Delhi
Dec 9th
Dear Mother
Very many thanks for your letter last week. Fancy Dick being a captain now, he’ll be pleased won’t he. And I hope Jim gets his job on the Portuguese Staff as it’s always a good thing is’nt it. I should imagine he is sure to get it if the W.O sent for him.
Nothing much doing here; I am sending you along ½ doz of those rugs, but at present they are peacefully reposing in my tent, each sewn up in a piece of canvas, waiting to be addressed. I really must get them off some old time. Many thanks for sending off the coat & sword; the latter seems to have caused a good deal of bother; so sorry.
Very cold here still, & I have’nt got to know many people yet; I’ve been too busy really, & next week we are out on manoeuvres from Tuesday to Friday so I shan’t meet anybody then. There is a dance here on Monday, but I don’t think I shall go to it; I’m no use at a dance, & I’m not very keen to go. However Fox is thinking of going so I may go with him.
Bukharest gone I see, the 2nd Capital that the Germans have captured in the War; but I suppose the Roumanian army is still intact. Where ever the real Germans seem to push, they always break through, except against us & the French. I suppose the Roumanians will burn the oil fields, but it seems a ghastly waste somehow.
What is going on at home I wonder. At the time of writing (a trifle spinky this) Lloyd George I see has accepted the premiership but heaven knows what will have happened by the time you get this. However I expect the new ministry, however constituted will be a strong one & will get a move on, & develop England’s man-power. That seems to be the chief difficulty nowadays, such millions of exemptions, & as soon as they get that going we ought to be able to put in a pretty big army sometime next year.
I went to the pictures the other night, “Britain prepared” but I did’nt think much of it, it was too long & so much sameness about it, though some of it was quite good. I hear the Somme films are out here now, I hope they wander up this way.
The C-in-C has gone away for about a fortnight so with him & the Viceroy away the place is quite normal. It’s most fearfully cold still, but I love it, & it’ll get hot quite soon enough so we need’nt worry ourselves about that.
I don’t think I shall be going away at Christmas, chiefly because the C.O. is going away on 10 days, & as I’m doing 2nd-in-command now I shan’t be able to get away if he goes; and I don’t know quite what I should do with 10 days’ leave, I could go out shooting of course, but I’ll see what turns up.
I’m still without a horse; it seems absolutely impossible to buy one here, and horse flesh is very scarce. I have been playing a certain amount of tennis lately, & have just come in from a game now. The Club here is very nice but very empty always except on band nights. Our band is very busy & full of engagements, plays every day somewhere.
Love to all
Yr loving son
Ted
http://www.worldwar1.com/tripwire/1206bucharest.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lloyd_George
“Britain Prepared” directed by Charles Urban
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060023124
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Urban
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_the_Somme_%28film%29
