1 February 1916 Somewhere in France

Dear Mother, Father, and everybody,

Received your letter of January 9th today and also Vern's which was enclosed. The mails have been very irregular and it is two weeks since I got a Canadian mail. Was sorry to hear Vern was sick and also to know that Orville was being taken up. It might cost him quite a bit before he is through.

Well what kind of a winter are you having over in Canada? There has not been any snow here yet but lots of rain though. On the whole I think we are having a comparatively mild winter and even if it is wet, there is very little frost.

There has been very heavy artillery firing all along our front this last day or two and I think the 6th Brigade infantry went after the "Bosche" pretty hard a couple of nights ago and got a prisoner who has an Iron Cross and has been in 37 engagements. He no doubt would be very glad to be taken prisoner I should judge.

We are still at the Château and are still in the dark as to when we shall be moving from here. I hope it will be soon for nearly everyone is completely disgusted with this place and we have been here nearly 2 months. I hope you got my diary alright. I haven't put a single entry in my new one yet as there has been absolutely nothing to mention and I don't suppose there will be as long as we are here.

I was agreeably surprised yesterday to receive a box of apples that I had given up for lost. They have been on the road since November 1st and did not arrive until January 31st. I was sure surprised to get them but they were very wholesome. There were about 30 apples in the box and were in good condition although they may have been frozen but I'm not keeping them long enough for them to go bad on me.

I'll try and get you some stamps, Vern. I'll send them along as soon as I get any.

I was over to the place where Billy Redburn is and dropped in to see him. He looks fine and seems quite well etc. I stayed for about an hour and chatted and then I had to get back.

I am enclosing a photo of O'Leary, Wilkins (from Arthur, ON) and Carlisle and myself. It is not very good of us as we were just holding ourselves in to keep from laughing and so looked more serious than ever. I must try and get my Kodak if I can before I go on my leave. I can leave it in England with Bill if he is there when I go. It is of no use to me here now.

I also am enclosing a letter I received from B. Skillings OSC wife of that man in Scarborough England. I had already sent him a short letter in reply. I had a letter from Mr. Munroe the other day it was a very nice letter and they wanted to know if there was anything they could send to me seeing that it is so far to send to Canada for things I would like in a hurry.

How well is the Teeswater platoon of 160th coming along. Are they training in town. Everyone seems to think that there will be some decisive movement soon. Everyone at least hopes there will be.

I got Maude's parcels this afternoon and everything was in good condition but the pickles and the big onion. The latter had become bruised and was going bad. While the pickles had the seal broken and the wax was all mixed up with the contents of the jar. Everything else was fine and the oatmeal jam- jams were especially good. Neither they or the date cakes were dried out and you can make it a pretty sure bet that they were not very hard to take.

I was on the border this afternoon and got Vern a couple of Belgian stamps, a one centime and a 10 centimes (one penny). The one centime is used for sending postcards to places in Belgium only. It is worth only 1/5 of a cent. I'll get some more for you Vern, first chance I get. Some French ones too.

January has been the most uneventful month I have put in since I joined the Army. We have just been putting in time here. That is, our section. But B section have been doing more. At present we have only eight patients and have been as low as six. There are between 50 and 60 men looking after this place and it does not seem a very square deal. I would give a whole lot if I were out of the Field Ambulance but there is not much chance of being able to do so apparently. I am looking out for a chance to get into something else. I want to stay with the 4th brigade if I can. Write and tell me all about how Orville is doing with his case and how everything in general is going on.

I am feeling fine and hope everyone at home is the same. We had our first casualty last week. One of our men was hit on the head with a piece of stray shrapnel. It was not serious however and might not appear in the paper.

Well news is so scarce I'll have to ring off for now.

Your loving son and brother,
Harold

PS the sort of socks I have been getting are the kind that seem to be the most common. H.R.S.

