21 April 1917

 

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B. E. F.
21. 4. 1917.

My dear Glad,

Thanks for your letter of the 16th received to- day also for one from Cecily of the 15th. I have had others from Mother & you three recently but think I acknowledged them. I have also had a letter and a box of cigars from Father for which many thanks. Another post has just arrived with a book from Cecily, for which I am grateful.

Since I last wrote we have been moved out of the line and are now well back & going back further in a day or two and should get at least a fortnight away from the war.

I don’t quite know why, but everyone seems very pleased with the Division. Our Brigade certainly had some hard fighting and did very well, but we hadn’t much to do except chase the retreating Bosch and simply advanced as far as he let us. I think we were on his heels much earlier than he expected, and consequently got a good deal more ground than he intended us to have. One Brigade got all sorts of stores which the Bosch would never have left it he could help it.

At the moment we are in a very nice billet. A country house run by some ancient sisters of mercy as a

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cottage hospital and almshouse. We have got their best room & a good stove & I have a good bedroom with the Maire.

We have got the local Brewery to bath the men in & the school as a Recreation Room, so the men are not so badly off. When we arrived yesterday we thought we were here for some time, but to-day they tell us we are going back further & I hope we find

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as good a spot next time. the weather is ever so much warmer & if spring has really come, we should have a very pleasant fortnight before us.

One of the sisters is now busy reading prayers to the patients next door. She has uttered a ceaseless flow for 10 minutes, so I presume the patients are by now asleep. Anyhow they are very quiet. I hope you have a good time

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at Havre. Perhaps you will be there when the Limerick warriors return as the old Bosch certainly seems to have something to think about now & one may presume that there is more to come.

Excuse the envelope.

Love to all

Jack.

 

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