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First World War Letters Home - Primary Sources February 1917
Money talk, still freezing cold, volunteers falling ill, Arthur is caught in a gas attack without his mask, borrows the Commandants bed ...
Feb 3rd, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Yrs of Jan 24th & enclosures to hand a few days ago & yest. 2 Aust. Papers sent on from Celbridge. I hope Will is all right again & got home on his leave & Ernest too. Bank of Ireland has done well, but I see still only pays 10% & puts a lot to depreciation of investments, of course all banks have had to do same, a Govt. loan producing 5 ¼ % naturally brings down value of old gilt edged securities. When all is written down enough they will probably resume 12% div. All bank reports in Ireland suggest prosperity! If only your Turbotston money were being paid off it would be a fine chance for investment.
Weather still cold & bright, but not quite as bad as it was. It freezes night & day. Such a long spell. We dread rain here as this limestone country is so sticky & messy, still the roads even after rain will be a treat after the Somme. Such a job to get dry wood & keep warm. It keeps us busy cutting & splitting for kitchen & our wretched little oil drum stove in room where we eat. My friend who went home a few days ago left his petrol stove & I keep it in my room all day going & it makes quite a difference. Without it was just an icehouse.
Another of our volunteers has gone down & was sent off home yesterday, that makes three in 10 days, so you can imagine that it has been no Riviera here, or pic nic either. He was pretty bad, not long back from leave, but used to Argentine climate & work & weather here was too much for him, a man of 39, a great polo player out there & very well off, a nice man, bad luck. Two others were due back from leave two days ago, a letter from one yesterday to say he was in bed with bronchitis in England! So we are rather a sorry lot. Only about 12 vol. here now all told & we should be 20 & a Commandant. I fancy it is getting harder to get men & coming out this time of year & to this roughing it, all so different to the first year or 18 mns. I doubt it appeals to them. We that are here get a fair lot of work. We are 2 nights in here at headquarters in this wretched little wrecked town & then 24 hrs. out at some dugout behind the lines & cook our own meals. Here of course we get runs too & what with runs, doing rooms & wood, one is kept going, a very good thing as time passes & one wants work to keep warm.
A gas attack two aft.noons ago, perfectly beastly & all had wear to masks, very thick & chokes you. I & shover were returning from taking wounded back to hospital from dug out where we were doing 24 hrs. & had to pass through edge of this place on our way. As we got near he said he thought he smelt something, then I thought I did & it got rather nasty in ones throat, a soldier who saw us called out & just then met others with masks on so of course knew what it was, I, like a fool, forgot my mask & had left it in dug out, so we drove straight in here & I ran in & got one from a man who had two none too soon either, everyone had them on here. I put muffler over my mouth till I got here, helped a bit, but one coughs & it hurts ones throat. One of our fellows was a little way out & was caught without his mask & was pretty bad, but got in & put it on, but was very queer for some time. We had then to drive back 7 kilometres to our dug out poste de secours where we were on duty, how on earth shover managed to drive I don’t know, I could see nothing & of course recognise nobody, it was always who is that! The eye parts get fogged with ones breath. On our way we passed through a dense cloud of it, like a thick mist rising, curious but once there it had passed & we were not troubled any more. I fear various poor fellows caught out without their masks had a bad time, some picked up unconscious & our cars carried several, some of course fatal & in any case I believe it leaves one bad for ages. It is a lesson to us, as often we went about without our masks, altho’ of course regulations are very severe that one should have them. It is my first experience of gas & I must say I don’t want another. In the Vosges, owing to hilly country, gas attacks were almost if not quite impossible. To see a gassed man is a most unpleasant sight; I think it a most fiendish method of warfare.