24 January 1916 Somewhere in Flanders

Dear Mother, Father, Norma and Vern:


Harold Skilling (rt)with the Lickley Brothers


Received a big consignment of Canadian mail last Thursday and it was the first decent batch I have had since a long time before Christmas. The letters had all come through in good time and it just seemed like Christmas all over again even though it was 20th of January. Everyone was full of Christmas news and I was so glad to know that you all had such a good time. You would have nearly as big a crowd at home as ever and I guess you would be all tearing around as usual. I was sorry to learn that you were sick on Christmas day, Mother. I was in the hospital then too, but not very sick. Santa Claus was as good as usual I see and he certainly was to me. I sent a card to each of the ladies who packed my box from The Patriotic League thanking them for their part in preparing it. Also to Mrs. Hughes, Colvin etc. who put things in the parcel you were sending. Everyone must have been very busy at home with so many entertainments and dinners coming off. So the school play was "some ripper", eh?

How is the (160th ) Bruce Battalion coming along? I hope they get it going well and make a success. Be sure and let me know all about it when you write. Are Norman Farquharson* and Donald Stewart** going to be in it? Surely they are not going to give those two youngsters commissions! They will have the time of their sweet young life over here if they ever get them.

I am glad the skating is going alright. Tell Vern to write me all about the hockey team etc.

I was out this afternoon to get some photos that four of us boys had taken together and when I could not get them because they were not done, we went over to see Billy Redburn. It is the first time I have seen him since last October. He looks fine and is having a pretty fair time. The good spell of weather we are having is materially decreasing the sick list and neither our place here or there are very rushed. He has some very nice souvenirs that he makes in his spare time. I have not been able to get very many but I guess there is lots of time yet before the war is over.

Say Mae was telling me about some wonderful cures she had for constipation. I wish you would send it. Maude was saying that Bill expected to be leaving for England by the middle of the winter. I hope he gets over here before I get my leave, for then we might possibly arrange to get our leave at the same time. Tell him to let me know when he expects to get over here. Billy Redburn is number 17 on the leave list and expects to get away shortly.

Say I wish you people at home would have some snaps taken of yourselves. I believe Bill had some photos taken. I guess I'll see him in England before long. There has not been a Canadian mail in for almost a week and so I have not had any letters to answer except those telling me about Christmas and there is really nothing in them to answer and there is absolutely "nil doing doing around this joint". I think I'll keep this letter until tomorrow and and enclose those photos of the boys and perhaps there will be a mail in then with some letters from home. The news comes regularly and I like to get it. Say Orville, write and tell me all about the "biz" . They say there is all kinds of demand in England for Canadian eggs etc. How did you make out on your storage stock? Have you much difficulty getting men? If you get time, write and tell me all about things. I must write to Floss so will ring off for tonight and get it done.

Photos are not finished so will not wait for them. Ask Orville if Dr. Fish has joined the Army. He can tell me where to write. I am real well and hope everyone at home is.

Lovingly,
Harold R Skilling

*Norman William Farquharson, a friend of my father-in-law Edward Ray Jackson, died in France March 22, 1918 on his first night night in the trenches. See photographs and more on Ray's blog www.lettersfromww1.blogspot.com
**Donald Wilfred Stewart joined the Bruce Battalion in August 1, 1916 and later served in the Royal Flying Corps; in 1941 he joined R.C.A.M.C. and served on the hospital ship "Lady Nelson" (M.D).

16 January 1916 Somewhere in Flanders

Dear people at home,

I got mother's letter of December 19 several days ago and should have answered it sooner but I'll get it done now. The mail coming from Canada is very irregular and it takes at least three weeks for a letter to come through. However I guess it is about the best we can hope for just now as nearly all the fast boats have been commandeered by the government for transports and only a few of the old slow boats are left to make regular trips across.

In your letter of December 19 you spoke of getting the first of my Christmas mail. I guess in the next letter you will be telling me all about your doings at Christmas. Things have been plugging along here just the same. An occasional artillery duel is all that ever happens and they do not bother us much. You spoke of our hospital being shelled. Well it wasn't exactly our dressing station but only the village where it is situated. There were three men killed but they were artillery men who were where they should not have been. There was very little damage done and their marksmanship was very poor. They have the built a big shell proof dugout for the patients who might be in the hospital if it ever was shelled again. It is about as safe place as we could get for unless a shell dropped right on to it (which is practically impossible), nothing would be hurt.

