of writing these few lines to you, hoping to find you in good health as it leaves me at present. I received your kind and loving letter yesterday, and was very glad to do so. I am very glad to tell you that I am back on board the ship all safe and sound. I suppose you have heard as much as I can tell you about the war, but I can tell you our ship lost the most men, because we were with the Admiral all the time on account of our ship being the flagship. We leave Tako to-day for a place called Shanghi, and there is a hundred of us told off to land there, and I believe we are going to bombard Woo Sung forts as well, and the hundred of us are going to take them at the point of the bayonet, and I am one of them, but I don't want to do any more fighting because it is worse than the Transvaal War, because if they catch you they don't take you prisoner ; the Chinese torture you, and then they cut your heads off. So I think I have told you all the news at present so I will conclude with best love.
From your loving son,
EDGAR.
P.S. I also enclose a poem composed by two of my shipmates entitled: - "The Peking Relief Force."
(Bootle Times, 13 October 1900)
WITH THE PEKIN RELIEF FORCE.
The following interesting letter has been sent to us for publication. It is from Edgar Mercer, seaman, to his father and mother who live in Wordsworth-street, Bootle.
H.M.S. Centurion,
August 9th, 1900.
Mess 19, China.
My dear Father and Mother,
I now take the pleasure of writing these few lines to you, hoping to find you in good health as it leaves me at present. I received your kind and loving letter yesterday, and was very glad to do so. I am very glad to tell you that I am back on board the ship all safe and sound. I suppose you have heard as much as I can tell you about the war, but I can tell you our ship lost the most men, because we were with the Admiral all the time on account of our ship being the flagship. We leave Tako to-day for a place called Shanghi, and there is a hundred of us told off to land there, and I believe we are going to bombard Woo Sung forts as well, and the hundred of us are going to take them at the point of the bayonet, and I am one of them, but I don't want to do any more fighting because it is worse than the Transvaal War, because if they catch you they don't take you prisoner ; the Chinese torture you, and then they cut your heads off. So I think I have told you all the news at present so I will conclude with best love.
From your loving son,
EDGAR.
P.S. I also enclose a poem composed by two of my shipmates entitled: - "The Peking Relief Force."
(Bootle Times, 13 October 1900)