Transcription
8th Queens
B. E. F.
21. Jan. 1916.
My dear Mother
Many thanks for your last letter also for a Pett Ridge Book from Cecily & The Climber from yourself. We are still back in camp & will be going up again early next week. I have been up to-day to have a look around but did not go into the first trenches but only to Battalion Headquarters which in this case are a long way behind, so far that they keep a forward Battn. Headquarters a good deal further up, which I gather is an inconvenient sort of place but which I shall inhabit with the signalling officer & some of the satellites. The Primus Stove has come & should prove very useful & I am very much obliged for it. The Battalion Headquarters are very good deep down in a big bank of earth & except that they have no light they would be ideal. They have electric light laid on but the machine only works about 4 hours per diem. So the rest of the time they have to rely on candles. However this is a small consideration & the dug outs are well furnished with things which have found their way there out of Wipers. I went through the town again to-day & as I have lately seen some postcards of what it used to be, it was rather interesting comparing its present & past. I saw an aeroplane battle yesterday & one came down but I could not see where it was. It fell behind our lines & a French one came down shortly afterwards & hovered over the place, so I trust it was a Bosche. They seem to be doing rather well with their new aeroplanes just now though to-night’s papers say we got 6 on Tuesday. The one I saw ought to be mentioned in to-days communiqué which of course I’ve not seen yet. I’m told that there was a good description of our trenches in last Tuesday’s Daily mail but I didn’t see it, so cannot say for myself. Our new doctor has arrived – rather a little worm, I fear.
Love to all.
Jack.