Well we are going to get our leave at last and the first batch started yesterday. There were only three went but I expect after a few weeks it will be increased. They had decided to run it alphabetically but after the first batch had gone it was decided that lots should be drawn. Well they did that and I got number 191 out of 210 who drew. I think I'll go up to Scotland for a few days. We get six clear days in England eight days altogether, two for  traveling, and a free pass to wherever we want to go. I think when I get away that I'll get my pass made out to Greenock and stay a few days in London. While I am there I can get some decent clothes out of my kitbag at Jeff's and also draw some money which is not allowed us till we get to England. It is a little far ahead to make plans yet since at the rate they are going now, I will get my leave in approximately 100 weeks ha! ha! In drawing lots, the fellow who came after me drew number 13. He was a Smith.

Last Sunday when we were coming back from a bathing parade, a small squad of us stopped at in at the house by the side of the road and got a woman to take our pictures. She had gotten hold of a camera somewhere and she makes a pretty good job of it. She took two exposures but I could only get one kind. I'll try and get some of the others sometime soon and send them too. I didn't look quite such as simpleton in the other one as I do in this. You will notice those straps I have coming over my shoulders. They are not from my braces but are the straps of my waterproof cape.

I sent a box of souvenirs the other day but more as an experiment than anything else. There was a casing from an 18 mm shell nose and a shrapnel bullet also and a French bullet. The rod with the disc on the end was part of an anti-air gun shell and fell close to where I was working one day. The shell fragments are pieces that came from high explosive German shells that bombed our village that time I referred to in the first part of this letter. I sent my diary to England by a fellow who borrowed my haversack and he is going to mail it from there. I did not like to trust it to the mail here.

There is a patient here in our hospital who comes from Kinkardine I believe. His name is Major (?) Commerton and he is in the 18th Battalion. Do you know him?

Monday morning

Just got the start of another Canadian mail this morning. There were news came up to December 23 but no letters from home. I expect there will be more next time and as we only get mail once a day it will likely be along tomorrow.

I see by the news that the 160th Bruce Battalion is nearly an accomplished thing now and when it gets over here I think I'll try and get a transfer into it.

I'm glad they soaked to the hotel keepers at home and am anxious to see what they got. I also see that Jim Little and Bill Hiscox are Captains now. I wish I could get into the infantry or some other corps than the ambulance for there is such a petty bunch of NCO's here that they are continually stirring up trouble. One sergeant what even went so far as to have another up in the orderly room for a very trivial offense. They just seem to be itching to get one another up on the carpet every chance they can get.

Well news is about the scarcest thing around here just now and I only wish we would get out of this château. I think probably we shall next Saturday and I hope by then we will have our new Webb equipment with packs etc.

Well I guess I better ring off for this time and get at my work. Hope there is a letter tomorrow to answer. I am feeling fine and hope everyone at home is too.

Lovingly,
Harold R.Sk.

PS I See by the news that the school play went off fine. Tell Norma to write and tell me all about it. H.R.S.

30 December 1915 Somewhere in France

Harold writes his last letter of 1915 to his mother in Teeswater.

Dear mother,

Well, I am back at the Château again and busy from the time I get up till I go to bed - in fact I have a 24 hour duty shift to commence at seven tonight, and I am just trying to get a line or two written this afternoon.

I got my discharge from the hospital on Tuesday after being transferred to our new divisional rest (station) ( D.R.S.). I was among the first batch of patients to go there. It was a pretty draughty place when I was there - only two days - and I was not a bit sorry to get back to my section again even if it is to be a general "flunky" at the Château.

I will not get very much time to write while I am here and it seems an age since I have written any letters. I have a big bunch to get done too, for the people who have sent things to me at Christmas all have to have an acknowledgment sent and there are quite a few of them.

