Reply to 195.560 Company D Batt. 93rd Regt.

Stationed at Otter Pool Camp

Kent England

Sept 9th 1916

Army P.O

London Eng.

My dear Mr Irwin

I take very great pleasure in answering your bright & very welcome letter it is what we need, because we are having it pretty stiff at present what with extra duties & our firing to get in, we are up early & to bed late we don’t get back from the ranges till about 8PM o clock & then we have to get up at 3 next morning ready for another day, but we are only like all the rest have to do we started on this thing & we mean to carry it through to a finish, I tell you the people here are not troubled very much about the Zeppelin raids, & not one military place as been touch by them yet, I expect the papers will be full of the damage done by them but according to the reports here there as not been much done. Well you ask me if I have been bombing yet, I have not, I have had about 10 days in hospital with a sprained knee & then was put in Quarantine for 18 more days so you I have not had much time for anything, but I do not expect to get any instruction on bombing, as nearly all the battalion have been through it. But I have got something else, I am one of the musketing instructors for the 93rd so you see I have plenty to do. Well again you ask if the 93rd is about to be broke up, yes it is, the first draft went this week to France, 150 men to reinforce the 5th C.M.R. so you see there is every prospect of it coming to pieces, but I do not know what they are going to do with the N.C.Os they will not let them revert to the ranks & they will not let us go as N.C.Os but never mind I expect they will use us in some capacity as they think fit. I am very thankful for your kindly thought & also for Mrs Irwin’s because I know you have quite a bit to do & so as Mrs Irwin, has she recovered fully from her illness. Well Sir will you please tell Carl not to think about joining the army yet as he is not old enough & they will not let him go to France till he is 19 years old so you see it is know use him worrying himself & also troubling you & Mrs Irwin it is a life of hardship & danger. He need not be troubled it might come his time sooner than he thinks give my respects & love to all the boys accepting same for yourself & Mrs Irwin.

From yours sincerely

Sent Iden Bonds

P.S. Jim Livingston W. Little J. Cross over with the draft all some more of the Norwood boys, but I do not know when they are stationed yet,

Iden