France 28th October 1916
Saturday
My Dear Harry & Ethel,
Thanks very much for your letters of last Sunday which reached me last night. I suppose you have had Mother with you this week again and hope the three of you have enjoyed the visit. It is splendid for her having you, comparatively speaking, so close especially at the present time with both Alan & myself away from home.
You ask several questions which I am sorry I am unable to answer. I am however surprised to find that you open the paper every morning expecting something surprising & wonderful to have happened. I think if you have the patience you may carry on with this amusement for many months without any great success. I am quite reconciled to at least a winter out here & cannot find anybody of any other opinion.
Talking of the aeroplane you saw I am in the position of the man in I think it was Bruce Bairnsfather’s picture who seeing any number above him out here complained bitterly of the fact that he had once paid 5/- to see one.
Excepting for an occasional move we have been having a very quiet time recently which is a blessing as it is hard working in the mud which prevails out here now. Every time one moves one has to lift one’s feet out of the mud (one at a time of course) and at the end of the day this makes the ankles ache most terribly, at least it does mine.
There are all sorts of rumours of leave but it is wise to pay no attention to any of them and to anticipate nothing at all & then there will be no disappointment. I yesterday met an officer in a Welch Regiment who I knew in Cardiff and he told me he was going home on leave today. He is the second fellow from home that I have met during the past couple of weeks. I am sorry I did not run into any of Alan’s lot as if I had only found out where they were I might have been able to see him.
It has been getting very cold recently, which has the effect of testing the ingenuity of our fellows: some of the fire places in dugouts & chimneys from them are marvellous, most of them being made from practically nothing at all. We are lucky (I mean our sub-section). We are quartered in a cellar & were fortunate to find a little stove & chimney which was once no doubt the pride of some French household, but now it is doing us a power of good & on our off duty night we go to bed most beautifully warm. When on duty we keep warm with the aid of a much punctured oil drum. There is any amount of firewood handy as we are in the midst of a shattered village and firewood is about all that the remains are good for. That is the result of somebody’s artillery fire.
I think I told you I received the two books you sent me. I am now enjoying the “Veymain”
Well, I am glad I have this time been able to write a little longer letter than usual but I must close now.
With best wishes to you both
Yours,
Bernard.
In On Active Service envelope addressed to Mr & Mrs Harry R King, Esq., 38, Park Avenue, Worcester, England.
Ansd 5/11/16
Postmarked ARMY POST OFFICE *.**. 30 OC 16. Hexagonal PASSED FIELD CENSOR 3447. Signed W.D. Lamuebrie
