Roffey Camp,
Feb, 13, 1916
Dear Everybody:
Sunday evening and I want to drop a few lines. Received your letters a few days ago but have been pretty busy and never got around to writing. Don't think I have a great deal of news. We are still in Roffey Camp, and likely to be for some time. There has been a delay due to new methods of work which are continually being proven to be better by experience and which necessitate a number of observers taking up telephony. Lawson and I are writing in our little home - one of us in the easy chair at each table and a big fire blazing in the fireplace. We are just waiting for Roy to come from church - we stayed in tonight to write - and then we are going down to a home where we have become acquainted, a Mr. And Mrs. Debney, Prof. Thompson, Harry Mollins, one of our good singers, Lawson, Warren, Roy, and I were down on Friday evening and had a very nice time in music and games. They are Mr. And Mrs. Debney, a son of 17 a daughter 15 and another 8. The little girl is one of the cutest little things I have ever seen. We all had 12 midnight passes and when she was going to bed about 10 she came around and kissed us all good night. Besides the Debneys themselves there are four young ladies, all teachers
boarding with three of them near relatives of Mr. And Mrs. Debney and the other, Miss Pellellet no relation at all. They are all very nice people and the fact that there are so many of them teachers makes it extremely interesting for us. [The Debneys remained life long friends of HHS]
Monday morning: got so far then Roy came from church. Then he, Lawson and I went down to Mr. Debney's. Had an hour and a half singing and a lunch and then we beat it for camp. An Englishman no matter where you find him is a singer. Singing is on in the schools and in order to hold a teacher's license one has to qualify as singing teacher. Consequently in such a bunch of teachers there is necessarily lots of music. Miss Pellellet is very pretty, very talented, being a good singer and an excellent teacher. We are invited down to visit her school and Mr. Debney's on Thursday afternoon. Their work is much better than ours in many ways especially in nature study and singing.
Don't think I have much news. We are going on at the same work. I wish we were qualified and doing something worthwhile. We had our class on Thursday evening and it was the best one we have had yet. Sgt. Cole has found his work too strenuous to keep it up and Lawson is teaching it. Yours truly is president we are working it for all we are worth and I think we are doing some little good.
Don't think I have any other news. Will write you again the last of the week. All the fellows are well and we are having excellent weather a dandy time. I wrote to Clemmie a couple of days ago and wrote to Ethel Saturday. Have to write to Mr. Cross and Mr. Taylor today. Have owed each of them letters for a couple of weeks. Think I have had about 20 letters I haven't answered yet. Don't know when on get them all written. Lots of love to all. Am going to write to Earle soon.
Your loving soldier son, Harold
P.S. will stand a few snaps someday soon. Am also going to send a bunch of London views and a few things that I should have sent long ago.
