Sunday April 11th 1915

My Dearest Kate

A few lines to let you know that I am still alive & well. I guess this will be the last letter I shall get the chance of writing to you until we come out of the trenches again. I think we are due to go in again in a couple of days now. We were inspected by Gen [?] Horace Smith Dorr[?] this morning. After the inspection he had the Officers & Sergeants out & passed a few complimentary remarks as to our discipline & good work done whilst in the trenches If we get much more of that stuff we shall all be suffering from an severe attack of swelled headedness. He also told them that the line of trenches we are to take over in a day or two was a very important section to hold & that when the troops were relieved there they were always relieved by the best available troops (thats us) I dont think I should like that kind of compliment in civilian life that is to put a guy in a ditch where someone is firing at him all the time. I suppose we must take it as the highest form of compliment out here though Anyhow I dont think it will be so monotonous for us there as it was in the other trenches We were always glad to be relieved there as by the time our three days were up we were just about bored stiff & sometimes we began to wonder if there really was a war on or not I have just received your letter of March 22nd & was surprised to hear that you had not got any more of my letters by then as I have written on an average of at least twice a week since arriving in France This is the fifth one since two weeks last Friday when we came out of the trenches last. I guess by now that you have received some of them all in a bunch the same as I get yours sometimes but you ought to get them regular in Victoria unless the censor is. Glad to hear that your first day's holiday was a fine one & I hope you will get good weather right through. Its a lovely day here today but we have had some pretty rotten weather lately I hope when we move again we shall be lucky enough to have a fine day for a change. So you really intend to make up for lost time & go to church every Sunday now. I guess when I get back I shall have to do the same as I havent been to a religious ceremony of any kind since leaving Lark Hill. Thank Alice & Billy for their kindness in sending me the tobacco I can assure you it will be most thankfully received when it arrives. I see by the Victoria papers that they have started a fund for tobacco & cigarettes for us. We haven't done so bad for smokes since coming here as we get an issue occasionally & most of our bunch have arranged with friends at home for a regular supply Just over a week ago we had over a thousand cigarettes in our little family & two or three of us have had some sent since but they are all gone now except for a few woodlines & an issue of two packets each just received I get a box of Players every week from Harry & I have written to some of my Aunts asking for some have received one parcel of 150 from one of them up to date am expecting some more every day now. I have only had to buy Belgian tobacco once & threw half of that away (after receiving some from home) as its rotten stuff to smoke also the cigarettes. I really think if I could get nothing but that dope that I should give up smoking altogether so you can guess what its like when I say that. Yes that was some catch of Audy's & T.G.s I guess they are proud of themselves now The address you have is quite alright dear & will find me anywhere whilst I am on the job, but we are officially known as the 7th Batt & not 1st B.Cs but that will find me alright & I think I have received all you letters up to date Well dear I think this is all now so will close with heaps of love & kisses XXXXXXXXX

From
Your Ever Loving
Jack

P.S. Please remember me to all friends hoping this will find you all well. Guess you wil be starting the picnics soon Hope you will have lots of them & have a real good time & think of me on another kind of a picnic but I dont think I shall have the job of lighting fires & boiling water on this job
Jack