This is the first page of James Murphy's letter home from Australia to his mother. It was written in an army camp in Perth on the 12th of October 1915. The first page indicates that his mother does not agree with her son going to fight in the war and James explains his reasons for joining. He is fighting to stop Ireland and Australia from falling under German control and writes of how the Germans would take all of the people's possessions and land and how they will become the Germans servants whether they swear allegiance or not. He then goes on to write about the attitude towards a single man who does not go to fight in the war.

On the last page of the letter, James states that he and approximately 2,500 other soldiers would be leaving for Egypt on the 25th of October. He promises to send the family his regimental number and his new addresses. He assures his mother that he is in good spirits.

James is giving his father the money he made after his enlistment. He states that he will try to send the family back some of his weekly earnings while in Egypt. James requests that Patrick O Callaghan be given £30 out of his insurance money if something were to happen to him at the front.