Ken Hutchinson s Second World War letters, 1943 Glenbow Archives (M ) Somewhere in England June

Transcription

1 Ken Hutchinson s Second World War letters, 1943 Glenbow Archives (M ) Somewhere in England June Dear Folks, Well here I am in Bonny England as you will likely know by the time this gets there. I m certainly getting the travelling that I ve been waiting for. I haven t seen Ian yet, but wrote to him, so should hear from him soon. This is a very nice country from what I ve seen of it so far and the people are nice also. This money business is what gets me. If they would say it slow a fellow could count it out but they rattle if off so fast that you can t understand them. We are very comfortable here in these half circle huts (just like the Yankee Huts in Edmonton).There is only one troop to a hut so every thing is swell. When I was still in Canada I had a nice visit with Gerald and Mim although it was just on a late pass. Used my good old thumb. It certainly is funny to see these farmers with one horse in front of the other and their carts. They sure are big horses too just like those big awkward ones of Lidgetts. But they are in a lot better shape. I was at a dance last nite and had a good time. Good old Canadian music too. How is everything at the farm? Fine I hope. I suppose by now the haying is in full swing. It is over here. They are certainly well mechanised here, one field we saw three tractors for haying in a four or five acre field. One place we saw a car rigged up with a sweep in front of it. It sure looked funny. Jiggs isn t far from the east coast now eh. I ll bet he ll have a good time around there, but I guess he ll have a pretty steady job to keep him busy. Well I can t seem to think of anything else to write about for this time. I ll likely be able to write more after I see Ian. I saw Bill Lawrence the other day but don t know his address. But tell Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence eh. Well must sign off now, All my love, Ken My Address is: M Tpr Hutchinson KM A Sqdn 20 th Army Tank Regt. 2 nd Can Army Tank Bde CA (AF) July 8, 1943 Dear Folks, I don t imagine you have my other letter as yet cause I sent it ordinary mail. Am having a pretty good time so far, but haven t seen much of England. Last Sunday I got in contact with Ian. He

2 came down to see me. We almost took our leave together but he had his all planned out with three more people and I couldn t get away until Wednesday, so I m not taking mine until the middle of next month. Save a little more money and go on a real leave. I guess there will be about four of us. I wrote to Aunt Susan quite some time ago, but haven t heard from her yet. Did you know that James Strachan died. Ian told me that he died in April sometime, but Aunt Susan didn t tell him until about a week ago. I hope you are at the farm now cause that is where I have my next of kin address to. Am getting on to the money pretty good now. It s not so good as the good old Canadian money. I still have a Can. $5. So am not broke anyhow. Ian and I aren t very far apart but it is hard to make connections. When I go on my leave I intend to go to Scotland if I get a traveling warrant and then I ll come back early and spend a few days with Ian. I m so darn stiff I can hardly walk now. We have been doing a lot of P.T. and route marches and then play ball on top of that but will get used to it. One thing I can t get used to is walking on pavement everywhere we go. How is everyone at home?, fine I hope. Did you receive my telegram? Say did that kit bag that I sent home arrive O.K. I hope nothing broke in it. Now I wish that I would have brought my camera over here cause I could sure use it, but there are two in the troop, so will be able to use one of them if I need to. Golly there sure isn t much one can write about here. If you put in some of the things you want to say they cut it out so what s a guy to do. Guys have been writing letters every night. I don t know what there is to tell, or maybe they have a better line than I have. It s just as Ian says, every letter from over here is the same. Ian was quite surprised when he got my letter. The day before he got your letter saying I was trying to get a spring leave, so he answered my letter right away. He wanted me to go see him and if I couldn t he would come on Sunday so I couldn t get off. You know its three years since we ve seen each other so we really had a good talk. The first thing he asked me was if I had any cigarettes, so I gave him four packages. He says that he doesn t get all that you send. I wonder if you would send me 200 a month. Take it out of my money that is in the bank. They are sure hard to get over here. Either Player or Sweet Caps. My address is : M Tpr Hutchinson K.M. A Sqdn 20 th Army Tank Regt CA (AF) If the first letter has arrived disregard the address. They change it so darn often that it makes a guy so darn mad, but I guess this is the right one now. Well I just can t think of anything else for this time so will close. Hope to hear from you soon and often. Will write the rest of the family one of these days. Well good night, at least its good night for me as it is 2150 hrs. here. As ever your loving son, July 18, 1943 Dear Folks,

