Whitley Jan. 21
Dear Tena

I received your letter a few days ago and was glad to hear from you. We have been moved to Whitley camp it is about seven miles from Bramshott. This camp is a lot bigger than Bramshott but I don't like it as well I guess it is only because we got used to the other one first. Earle Murdock left for France about a week ago and Frank had a letter from him two or three days after he left saying he expected to be in the front line trenches that night I guess the most of them are not left long at the base in France. We heard that Mike Dunlop had been wounded a few days after he left here but haven't heard any more about him since. They have taken two or three small drafts from this battalion for construction work but they only took men that had something wrong with them. Sial Doran and Charlie Bridges and two fellows from Iroquois went Billie Mead was turned down for service at the front he is in a base battalion at Bramshott and expects to go to France with a garrison battalion. He is in the same thing as Jack. I may have told you about Bill Mead before I rather think now I did but I am going to let it go anyway. There was a bad explosion in a munition factory in London last night. Some of the papers say that the flames before the explosion were two miles high it must have been some fire. Archie McNeil got your box alright and was quite tickled over it he has been quarenteened with measles four weeks and just got out two or three days ago. I don't know how long we willl be here yet we will not likely leave before spring now. They say the rest of this battalion will be left to-gether now. There was a party went to the ranges this morning. Walter was with them. I finished with that at Bramshott. We had a pretty good time Christmas. They fed us pretty good and things are never very dull in those huts when we all get in there. Charlie Bridges had some of his people down there from London and I guess they will think we are a wild lot. We were issued boxing gloves and we have a fellow in the hut that plays the violin and you can imagine the time we had. Well the war news looks pretty good now but it seems to me the Germans are good for most of next summer yet. It may be over by next Christmas but I don't think we will be home by that time we may have to stay here for a while after the war is over. If I could get my discharge here I would like to go to Australia before I go back but I don't think I will be able to get discharged here. As ever Cliff.