Transcription
18. 10. 18
My dear Father,
Many thanks for letters from you all.
You appear to have had a good time in
the north [1] & to have been kept pretty
busy. I hope you have had my card by
now, but I was unable to write more, as
I have got slightly gassed – in the eyes,
with the result that for the last few
days they have ceased to function &
have been unable to do anything.
At the moment I am in hospital &
still in bed but expect to get up in
a day or two & shall get back as
soon as I can. I have just heard
the news that we have Lille, which
is great & makes one wonder whether
the Bosch won’t have to give in soon.
He seems to be fighting, particularly as up in
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the north they have done what they
liked, but where I have been lately
he is still putting up a very good
show & has plenty of ammunition
to spare. I had a very interesting
week before I got gassed, as we had
one or two scraps & chased him for
about 8 miles in the time.
The weather was fine for most of the
time, so we did not do so
badly.
I am on the sea coast at the
moment[2], but have not seen the sea yet
as I’ve not been out. I only got
down yesterday.
Yours
Jack.
[1] The Peirs family have were spending time in Cornwall, where his mother, Charlotte, was born, when Jack was hospitalized for gas.
[2] Jack was transported to No. 3 General Hospital in Le Treport, France. The large medical complex was built on the grounds of the Trianon Hotel at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. It included British, Canadian, and eventually American hospitals. British officers convalesced in the hotel itself.