3 Here I am again, haven t had any word from you yet but still have hopes. This is my third letter I have written to you now. Last week I was on a 48 hr. leave. I went down to where Ian was, but didn t see him, so I got on the train again and rode to different places. I was talking to a fellow and he knew George Hamilton, so I went up and saw him. He was very surprised to see me, and of course didn t recognize me, but that was soon forgotten. I arrived to his place in the afternoon (Sunday). We talked for a while and then went to London. It was my first time there and is it ever a big place. He insisted in paying for everything. He said it was his day. We were in there for seven or eight hours. We went to a church service in St. Paul s cathedral. Then to Westminster Abbey, although we didn t go inside of it. Then we walked around to different places, but of course didn t see everything. Then we went for supper. London is one of the hardest places to find some place to eat. He can still walk as much as ever. In fact I was wishing that I had worn my boots instead of a pair of borrowed oxfords. I have a seven day leave coming up on of these days. I don t know when or where I will go as yet. I wrote to Aunt Susan quite some time ago and had an answer from her just the other day. She is hoping that I go up and see her on my leave. She says that they miss James very much cause he always kept things right. I may go up there on leave. Ian says that when our next leave comes due, we ll take it together and go to Scotland. When I was on that 48hrs. I met quite a few old friends, but I haven t run into Fred Madden yet (+6.00) I don t expect that I ll ever see him again. I never expected to see England weather like this. Just like sunny Alberta, only it gets cold at night and I do mean cold. I ve seen about three shows since I ve been here. One of them was with Faffles in them. I sure get a kick out of this Limey shows. We saw one of these marvelous Cowboy Shows last night. Other than that we don t have much for amusements. There was a dance hall, but that was closed. Wrong kind of women I guess. There is a Regt. Dance one of these nights, so I guess I ll take it in. It doesn t cost anything. We have been playing cards quite a bit lately and I manage to stay just about even all the time. These dames over here beat me. From what I ve seen around here they aren t worth shaking a stick at. I guess there have been too many soldiers around here. A lot of fellows have had mail from home, now. Some of them are the young married men. Boy there are sure some lonesome fellows over here now and would give anything to get back to the old stomping grounds. It would be alright, but as for myself I would like to see more countries now that I m here. Maybe I will, who knows. One fellow in our troop gets a letter just about every day from his wife. Makes the fellows that are married pretty lonesome. I guess I should have given Gerald my address before I left, but wasn t sure of it. Have you heard from him lately? How is he getting along. Say would you please send Charlies address in your next letter. One of these days I m going to get enough ambition to write to everyone in the family. I guess Janet will be at the farm by now and Sandy and Laura can get this one also, so there are two less. That s killing two birds with one stone eh. Is Helen still at Saunders? Have you heard from Ian lately. He should have a lot to tell about after his leave. When Ian and I get together again we will try and arrange to have a picture taken and will send it home. How will that be. Pretty chisnack and that s all Our Cpl got a letter from home yesterday and was he ever happy. His folks hadn t received his telegram yet. Have you got mine yet. I hope they went through cause if they didn t it 2/6 gone.

