No. 22 General Hosp.

Sept 22nd

My Dear Mother :-

Now that I have nothing whatsoever to do and am not allowed to leave my bed I have plenty of time to write and catch up some arrears in my correspondence which, of late, has been very sadly neglected.

I am coming along very well indeed. The Dr. has just examined my wound which is in fine shape. Altho' I have no definite idea I should go across the channel as soon as the stitches are removed. Hospital life is quite a contrast to and quite an improvement upon existence in trenches and shell holes. It does get tiresome lying in bed from morn 'till night but I have a good book on "Robt. Browning" which helps to pass away the idle hours. My appetite is fine and I have no difficulty in disposing of the meals supplied, breakfast at 7.00 a.m., dinner at 12.00 p.m., tea at 3.30 p.m. and a lunch at 6.30 p.m.

Naturally you will be inquisitive as to how I got hurt. Our brigade was placed on the ____th [date omitted] in a rather hot corner in the line and the M Guns sent out in front of the Infantry as outpost guns in anticipation of a counter-attack. We took up our positions in shell holes just before dawn and altho' nothing definite was known we thought that Fritzie was located in front of a ridge about two hundred yards in advance of our positions. It was quiet for a time and then when we started to move around and shift our positions the fun started. From then on we had a shower of whizz-bangs falling all over our front with an occasional MG sniper hammering away. How any of us came out is a wonder. About six o'clock in the evening I was lying about half asleep in our shell hole for we were all tired, no sleep for 60 hrs when I woke up with a start. I thought someone had taken a crack at my knee and then when my leg began to stiffen we found the wound about six inches above the knee-cap. As I was down in the shell hole at the time we thought it must have been shrapnel. I, after it was dusk, got back to Headquarters and then next morning back to the Dressing Stn. From there you go to a Field Aid Post, then to a Casualty Clearing Station, and then by Amb train to Hospital. Here an examination of the leg under the X-ray showed that it was a bullet and not a piece of shrapnel. Then followed the operation. It was a queer sensation going in and coming out of the ether, difficult indeed to describe. Now I am in a ward and will be here for a week at least.

Send no more parcels or money until I write or wire. I received your letter with the $1 bill in it a day or so before I was hit. With very best wishes and love, I am

Yours

FC

The S.E. Posts had just started to come again. I also got several papers which Nellie had sent to me.