I hope John Eyston is not badly wounded. I don’t think C. Barton has gone to any other convoy. I am sorry to hear about Mrs Maxwell, she is delicate of course & I suppose child too. Dick is lucky in getting a job in Limerick, practically at home & no doubt will stick to it if he can. I fear jobs at home are not easily got. It will be two years on Thursday since I left London with this convoy & there are only three of us left of the lot that started out from London then, Wigan, Hudson & self! A very nice man, Webster, also one of the originals went home few days ago, he was bad, could not stand the weather & roughing it tho he has lived 30 years in Canada; I’m very sorry he has gone. I marvel at myself keeping going, but to be quite candid I feel wonderfully well, a few pains & aches & stiffness, but it does not seem to get worse, so one gets along. I managed to make myself comparatively comfortable here & Sir R Wigan has lent me his large bed & mattress, as he, as an officer, has right to a room & bed of course. Where we are here is an empty house, so we have to have our own everything, even a door mat I take about to try & keep ones room a bit clean. I have another man in with me now, very nice young fellow, really American, but he lives in Paris & runs our mess. I also take about my tub with me, only one that does, but with car to carry things, I don’t see why one should not be as comfortable as one can. It is miserable enough here goodness knows in this bitter weather. No signs of going from here yet. I still find ????? & ??????? only real way to keep feet warm. My gum boots have arrived, they are cold things to wear.
A parcel from Fortnum & Mason [Piccadilly] arrived a few days ago, but I had no time to open it till yest. When two fellows came to tea; I had no idea who it was from till I opened it & found it was from Mrs Purcell, fancy how awfully kind. A beautiful large very rich cake, a plum pudding, box of ast. chocolate tablets a some ditto peppermints. I wrote & thanked her yesterday. I had a tea party of 3 this aft. noon to help eat the cake, in fact there were only 4 of us left in headquarters …
What have they done to the Irish Times, made it same as England? Must make morngs.[?] very dark. Will you please send me an I [Irish] Times some day, just one, I don’t want it often …
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
My Dear Mother,
Yrs of Jan 24th & enclosures to hand a few days ago & yest. 2 Aust. Papers sent on from Celbridge. I hope Will is all right again & got home on his leave & Ernest too. Bank of Ireland has done well, but I see still only pays 10% & puts a lot to depreciation of investments, of course all banks have had to do same, a Govt. loan producing 5 ¼ % naturally brings down value of old gilt edged securities. When all is written down enough they will probably resume 12% div. All bank reports in Ireland suggest prosperity! If only your Turbotston money were being paid off it would be a fine chance for investment.
Weather still cold & bright, but not quite as bad as it was. It freezes night & day. Such a long spell. We dread rain here as this limestone country is so sticky & messy, still the roads even after rain will be a treat after the Somme. Such a job to get dry wood & keep warm. It keeps us busy cutting & splitting for kitchen & our wretched little oil drum stove in room where we eat. My friend who went home a few days ago left his petrol stove & I keep it in my room all day going & it makes quite a difference. Without it was just an icehouse.
Another of our volunteers has gone down & was sent off home yesterday, that makes three in 10 days, so you can imagine that it has been no Riviera here, or pic nic either. He was pretty bad, not long back from leave, but used to Argentine climate & work & weather here was too much for him, a man of 39, a great polo player out there & very well off, a nice man, bad luck. Two others were due back from leave two days ago, a letter from one yesterday to say he was in bed with bronchitis in England! So we are rather a sorry lot. Only about 12 vol. here now all told & we should be 20 & a Commandant. I fancy it is getting harder to get men & coming out this time of year & to this roughing it, all so different to the first year or 18 mns. I doubt it appeals to them. We that are here get a fair lot of work. We are 2 nights in here at headquarters in this wretched little wrecked town & then 24 hrs. out at some dugout behind the lines & cook our own meals. Here of course we get runs too & what with runs, doing rooms & wood, one is kept going, a very good thing as time passes & one wants work to keep warm.
