Thursday October 5/16

Dear Mother, Father + Carrie

               Received letter from Mother + Dad + also one from Carrie to-day and I am certainly glad you enjoy my descriptive letters. I intended my last letter to be a diary from our return from London up until then. But as you know by this time we are all ready to move to Shorncliffe and expected that last letter would be the last from this camp, and I was rushed for time, I certainly wish I was home to help you. Must be terribly busy with catering, soldiers, etc. Murray + I are feeling fine “Oh say before I forget I met some Manchester Boys over here they have invited me to their home, and nothing will satisfy them but a photo. If you would send me one of those good ones I know it will be appreciated by them. I will write Mrs. Ross + thank her but I think I had better wait until I get them so I can thank her properly. This is the introductory paragraph I am going to start writing this on the installment plan we have just come off parade now and expect to hear the cook house so pretty soon, so of course that means a break. I think I will name this article “Our Camp life and do we like it not.”

               Thursday September, now dears if I have left out any date just let me know and I will let you have them because I have notes of every day. Up at 5 AM Breakfast 6 AM Muster parade at 7 AM. This parade was called by the pay office and believe me nobody was backward in coming forward to answer their names, were standing around until 9 AM from 9 AM to 10 AM. We had what is commonly known as physical jerks, that new officer I was telling you about in my last epistle who was crabby and a reformer of men, made some awful calls, put out left hand markers etc. of course our sympathy for his mistakes was not very much. In fact we felt quite joyful about it from 10 AM until 12 we had passing messages in extended order and our new friend tried to get even with us by passing messages about a block long. It didn’t do him very much good because there was not one message arrived at its destination the same as it left the base. We did not have any dinner to-day we are getting very dainty and are afraid of our health so we are dietinging [sic]. By heck to-day I had one cheese sandwich minus the cheese, we fell in again @ 2 PM with packs on we had lectures on Outpost duty + reconnaissance. Murray + I had charge of a bunch in our outpost duty we had our sentry + connecting files and main guard well placed and knew our duties etc. When our ossifer [sic] inspected our arrangement he said with a noble voice “very good men”. We had the same bunch out on a reconnitering [sic] expedition, and sent a good report, so we were all Jake with him.

               Murray has been warned for guard duty to-morrow and I do not envy him it is 3 miles out and lonely as the dickens nuff said. Had a good supper to-night and made up for all vacancies caused at dinner. At 7:30 Don and I went over to Tin Town and had some boiled ham, sliced tomatoes, B+B + tea for 8 pence. Went to bed at 8:30. Started to rain and looks like a laster.

               Friday September 29

               Up at 5:30. Breakfast 6:30. Raining. No Parades this morning, poor old Murray had to go on guard in the rain, we all stayed in our huts and acted like a bunch of kids. Boxing, wrestling, acrobatic stunts, checkers and everything except anything pertaining to work, we are getting paid this afternoon and believe me the fellows need it, now this is how bad I saw one cigarette but about ½” long go around to 8 different fellows this morning. At 2:30 the big event came off. I got a raise of 5 cents a day according to my rank. Lance Jack, everybody was out to-night and it seemed funny. They say the hut is alright when they are broke but they are spenders when they get their money. There was quite a few real stews to-night, they are mostly all young fellows who never took a drink before they joined the army, our fellows had quite a time putting them to bed and keeping them quiet. Murray missed all this. Don + I went over to the YMCA + had coffee and cakes which cost us the sum of 6 pence. In bed at 9:30.

               Saturday September 30

               Up at 5:30. Breakfast @ 6:30, porridge, canned beef, B+Butter + tea. Physical jerks 9-10. Platoon drill until 11:30. Our own officers are all back to-day from their course and we are certainly glad to change Jennie for Mr. Skelton, but you would think the way Mr. Skelton drilled us that we were a bunch of defaulters we were dismissed early. Say afternoon I wrote nearly all afternoon + Sat night a bunch of us went to the moving picture show in Tin Town and had a pretty good time. Murray came off guard this morning and he had a punk time of it. It rained nearly all the time and the “flap on the old tent he had would not close” nuff said, you should have heard him rave. Was in bed at 9 PM.

