Flanders,

June 18^th 1916.

My dear Ethel,

Thank you very much for your parcel and letter.  It is being enjoyed very much on “The Continent”.  I don’t know if I have any more grey hairs.  I would not be surprised if there were.  I have a nice little moustache which the King wanted me to grow.  You know what one of those flat tea cakes without currents is like – A flat thing with little holes all inside it – Well the French bread is like that but its size is enormous and it is crusty.  You would think it light but it is rather heavy.  Its colour is that of Standard bread.  We are getting to like it.  By the way the army bread is the crown loaf and it’s very good.  I don’t know whether to say eggs are of any use or not.  The fact is that I haven’t had one for three weeks & I am rather keen.  The thing is that if I want one very badly I can get one with little trouble so it really isn’t worth while sending me any.  Your parcel arrived without having suffered in any way.  I must say that was due to the packing.  Whatever the parcel is packed like however if something very heavy drops on it it doesn’t do it any good.  I had a parcel with some sausage rolls and tomatoes among other things.  It was beautifully packed but one side had been squashed & only one tomato survived.  The remainder had fuzed with three or four rolls.  As a rule however they come remarkably safely.  Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Have just heard of the jolly good news.  Damme I am glad.  Harry’s postcard has this minute arrived.  Of course he was bound to get it once they had seen him, wasn’t he?  I have nearly gone mad.  I am afraid you won’t like leaving Ireland and of course it will be your luck not to come to Cardiff.  Write & tell Harry to & tell me where, when &c.  What a funny thing I had the parcel first.  I can’t understand it.  Was the iced cake wedding cake & if so yours?  That is just like the army asks questions.  Ethel, have you ever tried sleeping on stairs.  Try.  As you haven’t any extra special training I will allow you to avail yourself of the stair carpet and an overcoat also a cap comforter otherwise a night cap.  They have packed sand-bags full of earth at the side so it’s quite likely we will be able to build up a bed (which I feel sure will collapse between three and six a.m. tomorrow.  Again, it will come in handy when you move.  How I pity you moving!  Once we did.  You won’t like leaving Dublin a bit.  That’s the fly in the ointment isn’t it?  We are going out digging tonight & I am going quite gladly.  In addition to what I have told Harry there is nothing to tell you as we doing the same thing six days after six days.  We only see Englishmen now.

We haven’t had any butter issued to-day so yours has come in very handy.  I am afraid most of this letter is about food.  I have nothing else to write about.  With much love I am,

            Yours affectionately

                        Alan.

The sandbags collapsed not.  We were awakened instead on a Gas alarm which proved to be a false alarm.  The weather is beautiful now with my usual luck I shall post these letters & then one from you.

This letter is in the envelope with the letter to Harry of even date.