Transcription

8th Queens
B. E. F.
25. 5. 1916.

My dear Mother,

Many thanks for your letter to-day & for the Tatler also for the promise of a cake, on which I will report when it arrives. I am sending home some clothes & boots which I don’t want during the summer. They will probably take some little time to arrive, but you should get them before I want them sent out again.

We are now out of the line & back in our village home, where the men are supposed to have a rest, but there seem to be any number of working parties going, so I doubt if they get much. I was reading Churchills speech on the army to-day & thought he made a lot of very good remarks. I certainly agree that there are a number of troops in front who do all the work & run all the risk & a very large number behind who do some of the work, run no risk & get all the pay. It seems a truly British arrangement. I think this trench ribbon or button idea, which is only given to the men up in front will be the smallest recognition they can give them & the sooner they can give it the better.

I want another 2 dozen lambs – can you get them & send them out. Do I owe you anything more? Things seem very quiet here at the moment. I think this Hun’s pressure on Verdun is a great sign of their difficulties. Their chances of getting through are absolutely nil & yet they go on wasting men & the only reason is so far as one can see, that they can do nothing else. It is an ideal situation.

Love to all

Jack.