Letter from Pte. Angus McLean

The following letter from one of New Liskeard's boys from the firing line has been received by Mr. W.J. Bolger, and shows that the boys were still in the firing line:

I read your very welcome letter yesterday and I am glad to hear that every thing is going good over there. Things are still quiet around here. The artillery does nearly all the fighting. We have been in good luck so far, we have lost since we came out three men killed and six or eight wounded, although some of the boys have had some close calls. We all know what war is anyway.
I saw my first aeroplane come down last week. Our planes seem to have it over the German airman like a tent. The fight I saw was the second for the British airman in one hour and he brought both the Germans down. That was some prize for him believe me. We don't see many planes over our lines. The only time they come over in when there are none of our planes in sight, and it don't take ours long to come up, then the Germans generally beat it. If they don't they are brought down. Bill and I were over to see Claude Kennedy yesterday. Tommy Faught went with us. I haven't seen Capt. Robinson for six weeks. He is back behind us and we don't have much chance to see him.
Well I don't know when this argument will be over, but I would be satisfied to have it end to-morrow. It won't last long when the Dardanelles are broken. Well I guess I will have to close now. Bill says he will write you later on. You can tell the fellows that we are just as well as when we left. We will be only too glad to hear from some of the boys and keep in touch with our old home town. Good bye for this time.

In another letter to Capt. Fred Thompson, of the Fire Brigade, of which Angus was a member, Private McLean expressed great pleasure at the success of the Liskeard boys at Midland, and also intimates that he and Private Thomas hope to be back when the boys try for the silverware next year. He says that the artillery is going all the time, and that from appearances the Germans do not appear to have the superior amount of ammunition which they had at the beginning of the war. Tom Faught is attached to the artillery headquarters only a mile from the billet occupied by the writer. Angus also saw Billy Butts, Enos Grant and Herb Durand just a few days before writing. He was told that Ludgate was a prisoner in Germany but that Private Bass of Thornloe had not been seen or heard from by any of his former comrades since the fighting at Langemarch, and the boys all believed that he had been killed. Angus says that the majority of the 2nd Division had arrived in France, and he expects to see Jack Taus, Redge Rennels, Ed Adams and Wes Dynes, all of whom are with that Division. We are asked to forward the Speaker to Claude Kennedy and Tom Faught, both of whose addresses are enclosed, and it is a pleasure for us to comply with the request from the boys at the front. In closing, "Fat" asks to be remembered to "the gang," and to announce that he will be pleased to hear from any of the boys.