4 Well I can t think of any more to write for this time so will close and hope to hear from you soon. My address is on the back. They seem to change it every time they turn around. Love, [Aug. 6, 1943] Dear Folks, Well here I am again. I should have written sooner, but I just came back from a 9 day leave on the 4 th. I was going to write that night but was put on guard. Then last nite was a dance, so went to it. I ve received all your letters now and was certainly pleased to get them. Now I ll tell you about my leave. I left here about noon on Monday and got into London about 1:30. Then I went to the Beaver Club and had some dinner, then went out into Trafalgar Square and was standing around watching the pigeons when a civvy came up and started talking to me. He asked if I had seen all the famous buildings such as Westminster Abbey and what not. I told him I hadn t. He took me all around, to Westminster Abbey, M.P. church, carnation church, St. James palace, Buckingham palace and many more places. Then I went back to the Beaver Club and had a rest. My train for Edinburgh didn t leave until 10:15 P.M. so I went to a dance in the Beaver Club until train time. Luckily there was another fellow that was going to Edinburgh, so we went together. The train was awfully crowded and our seat was in the alleyway all the way. By the way, just before I left I got a letter from Edith Coutts saying her mother died and wouldn t be in town. Well I went anyhow cause that s where my pass was made out to. Well when I got in Ed. I went to a club and got a room for one night. Then I slept awhile and then started to look the town over. I went down the street and met some fellows from Sask. We chummed around and went all through the Edinburgh Castle. It was very interesting. Then there was a dance in the park so we went down there and got talking to three [?].(There were three of us). Then we left the park and went to the zoo. Then after supper I went down to the park again and met a fellow from Win. We got talking and then went to a different dance. He wouldn t let me pay my own ticket so I didn t make any fuss. Then at 2 PM the next day I left for Arbroath. I got there at 4. There was a couple on the train and they knew the Ireland s, so they showed me how to get out there. They were very nice. Then I got out to Aunt Isie s about 5. I knocked at the door and someone says Come in. It was Jean. So I went in and who should be there but Edith Coutts. So I was seeing them all at the same time. Auntie wasn t home, but came in about 6:30. My she is a grand woman. I didn t realize she was so old. They treated me so darn nice I hated to leave. I stayed there for five days and really enjoyed myself. I had roast chicken and all the trimmings. Then every night before I went to bed I had a nice glass of real milk and strawberries and real cream. Boy did it ever go down good. Then she took me out to see the farm and it is really nice and talk about swell horses. She was so glad that I was interested in farming. She says, Good I m glad to see you have some sense. It didn t rain once when I was up there so I really had good weather. They have taken some of her farm for Army Air Force and Navy camps. She doesn t like it a bit but what can one do about it. She bought a new horse and had to pay 140. Boy a fellow could make a killing on them if he could get them over from Canada. Then on Sat. I left Arbroath and went to Edinburgh with Edith and caught the train for London. It was crowded as usual being a bank holiday. Arrived in London Sun. morning and then went down to Portslade. Stayed down there three days and had a good time. Ian and I went out every

5 night and the last day Ian got half a day off so we went into Brighton. We went in to hear Richard Tauber, he s supposed to be the world s greatest singer. I enjoyed it very much. The play or whatever you call it was Old Chelsea. Then I came back on Wed. noon. Went to the Orderly Room and there were five more letters waiting for me. One from you Dad saying you were going to Toronto. I would have liked to gone but was kind of far. Yes I sent my sweaters home cause I didn t have room for them. The day I left I got five letters, yours, Helen s, Kay s (an old flame) and Bud McGinnis and Margarets. So I let Ian read them too. Had a letter from Giggs [?] also. He says that his outfit is being broken up which makes him very discouraged, he doesn t know what he will do now. Liable to do anything. I got a letter from you today that was written July 29 so that was good time wasn t it. I hope everyone is fine at home. I m sorry to hear Charlies bad luck. Golly I ll have to get busy and write a lot of letters one of these days, so I guess there is no time like the present. I also got a letter from a girl in Toronto. Another which I ve been waiting for for a long time. I ll write an ordinary letter and send some heather and a few more things. Must go now. Love to you all Aug. 7/43 Dear Helen : Thank you very much for the letter. It has been a long time since I ve written, but I suppose you can tell and will likely have heard where I am. I ve seen Ian quite a few times now and we always have lots to talk about. I saw George Hamilton also. There isn t a heck of a lot I can write about cause Mother will likely have handed on my letters. We are having a good time as usual. Can always do that. Gee it sure must rain a lot back there. We have had very little rain but when it does it really comes. Charley had tough luck didn t he, it was too bad but can be thankful it wasn t her. I suppose Norman is getting to be quite a man eh. Golly I sure can t seem to think of anything else to write about, but can t quit with this much. One of these fine days I m hoping to get up to Herefordshire to see Isabel. I should have gone up a long time ago, but I never seem to get around to do so. As you will see by Mother s letter that I was up to see Aunt Isie. My she is a grand old lady. She treated me so nice too. Couldn t do too much for me. I like Scotland a way better than England. The Scotch seem to be so nice to you whereas the English seem to be too good for the rest of the world. I ve written to Art, but haven t heard from him yet. I m sending some heather for a souvenir. I got some from a lady in Scotland. Also I m sending a St. Paul s Cathedral Church Service which I attended when in London. Will you send them to Mother and have them put with the rest of my stuff. Well I must sign off for this time. Write again soon cause I sure like to hear from home. Lots of love, Ken Aug

