George Ryan’s letter home dated 15 April 1915

1945. ‘D’ Co

9^th Middx

Barrackpore

Bengal

India.

15 April 1915

Dear M & F,

Your letter of March 18^th received.  Glad to hear Dad has been a bit busy but I suppose it won’t last long.  Hope his feet are better.

I had a letter from Bert this week; he must be having a jolly rough time. He doesn’t seem to think the war will be over just yet, not before next Christmas, he says.  I suppose they discuss it every other day in the trenches the same as we do here.  I think I’ve told you before that I’ve got a rupee (1^s/4^d) bet on with another fellow that it’s over by Oct 31^st.  I hope I shall win it.

Well we are going to Darjeeling at last, 19 of us from this Co. We leave here to-morrow, Wed 14. (I’m writing this Tues 13^th).  It will be a change for us.  We’ve got to put on warm clothing! & take 2 extra blankets.  The temperature up there is about 45^o whereas it was over 100^o here yesterday.  So I expect we shall feel pretty cold the first few days.

I’m sending some photographs by this mail. They are only groups taken at Dinapore & as I don’t want to cart them up to Darjeeling I’m sending them home.  I would have sent them long ago only I’ve been going to have some done of myself alone but have not done so yet.  I was going to send them all to-gether.  I will tell you what the groups are next week & whether there’s anybody else you know in them.  They are at the bottom of my box at present.

Hope you are all well.

Yr loving son

George

Thank May for her letter of 18 Mar. Will answer it next week.

They are ¼^d stamps on the envelope.  P.C.s go for ¼^d out here, letters ½^d (Inland)

P.T.O.

Just turned out photographs. They are not up to much, not worth sending in fact but as I’ve paid for them I might as well send them.  The big one & the P.C.s is No 1 Section, (my section) & the other is just an odd group.  I enclose the P.C.s.  C.A.S. is in both of them.  The chap sitting on the form on the extreme left of the Section photo was the one that was billeted with me in Sittingbourne.  G.W.R.