6 October 1916 France

Dear Folks,

A brief note is all I can write just now as I am still on the broad of my back. I am a patient in #18 General Hospital just now awaiting transfer to England which will come when the Dr. thinks I am well enough to travel.

The wound is in my right abdomen and a piece of shrapnel penetrated my liver.

Was carrying a wounded German when I got hit. Was fixed up immediately and sent to CCS and was operated upon the same night i.e. September 28th.

Passed through Billy Redburn's dressing station on my way down. He said he would drop you a note. That is why I didn't write sooner. Also wrote to Bill in London & told him to cable you. You have no doubt rec'd it long before now.. It is not serious and no need to worry. Expect to be sent on in a day or two.

Lovingly,

Harold Skilling

P.S. There is a man in same ward from Lucknow. His name is Habick. Was in the hotel business in Lucknow.

30 June 1916 Flanders

Dear Folks,

This is Friday and our section is running the main dressing station and are having it fairly easy just now. We expect to move to the D.?S. in about a week or perhaps less and in the ordinary run of events we will be there for a long while. But here's hoping that there will be an onward move before the end of another month.

We have two or three detachments up at several advanced posts and they seem to be having a fairly lively time, as during the last week there has been intermittent bombarding nearly every night and they are nearly always as bad just behind the line as in the trenches. One of our boys was wounded day before yesterday. A machine gun bullet grazed his scalp and it was a mighty close shave for him. He was one of our reinforcements.

We handle wounded here but do not keep them any length of time. Some we do not touch but send them right on to C.C.S. where they can be properly looked after and receive a permanent dressing or where an operation can be performed. Most of the wounded cases come in at night and as I am on the day trick (?) I do not see so many of them but we have our hands full in the morning with the sick parades. I have to look after the dispensing and am able to do most of it.without calling Compounder who is a qualified druggist.

I saw something the other day that is a very rare sight. There were two Taubes cruising over our lines and 3 of our planes gave chase and after several bursts of machine gun fire between them, one of ours put on speed and came up between the two Taubes. They began to blaze away at each other and all of a sudden our plane turned right over and began to fall. It was up about 3-4000 feet when it was hit.and after flopping down through the air the pilot regained control of his machine just before it reached the ground and managed to land right side up. We heard afterwards that neither the pilot nor the observer was killed but it is almost a miracle that they escaped.

I guess you will not be having Mae home for very long this summer. Are you going any place, Mother? Tell Norma to write and tell me about her exams. I was very sorry to learn that you were sick Mother. I believe you are working too hard and are worn out. Don't you think you should go away for a good rest now that you have got rid of the cow? You should not be so tied down.

I haven't heard from Bill since I wrote before but am looking for a letter any day now. Say, you all want to be careful when so much typhoid fever is around. Why don't they inoculate the people of the town? All we soldiers get it and typhoid is the most rare of all diseases of that nature and we are in a position to become infected with the disease if anyone is.

What sort of a time are you going to have tomorrow? Are they celebrating in any of the towns around home? There is no difference in the days out here. Same routine for seven days in the week regardless of the occasion. the only thing we have to relieve the monotony is a little bit of extra work.

Say, can you tell me what Bruce Neilson's (a cousin) Battalion is? They might be out here some of these times and I might possibly see him. One of the boys saw Jack McMeechan who used to work for Orville. He is in the 42nd, a kilty regiment. He was asking for me. He was through the Ypres battle and was o.k. after that although his Battalion got a terrible cutting up.

Well, the supper gong has gone so I'll ring off for now . Hoping this letter finds everyone well again.

Lovingly,

Harold

11 March 1916 France

Dear everybody:

It seems an age since I have written home or received mail from home either but there ought to be a Canadian mail along today surely. I have been so busy since we moved here that there has not been much time to write anyway. Last Saturday we moved from the Château over here. This is the DRS for the 3rd division and it will not be very bad here when we get settled. As the weather gets better we will not have so many patients. We have room for about 120 or so but at present we have only about 15 patients here. We only keep them for seven days and then either discharge or evacuate them to some other hospital. It is quite a change here from the Château. But I suppose we will soon get tired of it here just the same as it gets monotonous at all the other places. 

There is a village here and a railway but not very many troops. We are the only Canadians here and when the other section first came here they were considered quite unique by the French but they will soon stopped showering us any favors when they find out that the British Tommies do not like it.

When we were at the Château we got a bunch together and started to learn a few songs but when we came here we were lost without a piano. The other day however one was discovered in a house at the other side of the town. They were only too glad to let us use it and whenever we can we are going over there for an hour or so to practice. She sets out coffee for us when we are through and won't accept pay for it.

We can only stay for an hour as there is a rule that all soldiers must be in their billets by 8:30 PM. We get nearly got pinched by the MPs the first night we were up. We were making too much noise in the streets after hours. We bluffed him out however.

Our billets are pretty fair but not as good as at the Château. We are in a loft over a driveway and it is pretty draughty. It is dry anyway and we can pinch enough blankets from the hospital to keep us warm. It is not necessary for us to be there very much so we do not mind if they are not very elegant.

The hospital is in an old factory with most of the machinery taken out. It has all been nicely whitewashed inside and looks real clean and bright. I am working in the surgical ward and have considerable bandaging to do. We occasionally get a real serious case and these are immediately sent down to the casualty clearing station (CCS). I think quite a percentage of the accident cases are incurred when the patient is drunk. We have 35 here now who were hurt when they were drunk. One fellow was run over and we thought for a while that his leg was broken. Another was riding a bike when he was pickled and fell off and broke the bike and hurt himself. He was taken away this morning to court-martial. Any cases like that do not get much sympathy from the medical officers and they are sent back to their unit as soon as they are able to do light duty. Very often they get punishment besides. I think that is one reason why they do not pay us anymore than (£ or $ ?) 6 a month.

I am writing this on Tuesday p.m. and this makes it two weeks since there has been a Canadian mail and I guess it's about the same length of time since I have written home. The weather has been splendid this last few days but there is very little to do just yet. The artillery still keep banging away at each other. I suppose you have seen before now that we have had one death. One of our farriers had been so badly wounded that he had to have both legs amputated and died the day after he was hit. He was working in a civilian blacksmith shop next door to the hospital at LaClytte, not here and a shell came along and wrecked the place. It just missed the hospital by a few yards.

I suppose Bill is in England by this time and I am looking for a letter from him every day. I have written care of Jeffs so he will get my letter just as soon as he arrives in London.

I am enclosing a few snaps of the village here. I would not even attempt to spell it myself it is pronounced 'God wears velvet' and at couple of Bailleul. There is a place downtown where they have a camera and I am going to try and get some photos taken. They do a pretty good job in postcards. I'll have one taken with my new equipment on.

Well there is nothing startling to write about so I'll bring off. I'll write you when the mail comes in and let you know if I get any. 

Your loving son and brother,

Harold Skilling