A gas attack two aft.noons ago, perfectly beastly & all had wear to masks, very thick & chokes you. I & shover were returning from taking wounded back to hospital from dug out where we were doing 24 hrs. & had to pass through edge of this place on our way. As we got near he said he thought he smelt something, then I thought I did & it got rather nasty in ones throat, a soldier who saw us called out & just then met others with masks on so of course knew what it was, I, like a fool, forgot my mask & had left it in dug out, so we drove straight in here & I ran in & got one from a man who had two none too soon either, everyone had them on here. I put muffler over my mouth till I got here, helped a bit, but one coughs & it hurts ones throat. One of our fellows was a little way out & was caught without his mask & was pretty bad, but got in & put it on, but was very queer for some time. We had then to drive back 7 kilometres to our dug out poste de secours where we were on duty, how on earth shover managed to drive I don’t know, I could see nothing & of course recognise nobody, it was always who is that! The eye parts get fogged with ones breath. On our way we passed through a dense cloud of it, like a thick mist rising, curious but once there it had passed & we were not troubled any more. I fear various poor fellows caught out without their masks had a bad time, some picked up unconscious & our cars carried several, some of course fatal & in any case I believe it leaves one bad for ages. It is a lesson to us, as often we went about without our masks, altho’ of course regulations are very severe that one should have them. It is my first experience of gas & I must say I don’t want another. In the Vosges, owing to hilly country, gas attacks were almost if not quite impossible. To see a gassed man is a most unpleasant sight; I think it a most fiendish method of warfare.
I hope John Eyston is not badly wounded. I don’t think C. Barton has gone to any other convoy. I am sorry to hear about Mrs Maxwell, she is delicate of course & I suppose child too. Dick is lucky in getting a job in Limerick, practically at home & no doubt will stick to it if he can. I fear jobs at home are not easily got. It will be two years on Thursday since I left London with this convoy & there are only three of us left of the lot that started out from London then, Wigan, Hudson & self! A very nice man, Webster, also one of the originals went home few days ago, he was bad, could not stand the weather & roughing it tho he has lived 30 years in Canada; I’m very sorry he has gone. I marvel at myself keeping going, but to be quite candid I feel wonderfully well, a few pains & aches & stiffness, but it does not seem to get worse, so one gets along. I managed to make myself comparatively comfortable here & Sir R Wigan has lent me his large bed & mattress, as he, as an officer, has right to a room & bed of course. Where we are here is an empty house, so we have to have our own everything, even a door mat I take about to try & keep ones room a bit clean. I have another man in with me now, very nice young fellow, really American, but he lives in Paris & runs our mess. I also take about my tub with me, only one that does, but with car to carry things, I don’t see why one should not be as comfortable as one can. It is miserable enough here goodness knows in this bitter weather. No signs of going from here yet. I still find ????? & ??????? only real way to keep feet warm. My gum boots have arrived, they are cold things to wear.
A parcel from Fortnum & Mason [Piccadilly] arrived a few days ago, but I had no time to open it till yest. When two fellows came to tea; I had no idea who it was from till I opened it & found it was from Mrs Purcell, fancy how awfully kind. A beautiful large very rich cake, a plum pudding, box of ast. chocolate tablets a some ditto peppermints. I wrote & thanked her yesterday. I had a tea party of 3 this aft. noon to help eat the cake, in fact there were only 4 of us left in headquarters …
What have they done to the Irish Times, made it same as England? Must make morngs.[?] very dark. Will you please send me an I [Irish] Times some day, just one, I don’t want it often …
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
Coldest winter since 1870, 7 or 8 men short due to illness, 2nd anniversary of leaving London, complaining about those in easy war jobs, able to keep warm in dugouts, still enjoying his tea and cake ...
S.S.A. 3
France
Sunday Evg. Feb 11th, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of Jan 28th & Feb 2nd to hand, latter with various enclosures. Glad Will got home while Ernest was still there & that he is alright again. At last today a bit milder, been bitterly cold day after day, freezing day & night. Almost as you throw out water it freezes. Clear days. Seems coldest winter in France since 70! Home too it seems cold & snowy & a lot of skating, so it has given some pleasure.
