June 2/18
Dear Mother
Very many thanks for your letter dated March 25, which I got on my return from my visit to our 1st Bn: last week. The letter also had 2 really excellent snap shots of Ben & James, & Dreda & the best man, I’m most awfully glad to have them, & incidentally I’m jolly proud of my sisters. (I wonder if specs took one of Nell, by the way? I know she was only a guest at the show & not a performer, but I should love to have a real good snap of her.)
Not much news here. We are all anxiously awaiting further news of the German offensive on the Aisne. It’s simply hopeless to comment on these things at this distance, & considering the time this letter will take to reach you, but one can at least continue to express the utmost admiration for those troops withstanding those terrible odds, to have absolute confidence in them and the final outcome of it all.
I heard from Nell too of course, all about the wedding & her visit. She did enjoy it so, & I’m sure it did her all the good in the world to get away from frowsty old Gloucester for a bit. I’m so awfully glad the dear child was looking so pretty & well, but I have’nt heard half enough about her yet. You see I seldom if ever get a description of her & just this glimpse of her I have got from you & Ben has made me wild to hear more. However another mail is on its way upstream I believe, so perhaps I’ll be satisfied in a day or two.
My peaceful visit to the 1st Batt. was somewhat rudely disturbed the last morning at 4.a.m. by the arrival of a Turco ‘plane who dropped bombs about, but no harm was done though it was somewhat alarming.
Our week’s rest is over now, & the new class begins tomorrow & we have a strenuous month ahead of us. There is an officer from Jim’s regiment here & he brought news of him & various messages, I had a line too from Jim himself today, he seems very contented with his lot & has fallen among a nice lot of fellows apparently.
You refer to “rather a friend of Jane’s” in your letter, by name Garden, who is I gather the “Murray Gordon” of her wire; am I right? I wonder, as beyond the wire & the slight reference to him in your letter I am completely in the dark regarding the whole affair. Perhaps next mail will enlighten me somewhat.
I say mother I don’t think you need worry to send the Pink Papers any more, thanks very much; they are’nt worth the paper they are printed on. I like the Spectator now that I’m away from the rgt, & also the daily sketches & things and of course the weekly times. An occasional bystander or tatler or sketch is always welcome. Yes I got the surrey times with the account of old Ben’s wedding in it, or rather of her & the bridesmaid’s dresses, but I suppose this is inevitable. However, better describe their dresses than, as I saw the other day in an Indian paper, the bridegroom “looked very smart in his khaki uniform”, awful is’nt it!
I went to the French convent here yesterday, they have an orphanage for Armenian & other kiddies, & they are fearfully pleased to see anyone there. They were very good to our wounded after Kut, as I think I must have told you. I went last Sunday & again yesterday, & made a few purchases of silk etc, they really have some marvellous work there, but it’s all very expensive.
Must end up now. A boisterous windy day but cool.
Best love to all
Yr loving son
Ted
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_the_Aisne
- http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/frowsty
