July 26/17
Dear Mother
I’ve left hospital now & am back with the regiment again, quite fit but a little slack of course, but I am taking things very easy and should soon be my old self again. The people in the hospital were more than kind, and I was sorry to leave all the comforts and pleasant surroundings & to have to come back to comparative discomfort again. However, one can’t stay in hospital for ever. I want you to write to 2 of the sisters if you will & to thank them for all they did for me; one is the Matron of the hospital, Sister Macfarlane, & the other is the sister in charge of the officers’ wards, by name Rowan-Watson. I’d be awful pleased if you’d just drop ’em each a line thanking ’em for all they did for me, and the other sisters of course, but these were the two chief ones of course.
Incidentally I have told Cox to send you £1, with which I want you to purchase a few odds and ends like shaving soap, acid drops, coloured hankies and any little thing to send to Sister Macfarlane for her Red X store, where she keeps a few things like that to give to patients. It will be some slight return for her goodness to me. You might include a box of sandalwood soap, which is for her to take for herself (make sure of this). Address No 2 British General Hospital, Amara, M.E.F.
It’s been very hot these last 3 weeks, but of course being in hospital for a fortnight was very pleasant as regards weather. The fans, & being inside a house too, made things much cooler. We are averaging 115° a day here now in camp, but the nights are dropping to 84° (81° this morning) in the early morning about 3 a.m., & last night I pulled a blanket over me about 4 a.m. Today there is a bit of a breeze, which is very welcome. Otherwise for the last 3 weeks there has’nt been a breath of wind.
I told you I had some letters last mail, it appears they rescued 11 bags for Mesopotamia from the Mongolia, which was mined outside Bombay, but whether those two letters came off her or not I can’t say. She was bringing the mails of the 31st May, & your letter was posted in Guildford on that date, so probably came by the next mail. And now I see the parcel mail posted in London between 4th – 18th July has been sunk – also they are resuming the weekly mails from England.
Everything points to the submarine menace being well in hand, both as regards sinking or destroying submarines, building new ships, & making England self-supporting. It is most gratifying to read the optimistic speeches made by L-G- & others on the subject. All the same, the Russians are still rather trying are’nt they. Otherwise I don’t see how the war could go better. I suppose there will be a big advance in France sometime soon now, & as soon as America can put a lot of troops into the country things ought to take a most decided turn in our favour. But, barring the unexpected (which after all is always expected in war, paradoxical as it may sound) I don’t quite see how we are to avoid going on till 1918. Still, I live in hopes.
We are still stuck here, but may move on to B. any moment now I imagine. However, this is quite a good place to be in for the hot weather, both Basra & Baghdad being hotter from all accounts.
I hope you got my cables all right. I thought I’d keep you informed regularly of my progress, as the I.O. or War Office, whoever it is sends the wires, are apt to be rather alarming at times.
I believe we get some English mail today, but it won’t be in probably till this evening, after I’ve posted this.
I got a whole lot of papers last week from you. Thanks awfully, most acceptable in hospital. I see old Tree is dead, I’m glad I saw him act once or twice.
I had a line from Mrs Bingley last week, very cheery.
Love to all
Yr loving son
Ted
In the June “Windsor” there’s a v. good article on Indian troops which wd interest you; the Garhwalis are much to the fore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Magazine
