From: Witley Camp, Godalming
Surrey, England
11 Mar. 1917

Dearest Mother -

I have not yet received your letter but had better write anyway. The Canadian mail must be delayed somewhere this week. I have just come off a Divisional Guard. I was not posted for it but took it to help out another fellow who had a weekend pass for London and couldn't have used it had he not got someone to take his guard. I have had to change my hut again today, but this time, the whole subsection moved with me. I was on guard but one of the fellows looked after my things for me. The reason for moving is that they want to move all the quarantined subsection into neighbouring huts. They are now fenced off with wire and guards mounted. I rather think the authorities are alarmed at the way the huts have had to be quarantined. It is all for measles and mumps. There is only one sub in our battery quarantined, but some batteries have as many as three or four. For mumps, they are quarantined for about a month, I think and I notice some won't be released till on in April.

I believe that is all that is keeping us in England now. I understand all the batteries in our brigade have been warned for overseas soon but the spread of these diseases will keep us here for awhile, I guess.

I read the first five chapters in that story in "Presbyterians" today and find it very interesting indeed. It is too bad there will be a gap in it as there is not even a synopsis.

There is a fellow named Philips in another sub of this battery who comes from Brockville - he lived there all his life, I guess and knows it well. Seems to be a very nice fellow. It is odd but in a letter from Josephine Stagg some time ago, she said she knew a fellow somewhere in the artillery in Witley Camp named Philips. I have found out that he knows her. It is strange that we should now happen to be in same battery.

Your letters are taking over a month to reach me now, as last one I received was a week ago today, written on Feb. 8. I hope there is not the same delay in the letters going from here to Canada. I haven't been writing very many letters lately, but wrote to Gladys the night before last. I haven't had a letter from her since Feb. 1. I suppose she is pretty busy now. I hope you are still free from the grippe and are not worried too much. You must take care of yourself above all and not work too hard. It will not be so very long till Easter now and you will have Harold back for a week then anyway and possibly, Gladys & Cecil. Does Gladys's term end at Easter or at end of June? Love to you and kind regards to others.
Yours affectionately,
Gordon