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23 Nov 55 Peter Balaclava Mother ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Balaclava – 23rd November /55

My dear Mother

You have no doubt been wondering what has become of me since you last heard but cannot be in a worse state of ignorance than John was. I thought he would have heard from you but he appears to have known nothing about me or my whereabouts & it was not in my power to let him know.

We were about three weeks at Baltchik which is about 15 miles from Varna taking in Barley and I never was at such a villainous place in my life. The inhabitants consisting of partly Turks, Greeks & Bulgarians dress in the most extraordinary costumes.

Some wear a Turban as big round as a drawing room table and of the most conspicuous colours; others the simple Fez. The green Turban I believe means that the wearer is a descendant of Mahomet and the said gentlemen, being determined that you shall know their descent, always have it of an enormous size and very bright colour.

In fact I think it does not matter about the garment being one mass of dirt or rags so that the colour is very conspicuous. An old soldier’s red coat is a great acquisition.

At Baltchik there is a small Commissariat Staff about half a dozen of them & you cannot imagine what a wretched state they are living. They were one night attacked and one of them had his head broken and they were robbed of £200 and everything they had including their own Revolvers before their eyes. In consequence of this they have a guard of 100 Turkish soldiers who are supposed to keep watch but who retire the moment they have gone to sleep and whose amusement is shooting at a target in the yard with their pistols, greatly endangering the lives of our Com't Officers.

The inhabitants are all armed to the teeth and are a most dangerous set. It is not safe to walk out far in the country (even armed) alone for they do not even attack you & give you a chance but shoot at you while passing from some hidden place. The town itself is the most dirty hole you can imagine altho’ it looks rather picturesque in the distance. Everything is most primitive. They use stones for weights; they tie a horse’s legs and lay him down to shoe him and such like things. The Greeks are dreadful cheats and the Turks make a point of hanging them for nothing and without a trial in the open street and letting them hang there as if they were pigs.

Talking of pigs, we all arose one day to see our Cook – who is a great strong fellow – running after a Turk with a pigs cheek. You cannot imagine in what a consternation he was. He ran all round the ship and a number of Greeks were as delighted as possible. You see therefore the Turks are as great cowards as they are blackguards.

The prison is a dirty hovel with grating – and the prisoner may get what he can – the Court is not going to feed him. The whole place is beset with the most wretched looking dogs who sleep at day & are very vicious at night so much so that it is dangerous to walk about.

At Baltchik we had a regular row on board. Two men were left on shore & in the evening came on board drunk and one went and got a (Russian) bayonet and went up on the poop to stab the Captain but was stopped on his way and thrown right off on his back & was so hurt that he did not get well for some time when he was made a prisoner – & the two will get into a nice mess now.

The night after we left we had a collision at about 9pm with another vessel called the Mary Ann & a terrible smash it was. We all thought our last hour was come & were in a terrible state of excitement. The vessel has not appeared yet we managed to get all safe to Balaclava but of course the Captain makes as little of it as possible or the vessel might be sent home & out of the service. The damage turned out to be nothing very serious.

About a hundred miles off Balaclava we picked up a large barge belonging to the Turkish Contingent. In the distance we took it for a small yacht especially when a mast floated by. At Balaclava you cannot imagine what dreadful weather we had. Just such as the 14th Nov. last year.* You could not see a ship at a slight distance off, the fog was so thick and blowing tremendously. However the next day by chance we managed to get in before our turn and then I learned all the news – John dined with us yesterday. I brought him two turkeys as a present from Baltchik for his Christmas dinner but if we are here he dines with us. I am glad Julius has gone home & I must now thank you for what you are sending me out – altho’ I wish it had arrived already for the weather is very cold and I have nothing to wear.

I have no doubt you have provided all that is necessary for me & am looking out anxiously every day for the arrival of the vessel. We are likely to be here about a fortnight or three weeks and I am afraid we shall go back to Baltchik as they seem to send the same ships there every time. The men say they will not go. This ship is not in a fit condition having been out so long but they will be obliged to if ordered.

I will write again by next mail.

So now with love & remembrances to all

Good bye from

Yr. affect son

Peter Laurie

I suppose Julius is getting on all right tho’ perhaps he has not arrived yet.

* 14th Nov. last year – The storm which wrecked the ‘Prince’ outside Balaklava harbour