Parcels have been very slow in coming and I have only gotten two that I had any notification of so far. The one from Mrs. Rumble which arrived on Christmas day and the one from the Teeswater Patriotic Society which arrived today. Everything in both of the parcels was okay and the sweater is just dandy and fits like a glove.

I have not tried on the shirt Mrs. Reid sent but it came at a very opportune moment. I'm crummy and I've had to burn an undershirt and it was the last clean one I had, as I lost another while I was in the hospital. I had taken it to a woman in the village before I took sick to be washed and she moved away before I got better.

I'll try and write each of the ladies a card anyway and thank them for their part in the parcel. Oh yes, I got Gert's while I was sick too, and have not written to her yet. Ettie's and Bathurst Church's came during the first week. Mrs. Rumble's apples have not arrived; they were reported to have been sent about November 1. The chicken has not arrived either but surely none of the rest will be long now.

I suppose you will be getting ready for New Year's celebrations. Was Bill home for Christmas? I guess you would always have a big crowd during Christmas and New Year's. I got Maud's papers and also the Teeswater News are coming along OK and the last I got was December 9th. Where did you get the idea that I got those clogs while scouting for wounded in Ypres? When I was up there I was scouting for firewood etc. We used to have to depend on that place for our firewood to supply our cookhouse and huts; also that was where we got the stones for the huts. That was how I got access to the houses hunting for stones and pipes etc. I got those boots in another village though, made on the premises.

I guess you will be wondering what kind of a time I had at Christmas. Well, I was sick all day and things were not very bright. But we had a fairly decent day all the same. A Christmas stocking was given each patient in the morning from The Toronto Patriotic League and then we got a turkey dinner with a Victrola concert in the afternoon. Mrs. Rumble's parcel came Christmas night and was transferred to D.R.S. on Sunday morning and came over here on Tuesday morning. On the car I came over here on last Tuesday, Charlie Scott a member of "B" section came along and was on his way to Canada. He is going on with three others to finish their courses in medicine and come out with commission in R.A.M.C. when they get their degrees M.B. (M.D. ?). The others are Bill Scott, Walter Barnes and Harold Irvine who was in London with me. I told Charles Scott, who is son of Rev. Dr. Scott of Toronto, to phone Orville when he gets there. I had no chance to see any of the other fellows before they left.

I didn't get time to finish this last night so we will try and get it away on the mail tonight. I am off the latrines (?) job and I'm holding down the desk today. I hope I'll get a chance to catch up with my correspondence here. I think I'll stop trying to write to very many and confine myself to about two or three letters a week. A whizbang will have to do any others that want to hear from me.

I just got out of the hospital in Bailleul (?) in time, as the village was shelled on Wednesday and over 100 shells were dropped around the village. One fell about 50 yards from the front of the hospital. There were 18 casualties but only three killed, 2 soldiers and a civilian. None of our boys were hurt. P.P.C.S.I. were just marching through at the time and had to lie in the ditches for a couple of hours.

Things are pretty quiet here now however after the big cannonade (?) we had the Sunday and Monday preceding Christmas. It was north of our lines and none of our brigade was hurt except that the gas the Germans sent over, drifted over part of the line. We were coughing away back at the hospital and were getting pretty husky throats before it cleared away. It was not bad enough back where we were for us to put on our helmets, but up at the front line they had to use theirs and they say they worked like a charm. When the Germans started to charge behind their gas, they didn't get a hundred men over their parapet. The artillery had the range perfectly and just blew them back - and up - so quickly that it was the only attempt they made to come over. Our guns kept at them though and from all accounts will take some few work parties to make their trenches habitable again.

Be sure and write soon and tell me all about your Christmas etc.

Your loving son,
Harold

20 December 1915 Somewhere in Flanders

Harold writes to his parents from somewhere in France on his father's business letterhead.

