Feb 10th
Dear Mother
Very many thanks for the cigarettes which arrived last night, most welcome. We are still on in the trenches, & it’s very raw and muddy. Last night there was a frost, but it has all thawed again today. It started today by being a nice blue sky day, but it’s all cloudy again now.
One of our airmen was out this morning, he was plucky, as the Germans kept plugging at him & went all round him, fearfully close, but he kept on circling round, going sort of ½ way home and coming back again only to be greeted with another halo of shrapnel. He wound up by calmly flying through a huge puff of black smoke made by a high-explosive German shell which burst just in front of him! I was glad when he finally cleared off unharmed, & it was very exciting to watch.
My cold is better I think, tho’ I am still a bit hoarse & snuffly, & cough is a bit troublesome. But I’m feeling much better, I knew a day or two in the trenches would do me no end of good. We go out tomorrow into reserve, for a few days, & then come up again I believe. Fairly quiet here; they have shelled us a little today & there are rather more bullets than usual flying about tonight, I dunno why-
Must end up now. The little sock things are ripping and warm. So long best love to all yr loving son
Ted
