Bramshoth Camp

October 21/16

My dear Mother, Father + Carrie

               Just a few lines to let you know that Murray and I are feeling fine. I am going to write oftener after this although they will be shorter.

               Before you receive this letter you will know that our battalion is like the liquor trade in London, namely a dead one.

               Monday October 16/16

I was working in the orderly room all day transferring equipment etc. Monday afternoon orders came in from brigade headquarters that we were to move to Bramshoth first thing Monday Tuesday morning that meant that I had to work nearly all night in the orderly room and believe me I did work. Murray came in @ 4:30 and walked with us.

               Tuesday October 17/16

Up at 6:30 Breakfast as usual. @ 7:30 you can imagine the hustle + bustle around camp we had to pack up everything, carry our bed ticks about ½ mile and dump the straw, carry our bed boards over to the games room and clean out the hut. At 10 AM we paraded with all our belongings on our back with the exception of our kit bag which they sent by transport. We were paraded to the cook house for one last parting gift from the 135 which was in the form of one dried beef sandwich at 10:30 we started after giving 3 cheers for Colonel Robinson + Staff and I certainly felt sorry for the Colonel he looked just ready to cry. I will try and describe the march it is 8 miles from Whitley to Bramshoth through the most beautiful country in England and is commonly known as the alps of England. But there were three very distinct drawbacks as a pleasure trip first it rained all the way and we were soaking wet when we got here. Secondly it is all up hill and last but far from least our packs I am sure weighed a ton outside of this I enjoyed the march immensely. How could I. Since I have been doing heavy marching I have often thought of the card Benn sent from England “what a pack feels like” after 10 miles, do you remember? We arrived at Bramshoth at 1:30 and the officers and men tried to do their best to make us feel at home but it is pretty hard to break up after being so long together. They had a good dinner ready for us here and believe me we were not a bit backward in coming forward.

               I do not like to run the 135^th down but the 134^th Bn is all system. They are a crack Bttn + believe me they are working us, after a days drilling twice a week we get night marches. The meals here are 100% better than we ever got before. We even have pudding here for dinner, since we have been here we have been paraded for a bath to the doctor and to the dentist.

               There were 50 N.C.O’s come from the 135^th and they have only room for 20 so yours truly is once more a Pte + believe me they did not hurt my feeling any a Pte has a 100% time over here than an N.C.O. I am glad Murray has held his but he is going