12.2’.17

C/o. Robus. Bros.
Printers and Stationers
High Street
Dunmow
Essex Eng

My dear Mr. Irwin

Received your very welcome letter, indeed many thanks, you know how I look forward to those old hometown letters.

Just had a long talk with Cpt. Thomson over old times, he is real nice, & am glad to say he helps us old boys as much as is in his power, which is more than one can say about lots.

I had a special medical board this week & was marked C.3. & so they want me to do clerical work in London, but I have thought the whole matter over seriously, & have decided to carry on for while till I get a little stronger physically & then out I go to France again

Much as I would like to be home with you, I think I will take another chance, in fact something seems to call me back again, I have had that same feeling each & every time I have been back to France, & somehow I think a fellow when he feels that way, he ought to go. Mind you, nobody wants to be shot at, have had quite sufficient, but we old boys, took the oath when we ‘listed & we have a lot of debts to pay, so those of us that are left must & will finish what our comrades who have fallen cannot do. They have given their all, their life’s blood, & we have to fight on.

Have one of my old boys with me he has been wounded three times, & so we have decided to go back to the bombers’ & do a little more damage to Fritz, so we shall come back again to dear old Norwood & see you all when we have got thru’ the next trip.

Good for Karl, he deserves credit for wanting to do his ‘bit’ give him my best wishes. If he gets with Colonel Ackerman he is with one who will look after the boys, wish I were with him now.

With regard to my exploits, really I have nothing to relate, but anyway, will try & give you a little instance of a friendly trip along Fritzs line

Well, here we go.

The 2nd Battn went into the line, somewhere near the Ypres Salient. part of the line was very close to the huns. about 30 yds apart, I had my bombers right at the close part, with a plentiful supply of bombs handy in case of necessity. the trenches were full of water & time hung heavy on our hands, so we decided to go on a tour of inspection, incidentally gather a few souvenirs, which the bombers were noted for, & from whom fellows going on leave could get supplies, at so much according to the rarity of the find, funds received went to the standing fund, used for extras.

All being ready we crawled out one by one with our revolvers loaded & pockets filled with the ever handy bomb.

We would crawl ten or fifteen yds & lay quiet for a few minutes, nothing doing, we gradually crawled along Fritz’s barbed wire, & then pulled off some flare bombs. (these are for when you cut the wire, they fall down, & cause the bombs to explode & a big flame spreads out & shows you all up, & then Fritz does some shooting, finally we got along to the close part & took a notion to annex a few stakes of a new pattern, two members of the party proceeded to cut the wire away from the stakes, then hush’ a sentry hears something & the whole line rings out with rifle & machine gun fire. the party flatten out on the ground & try to look like tree stumps, star shells begin to go. (star shells light up the whole of “no mans Land & woe betide anybody who moves, he is a dead man) After awhile the noise dies down & we carry on getting our stakes & all ready to go back, then one wag in the party wants to give some good British souvenirs away, so accordingly we present Fritz with a good fusillade of bombs & we glide merrily homewards, deliver some our finds to the Hdqtrs and then make our way back to our dugouts, have a good drink of tea, & a snooze, ready for action the next night.

Congratulations on the seventh boy doing fine, trust he will continue

Please remember me kindly to the Norwood folks

Well, will give you some more of our trips next time, trust you will make out what I have written, am not a real good hand at telling war tales.

Will say au revoir with all good wishes to you all

From sincerely yrs

Walter T. Robus