               Sunday October 10^th

               All the time was changed at 3AM all clocks were put back an hour. We got up at 6:30. This means we had 2 hours extra sleep. IT is a nice clear morning. Breakfast at 7:30. Porridge, bacon, bread + tea. Church Parade @9AM. Mr. Graham preached. It was only a short service but very impressive. It was to-day that we first heard we were due for a move and for a while rumors were flying around quite regularly. I stayed in all afternoon and slept. Gee I am getting lazy. Murray, Norm + I went over to Tin-Town and had bacon +Egg for our supper. That seems to be our long suit. Just a hint to Carrie, don’t every butter Murrays toast, I have heard him give more than one calling down for this grave offence. After supper we went over to the YMCA + read. Came back about 8:30 and went to bed. In all we spent a pretty lazy day.

               Monday October 2

               Zep raid about 1:30 this morning. It was not very long, and I did not ever get up. More laziness. Up at 5:30. Roll @ 6 AM. Breakfast 7:30. We had an absolutely different menu this morning it consisted of porridge bacon tea B+B. It is raining again to-day. We had physical jerks in #1 hut from 9-10. Lecture on musketry until 12. Dinner at 12:30. Stew, potatoes peas. Raining this afternoon so to keep us busy they gave us kit inspection in our huts at 3:#0. Played house the remainder of the time. It is a card game. I Also had a bath before supper, not because I needed it. Super at 5:30. Bread + Butter, tea, prune + tapioca pudding. It would have been all jake only the pudding pretty nearly crawled off my plate + I could not eat it. England landed another zep last night. This makes 4 now. Pretty good going “eh”. In bed @ 9 PM.

               Tuesday October 3

               Up at 5:30, roll at 6 breakfast @ 7:30. We are starting a musketry course and if I am not careful now I will be giving you all a lecture on musketry + care of arms as I have taken notes on that too, in the afternoon we had a lecture on infantry attack, supper at 5:30 which consisted of sliced beets, bread + butter + tea. Went to bed at 9PM. We are having a cinch on this musketry course as we have heard the same things 100 times.

               Wednesday October 4/16

               Up @ 5:30. Did not sleep very good last night which is quite a strange performance for me. If you do not get asleep here before the others do, it is impossible ask Murray if we have got the greatest bunch of snorers in this hut, ever collected together before, I think so anyway. Breakfast @ 7:30. Porridge, bread + butter + sausages. Musketry again. We are practicing for our firing leaving the standing, kneeling + lying positions. This is one of the tests we have to go through in 2 weeks. We have to load and fire 5 rounds rapid at 300 yards double to 200 yards put on gas helmets and fire 1- rounds rapid, all this had to be done in 90 seconds. It sounds almost impossible doesn’t it, we also learnt the correct position for loading, observing, and firing in the trenches under one of our instructors Mr James Groshaw, who has just returned from a course. Dinner at 12:30. The meals are pretty good again now. Meat pie, potatoes + peas, and I enjoyed it. Physical drill from 2-3 and bomb throwing from 3-4:30. Supper at 5:30. Stewed apples, bread + butter + tea. Fred Huddleston, N. Stommers + I went over to the moving picture show at Tin Town and we luck enough strike a dandy 3 reel picture. Came home and went to bed at 9 AM [sic].

               Thursday October 5 up to date

               Up @530. Roll call 6AM. Route march 6:30. Breakfast at 7:30, bacon, tea, B+butter, porridge. Musketry this morning consisted of snoring by numbers we were all asleep, dinner 12:30. Stew, potatoes + carrots and it was good. From 2-3, physical jerks and on the syllabus of training from 3-4:30 a medical inspection was called for. Our doctor inspected about 200 of us in about 5 minutes so you can understand what kind of an inspection it is. Now 4:10, I have been writing this letter all day between parades so am caught up.

               That menu you sent made me feel pretty hungry. I wish I was there. Well dears, I guess this will have to do for now. Remember me to Annie + Bessie + Carrie please. Call up A Godrill, L MKenzie + remember me to them.

               Hoping you are all well, I remain

               Your Loving son + bro to the blow out kid.

                              Bob       

                              Murray.