France
4.1.17

Dear Mother.

Audrey's letter & yours of the 29th have just come to hand enclosing the little leather watch cover. In the meanwhile the watch has gone wrong. I have done it up in a parcel & a fellow, who is going to England on leave shortly, has promised to take across with him & post to you. I don't know what is the matter with it, but amongst other things, it is probably very dirty.

I dont know whether this letter will ever reach you for the envelope is very flimsy. I found it on the road covered with mud; it was in an awful mess, but such things as clean envelopes are too valuable to leave lying about.

I has been a nice clear day to day the first we have had for a long time. There has been quite a lot of aerial activity. I counted as many as sixteen observation balloons of our own and six German ones. One enemy aeroplane was exceptionally daring, coming away back over our lines & flying very low so that all our anti aircraft shrapnel was bursting away past him.

We are getting much more grub now than a week or two ago, and we have also got our canteen up. But of course an occasional cake is always welcome.

7th Jan. Since writing the first part of this I have been sick a couple of days although everything is alright now. Unfortunately in the meanwhile the fellow was going to take my watch has gone so I am left in the lurch, but I may find somebody else to take it for me.

I had a letter from George Humphries, the man who bought my outfit in Canada, this evening. He tells me that they suffered badly with the rust and bad weather during threshing time. He has also got my homestead rented, but only managed to grow 250 bushels of wheat on the same piece of land that I had 800 bus. On the last years.

This only graded No6 Northern whereas mine went No2 last year. However the price was pretty good. $1.10 per bushel.

I also hear that the mare of mine, that he is looking after had a foal this summer & both are doing well now. So with luck this will mean another horse for me when I go back.

Billy diamond has I believe been wounded a second time & Fred Wilson, the fellow in those photographs of my horses, is missing.

Whilst writing the parcel with the watch protector has arrived it is just the kind I wanted. Unfortunately the watch is out of commission. It was certainly rather funny Taylor coming to light again. The Canadian fellow in the same dugout as myself comes from Victoria & knows the James Bay Hotel well.

Orders have just come for us to move again, which is most unfortunate as our dugout is getting quite comfortable with all modern conveniences. We are going somewhere about 20 miles north up the line.

I was sorry to hear that Dad has been with the ‘flu' I hope he is better.

Your very loving

Cuthbert