France

Tuesday August 27

My Dear Father & Mother

I am writing this out in the long grass where we are camped so I do not think it will be a long one.

I got two letters from you yesterday, written on July 25, 27th & I certainly did enjoy them as it was quite a little while since I got your last letter.

That certainly must have been an awful storm you had at home kind of hard luck on Stanley Park getting hit - though - he was lucky though that he did not get in the way of some of the metal that is going over my head now from one of our heavy batteries just behind us the 8 big shells are making a noise like a man hollering down a large concrete culvert. It is the only stuff to give him though & it makes one feel like a new man to know that we have [?] on the go.

I am glad to hear that Booth has got away at last - he will loose that strip in Blighty & he is not paid for it now. That is a good one.

I'm glad to hear that the [?] are comming along so good also the hay.

I am looking for that cake which you said you were sending. I know it will be good especially the almond part. We got a parcel mail today but I was out of luck.

Robert was hit in the side just below the ribs with a machine gun bullet in the last scrap we were in. I am told it is not serious. The boys in his company all liked him & spoke of him as a great favorite. He stayed with the boys till they took their first objective three miles up from the "kick off".

If Mrs. Munro wants you to take Blanch to Brandon I would make it a point of going via Prince Rupert & I hope you do. When a person going East on a well earned rest that old B- out have brains enough not to bother people with her kids.

I have not heard how Jeff came through this scrap the last I heard of him was when we were comming out of action down South & he was O.K. then. Have not heard of Brown since I spoke him in one of my letters during the 1st of the month.

You said that Jack Mac[?] was in the 29th. I will keep my eye open for him.

August 30th

Have moved three times since I started this letter so have not had a chance to do much writing - at present I am sleeping in one of our old gun pits & it makes a fairly good home - its late owner is now shipping iron rations over to Fritz a few kilos farther East.

We have a Sergeant here called Conner & he is the biggest B. S. artist I ever heard has C.H. Wells beat forty ways. Every trip he makes up the line he gets blown off his horse about ten times & ect - the funny part of it is that he has never yet been up the lines when it was what may be called at all hot & bombadiers usually take charge of wagons going up the line - Serg. very rarely leave the horse lines. Well we were going to water the other day about a mile from lines & Fritz planted a big naval shell about a hundred yds from us (he was shelling the back areas that day) well when we got back he was telling the cooks how a piece of it glanced off his tin hat! I was standing close to him eating & when he said this I said "Oh your full of prunes one of the boys through a chunk of mud at you" of course everyone laughed like the dickens - well I don't think I ever saw a man get so mad. I thought he was going to murder me however he cooled down & tried to pass it over.

We are having a spell of kind of chilly weather now. I guess the winter will soon be here & that reminds me will you send me another pr of woolen gloves with a pr. of pig skins to go over them - that is the best thing going for driving teams in the cold weather.

Well I must close now but either drop a card or write soon again, as I know you will be nervous these days.

With love for all

from Bill

P.S. I have not sent the gass mask yet because I have been too busy but am holding on to also have a german bayonet.