Dear Mother: Bramshott, February 11, 1917

The weather has been very Canadian of late as I’ve been telling you in the last few letters, but today is dull and thawing. Yesterday I was out of camp for the first time in two weeks, went down to Haslemere and had a photo taken of Irwin Henry, Clair Irwin, George Twamley and Will Houston and myself. If it’s good, I’ll send you a sample. I was wearing a Glengarry cap but was minus a kilt, which I may get shortly, if rumour has it correctly.

Have five or six letters in answer to what I wrote at New Year’s, and I hear regularly from Carman. He was lucky to be sent to that entrenching battalion and I hope they keep him there, but it’s hardly likely that he will be kept permanently at that work. The work here in the 5th Canadian Reserve battalion is much to my fancy. I have quite a bit of spare time and have found leisure and inclination for reading several books of late, something new for me in the army. However a good thing like this cannot last long, but when spring comes I’m going over in a draft. There’s a possibility of me being sent any time, but there’s a draft of N.C.O’s who have been held in readiness to go to France for over two weeks and they’re still here.

There have been quite a few casualties lately. I notice Bert Rivers was wounded a few days ago. I hope it’s not serious. Two men from 170th battalion have been killed so far and quite a few wounded including a few from my old platoon. I had a letter from Anson and Janie Finlay with a note from Mary. So Anson has a touch of the Western fever again. He mentioned in his letter that he was trying to sell the farm. It may be some time before we get any more Canadian mail owing to the state of submarine warfare. "Uncle Sam" seems bound to come in against Germany at an early date.

I saw the Sentinel (Lucknow, Ontario) of January 4th and 11th up at the 160th today and noticed quite a few items of interest including Wallace’s (Twamley?) wedding. However most things appear in a secondary light in view of the serious national outlook over here. One has to rise above petty things in a crisis of national and world importance. But it is good to see the home papers and to know that school teachers and students spend their holidays and weekends at their parental homes and return in the course of things to their respective schools and studies after such occasions of relaxation. New cutters are still bought to attract the girls and visits are still made as before.

The chief day of importance in the army is payday and by the way I’ve got 10 shillings ($2.40) since December 20th and although my private exchequer show a healthy condition, it takes a long time for pay to come from Canada. So you can forward my assigned pay as it comes each month until you hear of me going to France. It’s possible I will cable when I’m sent on draft, and you can forward mail via Jimmy Paterson’s people, Albion House, Ayr, until you hear from me.

I mentioned this before but you never know if your letters get safely delivered or not. One of you letters written in November only came to me a week ago. It was nearly lost through my being away at Aldershot in December. I haven’t heard from the Paterson’s for quite a while and don’t know whether they got my picture which Steve forwarded or not. I had a letter from Bailie saying he would forward my pictures to any addressed I’d send him. Well you know where they should be sent. I thought he would take them up at Christmas. So Omar K. has got to France. The war should soon be over, but it’s no place for being overfacetious. Jimmy Patterson is well.

Love from Cannon.