Sapper H L. Irwin
Can Ordnance Corp.
Ashford Kent

Dec 28th 15

My Dearest Mother

I rec your letter of Dec 1st today, But have not rec your parcel yet, Maybe it will come next week, Dad also sent me a parcel But have not rec any as yet except Lauraes parcel, I only arieved home from London last evening on 12 30 train and never got to bed untell 1 30 so am very tired now so will not write a long letter, had a lovely time at Xmas with Florences people. they treated me fine. very quiet. But nice, They all gave me a lettle Xmas present small But sweet you see they are not very will off, at least they have to count there pennys so could not expect much, Will I suppose you will be very angree when I tell you that your son Harold is now a married man, we where married in the Paddington Church of England on Sunday Dec 26th 15 at 1 15 P.M. very quiet wedding, But a very happy one, and I love Florence all the more, and I can not live with-out her now, I love her as I have never loved any girl befor, and I am proud to call her my Wife, and to feel that I have her to care for all my life, for I am a very happy boy, and she is a happy lettle girl, she looked beautiful in her wedding dress, a blue suit with a white silk waist & white hate & gloves, she was then my Ideal of a girl, she was a picture by herself. & no one could help But love her, after our wedding we had a lovely lettle wedding dinner, & cut the cake. she is sending you a lettle peace this week & is coming down here with me Satuerday next to stay with me, & make a home for me, I guess Mother you will be very angree with me, But hope you don’t dissown me, & let me come back to Vancouver some day, if I live through this war, and bring my lettle wife with me But Mother I loved her as I have never loved befor, & she loves me as I have never been loved befor, I wanted her, and could not be happy with-out her, you do not under-stand the sercomestances here just now & why I wished to get married so soon But will let you know [?] as soon as I can find it possable to do so, I told her every thing befor we where married, about our home, yours & Dads trouble, and how poor I was, I told her I did not have a penny in all the world, and that when I went back to Canada we would have to start right & bottom and work up, & that you where working out, and that I had my seperation alowance made to you & the asynement too, and told her I wished to stell let you have what I could; & that we would have to live on $25 00 a month untell the war was over, I told her every thing from first to last, and all she did was to put her arms around my nick, & kiss me and said she did not care what was in our family, But that she loved me, and would go to the end of the world with me, and would be happy if we only had a lettle room & anove cloths to put on, and if I should get wounded & could not work she would work for me, and as long as she could be with me she would be happy, in the richest or in the Poorest, and was willing to take what I could give her untell the war was over, she would do her best, and asked me to take her as she was, and I did, and am more then happy, she is my Ideal and I love her,

Now Mother about money I did not say one word about taking money away from you, I have told you in three or four letters that I would not, Now Mother this is the way I figure it out, first of all where did you get the Idea about war being over by spring, I guess you must have been reading some of those foolish papers that make me laugh every time I look at them, we know a great deal more then we can write to Canada, but you can rest asure that the war will not be over next spring or the spring fallowing But can not tell you why and where But am telling you the truth, as we see & hear a great deal more then we can tell or write, I can not even tell my Wife some things I know, and if they don’t open this letter and burn it befor you get it, you will know more then anyone in Vancouver knows, or supposed to know, and another thing Mother when I was home I neaver gave you any more then $20 00 a month, when I was rooming & eating at home, Now Mother I am away from home, and have a wife to look after, and am leaving you the same money, and for my self now I am only geting $10 00 a month, Now Mother we will manage all right if you can send $15 00, my asynement back to Florence each month as you get it, I do not want to change any of my papers in main pay office, Will Mother don’t you think I am doing a fair thing, I want to do all I can for you, to make things as easy as I can for you, But Mother I must at least give my Wife anove to live on any way, I have told her my plane and she said it would be all O,K, and is satesfied, and I hope Mother that you will be too,. And as long as Florence can be with me & we can get on good together & make ends meet I will not go to front, But I think with the $15 00 & my pay of $10 00 we can make ends meet all O, K,

Will Mother I am feeling fine now & feel happy as a lark, Florence is coming down Saturday after-noon to stay, so then we start our happy lettle married life together, and hoping you will foregive me and love me the same as ever also my Wife and send her the money for that is all she has got to live on, and I want her to be happy and you also she thinks now. that you do not like her, and I think she worrys a lettle,

Will Lettle Mother when you send next letter to her, don’t foreget to put Mrs HL.Irwin on, and address them to The House, No 8 Wharf. North Wharf Road. Paddington West London. you can also address mine there too. if you like, and Florences mother will foreword them to us where ever we are, like that I get them three days sooner.

Will Mother I hope Greta is better and when is she geting married? I had a letter from Hazel today a very Dear letter too I like to hear from her, her letters are so cheary and they make me chearie too.

Will I must close now. Hoping to hear from you soon, And Please Write a nice letter to my Lettle Wife at same time, And hoping you are Well. I am, give my love to all.

Will Write again soon, and with my best love I will always remain your

Loving Son

Harold