August 24th.

My dear Mother.

Very many thanks for your letter. Even in yours (July 31) you did not say much about the war, and of course no one out here really knows what people at home think or do nowadays.

We don’t know what regiments have gone on that Expeditionary force & of course there must be tons of people we know.

We get absolutely no news here nowadays, every bit of news is always about Germany’s losses and we cannot imagine that they are always getting beaten. Ben will be coming down to me shortly. She will tell you she is just staying up there a bit longer. Ted does seem glad to have had her with him, & so nice he says for someone of the family to see him off. I suppose he is frightfully pleased at going & Paul too at the idea of getting some fighting, so, far from being sorry they are both enveigled (sic) I am rather pleased.

Those people have at last sent that cup then, I am glad you think it a nice one. I hope Ben’s fur will not cost too much to make up.

You seem to have had a nice motor drive in the Holdens’ car. Fancy pickling 425 walnuts, whatever can you do with them all, I think you had better give them to Kitchener for the troops! I love ’em with cold beef or mutton but you never get such luxuries out here except in the cold weather, you see meat goes bad so soon.

I suppose I shall have to go & meet Ben somewhere, but whether we shall go to Shillong as arranged I don’t know. “Nous verrons”.

People here imagine there may be all sorts of excitements amongst the natives & so on, but it’s only the light headed fools & I don’t suppose there is a quieter place in the face of the earth at the present moment.

Must stop. Best love to all

Your loving son

Richard