April 23/17

Dear Mother,-
At last we seem to be getting spring weather. The last few days have been bright and warm but up till then we had snow storms and everything else unpleasant

We had a bath this morning and it certainly went good. I was mud from head to foot, outside and inside. The warm sun dried the mud on our clothes so we could scrape it off and the warm water and soap soon took the dirt off our bodies

Say mother this little twig of Pussy Willow was about five miles behind Fritzies lines not long ago. I was growing in a hedge by a railway track. Fritz has seem the last of the railway track now through and is now a member of miles back of it.You ask me in one of your letters if I ever got the razor blades, and Deary Grace sent. Yes, I got them both. I thought I had mentioned getting them.

Hennie is lying here writing a letter home. This is the first time we, have written a letter together for a couple of months. His company has just been paid and ours is next.The whole countryside around here, which a couple of weeks ago was around your front line is thickly piopulated with men and horses.

From where I am sitting I can cound 12 of our balloons up and six of Fritzies. There is a German plane over our lines and our anti air craft gunners are firing at him. They very seldom hit a plane though because an aeroplane, going at the speed they travel, is a very hard thing to hit. There he is out of their range now. He is going back over this own lines. It's time he beat it too because here comes five of our planes now.

I saw Sergeant Colbeck yesterday. He said he had a nice long letter from you and that it was very interesting. I was over to his office. (In a tent.) He said Canadian mail was only coming in twice a month now, so I guess when we get any now it will be in bunches and then none for a couple of weeks. Wes and Mason are both above the weather. Our tents are all close to-gether, so it's no trouble to hunt one another up anytime we like
Well I guess I'll have to quit this letter. It will soon be my turn for pay. I don't need the money very badly but might as well draw it I hope you get this little twig of willow in good shape.
Goodbye
With love
Gordon
Remember me to all. I'm glad Cliff is Ok again. I received his magazine with the other day