Three fellows have been invalided since we came here & another ill in bed & another called home suddenly by wire, so we are very few, 7 or 8 short of our proper number. Los Casas goes home for good this week, on completion of his 6 months & another fellow on leave. Buckmaster, the Polo man, comes out this month, he was out for 6 months before. One of the fellows sent off never got beyond Paris, last we heard of him he was in the Astoria hospital there with a temp. of 103! He only got away just in time; he ought never to have come out for winter, been years in India & while on the Somme he had a pretty nasty shock, knocked over down entrance of dug out by a shell with 3 or 4 others & his car hit all over, a near thing.
Last Thursday night we had a dinner to celebrate second an. of our departure from London, Feb 8th 1915. Very unnecessary I thought, but others wanted it & are all very much younger than me, eldest of remaining 3 is 15 yrs. younger & I suppose they wanted an excuse for a spice! [?] Personally I see nothing to celebrate in having spent two years amongst all this sadness, suffering, desolation, for at this work you see most of the sad & ghastly side of war.
Two years is quite a slice out of ones life when past 40! & it looks as if a still larger slice would be spent at this work before any chance of peace. I have no doubt there are a good many who don’t mind how long war goes on, fellows who have nice comfortable jobs & good pay on which they can about live & save their incomes & no roughing it to do or risks to run. However when one gets no pay, a pretty rough time, ones income suffering from war & having to put ones hand in ones pocket pretty often, as we have it at this job, tho’ we are fed & housed, it is a very different story.
I went to Mass at 9-30 this morng. an army chaplain said Mass in side of church which is all smashed up, roof gone, bell laying in front of High Altar & windows all smashed, but right aisle, tho’ windows are broken, it is not much damaged & is quite nicely arranged with chairs. All soldiers there, no civilians left, one feels very much at the front, one hears guns fairly close & all the men with gas masks hung on them ready to put on: we have all to carry them here, I nearly had a nasty time of it the other day, got caught out on car without it; just happened to forget it in hurry to take off a wounded man.
We do 24 hrs. out then 2 nights here at headquarters tho’ of course there are runs from here too. Manage to keep fairly warm in dugouts, but here it is different, wretched stove & green wood. Keep petrol stove going in our room, only chance to make it possible. I fear cold has caused a lot of suffering, fuel very dear & hard to get. We have been busy all day cleaning up inside & out of the house & cutting up & carrying in logs from a tree I & another fellow cut down last evening. It is hard enough to get decent green wood here & this bitter weather we have had everyone is after it. What with doing our rooms, cutting & chopping up wood & our work, we are kept busy, a very good thing, as this sort of place is misery otherwise. We shall probably be here till March so far as it is possible to gather.
I generally have tea in my room when I am here, about 4, other man who shares room & our Commandant usually come. Had little tea parties to eat the beautiful cake Mrs Purcell sent me, it was a great success. ???? sent me 2lbs of tea & some biscuits & afterwards wrote that stores said the P.O. would not send them without a special order from Council or somebody, I hope they got it & that tea & bis. are en route, as I’m coming to an end of mine, however one can always get some out here.
I see all sorts of restrictions are being made at home now & regular rationing; it should have been done long ago, I fancy the next few months will see a most bitter struggle, much worse than anything up to now. I wonder if U.S.A. will come in too, they seem to be on the verge!
I am glad Rudolph can get about poor boy, more cheerful for him. Is Herbert Throck. [Throckmorton] a Commander now?
Do you know when one has to send in income tax returns when one wants to get money, will April do, I suppose they make an allowance for those out here even if it is before April, perhaps you could find out at P.O. Up to now I have not bothered to reclaim any, but with 5/- tax I must & should get 2/- back …
I suppose another 6 wks. will see worst of cold over, but it is 6 wks. too much! Still it is, if one is well, wonderfully healthy weather.
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
France
Sunday Evg. Feb 11th, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of Jan 28th & Feb 2nd to hand, latter with various enclosures. Glad Will got home while Ernest was still there & that he is alright again. At last today a bit milder, been bitterly cold day after day, freezing day & night. Almost as you throw out water it freezes. Clear days. Seems coldest winter in France since 70! Home too it seems cold & snowy & a lot of skating, so it has given some pleasure.
