Otterpool Camp, Kent
August 17th 15
Dear Grandad:-
I rec'd your very welcome letter the latter part of last week. I was very pleased to get such a prompt answer to my letter.
Well we all went to Tunbridge Wells and enquired after the Hodgkins but found they were all dead. We however met an old timer who told us of this Mrs Buss the coroner's wife in Tunbridge Wells whom you mentioned in your letter. We got her on the phone and she told us to come up in the evening. We then went further up the street and saw a Mr. Gale who had a shoe store about opposite the building that used to be the old chapel where your father used to preach. His brother married a Miss Bessie Row, a kind of 42nd cousin of ours.
After supper we took the train to Tunbridge Wells. When we got into "the Wells" we went to Grosvenor Street and saw the house where Aunt Lucy was born and the place where Dad used to go to school. We then went down and saw the fishmonger. I forget his name but his brother stayed with you in Montreal. He treated us like kings. We then went up to see Mrs Buss. She was a little stiff and sent the butler to ask our rank but she made quite a fuss of us when she found out who we were. The rest of the family came down including her husband and their nephew and his young lady, at least I think she was as he seemed pretty badly smitten.
The nephew had been at the front a while, just long enough to make him worse than if he had stayed at home. He is a young subaltern in Kitchener's army and had a very bad case of the swelled head, however Dad put him in his place. Mrs. Buss treated us fine and we had a very good evening. The young lady wanted to know all about Canada and I told her and a little more too.
They wanted to put us up for the night but I had met a fellow that I used to work with in Winnipeg. He had come home and enlisted and was one of the military police, so we got lodgings at the house where he was billeted. We had a glorious sleep in and a real bed as well as supper and breakfast for the sum of 2 shillings per head.
The following morning (Sunday) we went down to the Pantiles and took the waters according to regulations. We then hit the road for Frant and visited the old church and spoke to the old sexton who remembered Great-grandad Dibley and Grandad Biggins's sister who used to be schoolmistress there. We saw Great-grandad Dibley's tombstone, also tombstones of several other Dibleys, to say nothing of the Tooths.
We walked to High Rocks and looked them over, had supper there and walked back to "the Wells" and took the train home.
We see Dad every Sunday when we go to Shorncliffe or Folkstone. He is still on hospital duty and looking well on it. There is not much news to tell as training goes on in the same old way. Everyone is in A1 condition. We have about an equal amount of sunshine and rain with a bathing parade in the ocean once a week. We are about 5 miles from Romney Marsh.
Be sure and give love from all to all.
Your Grandson
John Row
P.S. Written with a YMCA pen.
