March 10th/17
Dear Mother
Many thanks for your letter of Feb 7th, received at the beginning of the week. We have definite orders to leave here on 17th now, but I have been dining with my pal Reid tonight & he tells me not to be surprised if they are postponed! So what is one to make of it all? In any case I expect we shall leave here before the end of March. Is’nt the Mesopot news wonderfully good nowadays, & tonight I hear they are only 4 miles from Baghdad. But I fancy there will be lots for us to do when we get there, if not in this hot weather, at any rate as soon as the next cold weather begins.
I have been frightfully busy lately with all this mobilising an’ all. All the same I have been out to dinner with several people & have managed to get a game of tennis or two for exercise. I wonder if Dick ever got his leave or not. Poor Dick, I expect he feels the cold a bit, but he’s jolly lucky being able to get hold of Topher to help him along.
I am playing tennis with Mrs Bingley on Monday, & I’ll tell her about sister Bond. Yes rather I remember that “excelsior” ring awfully well. What a piece of luck you had finding it again.
You seem to be having some real cold weather at home now, all over Europe in fact. I don’t quite understand the German retreat yet, but from all accounts it seems all right for us, though then no doubt our plans for a spring offensive will have to be modified slightly.
I’m very sleepy tonight so please pardon a short note, but I have no news, & I owe heaps of letters.
Best love to all
Yr loving son
Ted