Three fellows have been invalided since we came here & another ill in bed & another called home suddenly by wire, so we are very few, 7 or 8 short of our proper number. Los Casas goes home for good this week, on completion of his 6 months & another fellow on leave. Buckmaster, the Polo man, comes out this month, he was out for 6 months before. One of the fellows sent off never got beyond Paris, last we heard of him he was in the Astoria hospital there with a temp. of 103! He only got away just in time; he ought never to have come out for winter, been years in India & while on the Somme he had a pretty nasty shock, knocked over down entrance of dug out by a shell with 3 or 4 others & his car hit all over, a near thing.
Last Thursday night we had a dinner to celebrate second an. of our departure from London, Feb 8th 1915. Very unnecessary I thought, but others wanted it & are all very much younger than me, eldest of remaining 3 is 15 yrs. younger & I suppose they wanted an excuse for a spice! [?] Personally I see nothing to celebrate in having spent two years amongst all this sadness, suffering, desolation, for at this work you see most of the sad & ghastly side of war.
Two years is quite a slice out of ones life when past 40! & it looks as if a still larger slice would be spent at this work before any chance of peace. I have no doubt there are a good many who don’t mind how long war goes on, fellows who have nice comfortable jobs & good pay on which they can about live & save their incomes & no roughing it to do or risks to run. However when one gets no pay, a pretty rough time, ones income suffering from war & having to put ones hand in ones pocket pretty often, as we have it at this job, tho’ we are fed & housed, it is a very different story.
I went to Mass at 9-30 this morng. an army chaplain said Mass in side of church which is all smashed up, roof gone, bell laying in front of High Altar & windows all smashed, but right aisle, tho’ windows are broken, it is not much damaged & is quite nicely arranged with chairs. All soldiers there, no civilians left, one feels very much at the front, one hears guns fairly close & all the men with gas masks hung on them ready to put on: we have all to carry them here, I nearly had a nasty time of it the other day, got caught out on car without it; just happened to forget it in hurry to take off a wounded man.
We do 24 hrs. out then 2 nights here at headquarters tho’ of course there are runs from here too. Manage to keep fairly warm in dugouts, but here it is different, wretched stove & green wood. Keep petrol stove going in our room, only chance to make it possible. I fear cold has caused a lot of suffering, fuel very dear & hard to get. We have been busy all day cleaning up inside & out of the house & cutting up & carrying in logs from a tree I & another fellow cut down last evening. It is hard enough to get decent green wood here & this bitter weather we have had everyone is after it. What with doing our rooms, cutting & chopping up wood & our work, we are kept busy, a very good thing, as this sort of place is misery otherwise. We shall probably be here till March so far as it is possible to gather.
I generally have tea in my room when I am here, about 4, other man who shares room & our Commandant usually come. Had little tea parties to eat the beautiful cake Mrs Purcell sent me, it was a great success. ???? sent me 2lbs of tea & some biscuits & afterwards wrote that stores said the P.O. would not send them without a special order from Council or somebody, I hope they got it & that tea & bis. are en route, as I’m coming to an end of mine, however one can always get some out here.
I see all sorts of restrictions are being made at home now & regular rationing; it should have been done long ago, I fancy the next few months will see a most bitter struggle, much worse than anything up to now. I wonder if U.S.A. will come in too, they seem to be on the verge!
I am glad Rudolph can get about poor boy, more cheerful for him. Is Herbert Throck. [Throckmorton] a Commander now?
Do you know when one has to send in income tax returns when one wants to get money, will April do, I suppose they make an allowance for those out here even if it is before April, perhaps you could find out at P.O. Up to now I have not bothered to reclaim any, but with 5/- tax I must & should get 2/- back …
I suppose another 6 wks. will see worst of cold over, but it is 6 wks. too much! Still it is, if one is well, wonderfully healthy weather.
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
Spring has arrived, shellfire rattling windows, gas alarm, very short of volunteers ...