Dear Mother and Father and the rest,

Here I am a patient in our own hospital but I'm not very sick, just stiff from lying down. I came in late Tuesday night and have been here ever since. I will be out in a day or two however and I will be good and hungry so that I'll be able to enjoy my Christmas eats. If I get all the Christmas parcels that they say they are coming, it will be a miracle if I don't get sick again. It is lucky that I had not been indulging before or I would have blamed it on too much eats. But I was playing football last Monday and Tuesday for a while and I got a good sweat on and then caught a cold. I will soon be okay now but will write more fully about Christmas and answer your letters as well. I got Mae's and Mother's and one from Rose (his brother Orville's wife). I am glad that the picture got there but I hope the boots are not lost. I had them parceled in a strong cardboard box and of the two parcels, it was the more securely tied up. No I do not think I wrote any letter between those two dates not that I have any recollection of anyway.

Everything points to a pretty good Christmas here, as good as we can expect for active service anyway. There will be lots to eat and lots to eat it too. According to the description of the contents of my parcels, there is about enough stuff coming my way to start a young store. Don't send anymore clothes for goodness sakes till I get what are on the way and see what is in them. I expect a job doing rifle guard next week so maybe I'll be glad of all that yet. The trick is to carry it when we move. We had a slight sniff of gas yesterday morning (German), not successful though. I find this is the last sheet of paper I have brought in my pack so I'll have to ring off now and get this away on the noon mail. I will write more fully later.

Lovingly,
Harold

8 December 1915 Somewhere in France

Dear Mother,

This is Wednesday morning and I am trying to get a small bit written at this while I can. It is a splendid morning and is a great one for walking. I had an easy time easy night last night and had intended going up to the next village to see Billy Redburn. However the S.M. put that idea on the blink by announcing a muster parade for inspection of gas helmets and of course everyone must be on that parade. Since there is no use going to bed and no time to go to see Billy I'll just try and get this written.

I hope you get the few little souvenirs I sent for Christmas. They are not very much but the choice of stuff here is very limited and it is hard to get stuff through the mails. I sent to Toronto and told Orville and the girls to get something for you and father for me. I hope it gets there by Christmas too. It no doubt will if it is not delayed too long by the extra rush. The parcel you sent on November 5 got here on Monday December 6, just a month from the time it was posted. The cake in the bottom of the box was in fine shape and is a dandy cake. Several of the fellows who sleep close to where I do, had a piece and ever since they are hovering around at meal time like flies around a tin of jam. The cookies were pretty dry but good just the same. I guess it is not very practicable to send eatables such as cookies and doughnuts so far, at least when it takes a month to get here. The maple syrup and nut candy and nuts were all fine and dandy. I have been about the luckiest fellow with parcels the last week or 10 days and have sure been living high. I had a great big parcel from "the Bathurst Patriotic Club" and it had nearly everything in it that you could imagine. There was not much to eat (except chocolate bars)  but in a big pair of socks they had crammed two leather bound pocket diaries, a toothbrush, shaving powder, two pencils, envelopes and one bar of Ivory soap, a housewife with scissors in it, a towel. Each article was contributed by a different person and nearly all had a small Christmas tag on it. It was a good parcel for a soldier and I can tell you I appreciated it too. I had another one from Ettie the next day and it was peach. Two pair of socks one pair from Laura Haynes. They are dandy and both pair fit like a glove.  They are the first ones that Ettie ever knitted too, a pair of wristlets and a couple of handkerchiefs. Say by the way, I have about enough of them. I also got your ? There were three or four in the Bathurst parcel and also a can of insect powder and a comb. ha! ha! Mighty handy stuff too for most of us are getting like a cage of monkeys now.

There was a lot of eats in Ettie's parcel too. Peanut butter, candy, etc. etc. and of course it was good. Aunt Aggie had one land along too and it was full of figs dates candy and nuts. I had a letter from Mae and she says there is another one from Toronto on the way and that Mrs. Rumble also was sending one. They are not to hand yet but will no doubt soon be here. Some of the fellows do not get very much and when it comes pouring in to me, it hardly seems as square deal. I try and divey up as best I can and they all seem to appreciate it.

