Pages

Monday, July 4, 2016

21 July 2016 France

Dear Mother,

Just a line to get this started . I have had no word from you this week yet but no doubt it will be here tomorrow as some Dan. mail came through today but not very much. I had a letter yesterday from Bill. He is billeted at Keble College Oxford and seems to think it is a pretty "Jake" place. he seems to think that they were turned down on this Canadian proposition and now he will go after Imperial Artillery hard (?). Possibly going to Sandhurst to complete his course.

I had a nice long letter from Orville. He says he is not quite so busy now and it is a good thing for he must surely need a rest after such a heavy spring and so much worry.

There has been nothing of note happen here since I wrote last except the events on the Somme. We have to depend on newspaper reports & the wireless bulletins for our news and do not get it any more fully that you do.

The weather has been ideal for aircraft observation and both sides have been taking advantage of it. this morning one of Fritz's came across here and of course our anti-aircraft shells were blazing away at him and he came right over our hospital. The fragments of the aircraft shells were buzzing all around and one piece of the fuse weighing about half a pound hit my tent and came through one section of the roof. As there was a double roof the second section stopped the piece. It was lucky for one of the patients was sitting directly under where it hit.

The only excitement we get now is football and our team played two games this week and won and lost. There is another one tomorrow.

What do the people in Canada think of the advance on the Somme? It looks good to us here and if it continues will no doubt make a very appreciable difference in the length of the war. There are 3 months of good weather yet and a terrible lot can be done in that time if we have the ammunition and the guns, which we undoubtedly have now ( and capturing a lot of "Heinies" every day in the bargain). Well, I'll not write any more at this until tomorrow and then I'll answer any letter that might come.

Saturday P.M.

Your letter came today and also one from Mae and I'll get right at them and get them answered so they will go in the next mail.

I don't know whether Mae intends me to forward her letter on from me to Bill or not. She may have taken carbon copies of it. If not it is better to send any letter like that to Bill first - as long as he is in Eng. Anyway, for them it will not have to be censored as it is going from here to him.

When is Orville coming up to Teeswater? You must be sure and go back with him. Has Father made up his mind about going out west yet? It will be winter again soon and he won't want to go then. What has Vern decided on? Well, say, there is not very much in your letter that requires answering and the news is absolutely "na poo" so I'll ring off and get this away.

Hope everyone is keeping in the best of health.

Lovingly,

Harold Skilling

No comments:

Post a Comment