France
Feb 17th, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of 10th & enclosures came couple of days ago, also a letter forwarded . I see Will stayed a day or two in London on his way back. Ta seems much better. Yesterday was a real spring day, warm sun & we sat out & read; of course a thaw & roads & all very messy. We have had fine dry weather for four weeks, one day or two a little snow, rest frost & clear skies. I suppose now we shall have rain, I see they have had it in other parts.
Been a lot of cannonading & our windows rattled for nearly 24 hrs, those who have no windows really rather scored. Calm again now. The ammunition they fire off in this war is beyond belief: to think that all these millions of money are just blown into space. We had another gas alarm just as we had got to bed a few nights ago, so had to jump up & get our masks & have them handy, however it never came luckily: it is all so very dependant on the wind that one never knows what it will do or where it will go …
No, we are not on the Meuse, we are not far from the place I wrote you from about 4 weeks ago. I got another pair of sox from ????? a few days ago & yesterday got a pair from Mrs Jim Finlay from Australia & Alison Smith has knitted me 3 pair which are en route out, so I am well off for sox now. Alice is getting on publishing books in New York, I hope it is good.
Glad you like “Mr Poilu”, I have not read it properly, only looked through it, so I must read it in April. We are very short of volunteers, there are only 12 of us now & there should be 22, 20 for the 20 cars & a Commandant & a Sub Com. who looks after cars & order of going out & shovers etc. we have these two & that leaves only 10. Las Casas & another left 3 days ago, former does not return, latter gone on leave. Another due back from leave is ill at home& has been some time, three lately invalided home & another called back on urgent family matters, he may come out again. Hard to get volunteers now, men of military age can’t get out now & others older do not, no doubt, come to do this in winter, especially a winter like this & I can’t blame them. I don’t know what will happen, two more men are coming out again that left months ago, but are waiting for good weather. Personally I far prefer having so few, one gets so sick of 20 men all talking at once three times a day in a small room & often about things that one gets sick of, details of wounded they have brought in and so on, it all gets awfully on ones nerves at times; a great many little things like that become very trying quite apart from the work weather & roughing it …
How sad about the Duke of Norfolk, a great loss. Do the food regulations not apply to Ireland. I hope people are economising in private houses & they will find out how little one can do with & probably be better for it.
Lena Evans will be very excited if her country goes to war with Germany, can’t be that they can possibly keep out?
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
I sent Combridge chq. To pay acct. you sent me on.
Feb 17th, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of 10th & enclosures came couple of days ago, also a letter forwarded . I see Will stayed a day or two in London on his way back. Ta seems much better. Yesterday was a real spring day, warm sun & we sat out & read; of course a thaw & roads & all very messy. We have had fine dry weather for four weeks, one day or two a little snow, rest frost & clear skies. I suppose now we shall have rain, I see they have had it in other parts.
Been a lot of cannonading & our windows rattled for nearly 24 hrs, those who have no windows really rather scored. Calm again now. The ammunition they fire off in this war is beyond belief: to think that all these millions of money are just blown into space. We had another gas alarm just as we had got to bed a few nights ago, so had to jump up & get our masks & have them handy, however it never came luckily: it is all so very dependant on the wind that one never knows what it will do or where it will go …
No, we are not on the Meuse, we are not far from the place I wrote you from about 4 weeks ago. I got another pair of sox from ????? a few days ago & yesterday got a pair from Mrs Jim Finlay from Australia & Alison Smith has knitted me 3 pair which are en route out, so I am well off for sox now. Alice is getting on publishing books in New York, I hope it is good.