We are not getting very much to do just now and we have only been having an occasional wounded man where a while ago we were getting from 5 to 15 a night. It is a pretty good record for the 4th Brigade considering that they hold the trenches  (which hardly deserve the name ) that have seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war and where the Princess Pats made some of their famous charges.

You were asking in your last letter if I was getting fat. Say you would hardly know me. I cannot button my tunic when I have on a sweater and it is two sizes larger than the one I had last fall when I joined. If I wasn't getting fat I should worry because I am not doing enough work to take anything off me and with the parcels I get.

It is such a dandy clear day that the air is chuck-full of airplanes and au pom-poms and anti-air guns are busy. They very seldom seem to hit anything but I suppose they keep the airplanes from taking too many liberties etc.

Well this is Friday morning and if I get this away by noon it will likely leave England on the Saturday midnight mail and probably get home before New Year's.

I got a big Canadian mail yesterday and there will likely be more along today
but it is coming very irregularly now and will no doubt be worse as it gets near Christmas.

I think I have received everything that has been sent to me and I always try to acknowledge it. I guess I'll have to drop a "whiz-bang" (a field postcard) whenever I receive anything just when I get it and then you will know as soon as possible. In Mae's letter she seemed to think that possibly some things had gone astray. I do not think I have lost anything yet. Don't worry about me writing too many letters. I only write two or three a week. I try to write one home at least once a week and that will do for everyone. I might sometimes drop a letter to Ettie (and) to some of the others when I have time. By the way I'll enclose a letter I received from Mrs. Skillings of Scarborough. I got it sometime ago but have not answered it yet.

Oh yes the boxes I get are fine but do not weigh them down with fruitcake please. There will be lots of that and Christmas pudding etc. floating around here by Christmas  -that is if it can float-  and the hospital will likely be full of fellows with gout etc. they will all be calling it "trench feet" though. We get all the clothes we can possibly use or carry so any extra you have, send it to the Red Cross first and the fellows in the trenches will get it. If you have a good hot bath you might send it across. I haven't had a good one for nearly a month so possibly you will see how the insect powder comes in handy eh! I haven't had to use any yet but I have a "little 'itch in my arrangements".

Well I must ring off now and get this posted and then turn in.

Yours lovingly,
Harold

6 December 1915 Somewhere in France

An incomplete letter to his mother in Teeswater.  

Dear Mother,  

Received your letter of December 12 yesterday and as usual was very glad to hear that everyone was okay. I guess you would be so busy at Christmas time that you could hardly turn around. I see that you expected your usual crowd at Christmas.  

I got your parcel with Ettie’s, Mrs. Nixon’s, Mrs. Calvin’s and Mrs. Hughes’ contributions but failed to find your own. In its stead was a note from the postal authorities to the effect that, as the enclosed parcel of potted chicken was in a high-state of decomposition, it had been removed and destroyed and the remaining part of the former parcel repacked. So I guess it is not practicable to send stuff like that so far. Everything else was in good condition and I must write to them all and thank them. I have written to Mrs. Nixon and will drop a line to the others to as soon as I can.  

We are at the Château yet but expect will be leaving in another 10 days or so for our D.R.S. I don't know for sure just how long we will be there but I guess it will be a month at least and from there we will go on to our dressing station where we were last.  

Yes, we have been seeing quite a bit about Ford's peace expedition but I am afraid it is not going to be of much value. Oh yes, it was our own hospital that we were building the sandbag barricade for. It is not sand we put in the bags, only earth or anything else like that, that we can get.

Since we left our advanced dressing station there has been quite a bit of artillery firing around there and on one occasion two or three days after I had been sent on to our D.R.S., the village got quite a drubbing from the German artillery and the hospital handled 18 casualties in the afternoon. Our men got off okay and there were none hurt at all. I understand that since that bombardment (these were about 100 shells thrown over) there is a big dugout being built (bombproof) for the patients from the hospital to be carried to in case of a bombardment (say excuse this mixed up composition but I am writing this at the desk and people are continually…