Glad you like “Mr Poilu”, I have not read it properly, only looked through it, so I must read it in April. We are very short of volunteers, there are only 12 of us now & there should be 22, 20 for the 20 cars & a Commandant & a Sub Com. who looks after cars & order of going out & shovers etc. we have these two & that leaves only 10. Las Casas & another left 3 days ago, former does not return, latter gone on leave. Another due back from leave is ill at home& has been some time, three lately invalided home & another called back on urgent family matters, he may come out again. Hard to get volunteers now, men of military age can’t get out now & others older do not, no doubt, come to do this in winter, especially a winter like this & I can’t blame them. I don’t know what will happen, two more men are coming out again that left months ago, but are waiting for good weather. Personally I far prefer having so few, one gets so sick of 20 men all talking at once three times a day in a small room & often about things that one gets sick of, details of wounded they have brought in and so on, it all gets awfully on ones nerves at times; a great many little things like that become very trying quite apart from the work weather & roughing it …
How sad about the Duke of Norfolk, a great loss. Do the food regulations not apply to Ireland. I hope people are economising in private houses & they will find out how little one can do with & probably be better for it.
Lena Evans will be very excited if her country goes to war with Germany, can’t be that they can possibly keep out?
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
I sent Combridge chq. To pay acct. you sent me on.
Arthur likes Lloyd George's speech, a missing parcel of tea and biscuits, new arrests in Ireland ...
S.S.A. no.3
February 25th, 1917 Sunday evg.
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 17th came 2 days ago & three Irish Times also. Here we have had one or two spring like days …
Roads getting bad, frost had got so far into the ground. Looks like being here for another month.
We have been interested in reading Lloyd George’s speech, very good & to the point, only all this should have been done a year ago at least, but I suppose better late than never. It will at last make people realise the war, which a very large number never seem to have done & eat & drunk & fox trotted & played about in blissful ignorance of the risks England was running. Of course I think the papers were much to blame, always so optimistic & talking of the sad plight of Germany, but never hinting that the tables might easily be turned. It makes one shudder to think what would have happened had the old Govt. gone on much longer …
No Burn’s parcel of tea & biscuits has not arrived, but he has not told me they refused to send it, so I suppose it has been sent, but now after this new rule about exporting tea & other things, there is no chance of any more parcels of that sort being allowed out...
What are these new arrests one reads of in Ireland last few days, some of the remains of last year’s upheaval! …
I went into a large town last Wed. a place from where I wrote you some 5 wks. ago & where our Mess man goes twice a week to get one food; 25k from here. Quite a treat after a month up here; a few things I wanted to do & get. We get our washing done there, awfully expensive, 2f 50 they charged me for washing pyjamas!! Things are of course much dearer than even a year ago, but seemingly plenty of everything in eating line …
Went to Mass this morng. not so cold quite as previous time; quite a good little short sermon from a priest soldier, probably stretcher bearer.
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
February 25th, 1917 Sunday evg.
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 17th came 2 days ago & three Irish Times also. Here we have had one or two spring like days …
Roads getting bad, frost had got so far into the ground. Looks like being here for another month.
We have been interested in reading Lloyd George’s speech, very good & to the point, only all this should have been done a year ago at least, but I suppose better late than never. It will at last make people realise the war, which a very large number never seem to have done & eat & drunk & fox trotted & played about in blissful ignorance of the risks England was running. Of course I think the papers were much to blame, always so optimistic & talking of the sad plight of Germany, but never hinting that the tables might easily be turned. It makes one shudder to think what would have happened had the old Govt. gone on much longer …
No Burn’s parcel of tea & biscuits has not arrived, but he has not told me they refused to send it, so I suppose it has been sent, but now after this new rule about exporting tea & other things, there is no chance of any more parcels of that sort being allowed out...
What are these new arrests one reads of in Ireland last few days, some of the remains of last year’s upheaval! …
I went into a large town last Wed. a place from where I wrote you some 5 wks. ago & where our Mess man goes twice a week to get one food; 25k from here. Quite a treat after a month up here; a few things I wanted to do & get. We get our washing done there, awfully expensive, 2f 50 they charged me for washing pyjamas!! Things are of course much dearer than even a year ago, but seemingly plenty of everything in eating line …
Went to Mass this morng. not so cold quite as previous time; quite a good little short sermon from a priest soldier, probably stretcher bearer.
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
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