6 Dear Gerald and Mim : I guess you ll be wondering what has happened to me. I should have written you sooner but you know how I am at writing letters. Two weeks ago I was on a 9 day leave. Went up to Edinburgh to see Aunt Mary Coutts, she died about a week before so Edith was not in town and the maid didn t know or else just wouldn t tell me where she went. So I got a train for Arbroath and spent most of my leave out there with Aunt Isie. May, she certainly is a marvelous old lady isn t she. She was so glad to see me. Jean and Lindsay were also there and did you ever meet Lilian? That poor woman they just treat her like a dog. But boy they treated me just like a king. The second day I was there we had roast chicken and did it ever go down. Of course we had all the trimmings and then for dessert we had junket and black current sauce on top. Every meal was just as good as that one. I spent five days out there. On Sat. I went into town with Edith Coutts and then caught the train to London. From there I went down to see Ian, stayed with him from Sun morning until Wed. morning. It was the second time I d seen him but still had lots to talk about. I ve had lots of letters from home but no parcels as yet. Of course its kind of early, but I wish some cigarettes would come as these over here are just like the old dry leaves we used to smoke at school. How do you like your job? I got a letter from Dad wondering if I could be in Toronto on the 15 th of July. Did you get to see him. I would have liked to have gone but was quite aways and I m not a very good swimmer. Charley had tough luck didn t he. I shall have to write him one of these fine days, if I ever get caught up. Its hard keeping up my end cause there are so many to write, but I guess I ll manage. When I first came over here I wrote to Ian. He was wondering what was up. The day before he got my letter he got one from Mother saying I was trying for a spring leave and thought I had good hopes in getting it (just as I thought at one time). Anyway the next day he got my letter telling him where I was. He was really surprised, so came up here to see me on the Sunday. He hasn t changed a heck of a lot. He s a little more bald in front, but that s about all. One week-end I happened to run across George Hamilton. He was surprised to see me and of course didn t know me, but that didn t take long. Then we went into London and saw just a few of the sights. It would take ages to see the whole works in one day. Well its supper now so I guess I ll run along and get some, cause if your not there in time its just too bad. Be sure and write soon cause I sure like to get them. Your loving brother [Somewhere in England] August 16/42 Dear Folks Well here I am again. It is quite some time now since I ve written to you, but there has been quite a bit going on. I m in a new outfit now. The Fort Garry Horse. The main thing is, is that

7 I m still a horse. We arrived in the Horses three days ago. Everyone was split up. All my old pals are in different outfits so now its new friends to get acquainted with, but that shouldn t be hard. I m much closer to Ian now though so that is one concelation [sic]. I haven t been down to see him cause have been C.B. ed. They seem to have lots of fatigues around here, so am well occupied for the present. Tonight I have to do guard duty, so I m writing this in my time off. Since I ve been over here I ve got three Canadians, and was very glad to get them. Nice to see what is going on back there. I almost got another nine day leave, but they checked up and saw I just had one, so there was no dice. My address is: M Tpr Hutchinson K.M. B Sqdn 10 th Armoured Regt.. (F.Q.H.) Canadian Army Overseas Golly I started out with good intentions for writing but I can t seem to think of anything. When the news came that we were broke up I wanted Ian to claim [?] me, but I guess he couldn t get it, cause I haven t heard of anything as yet, but it may take some time. Last night I was really talking in my sleep, of course I had a good reason too. I had a new experience and I do mean new. Of course it isn t for this country, but was three years ago. I suppose everything is in full swing of harvest now eh. It was funny to see them threshing over here. A guy pitching off, one cutting the bands, one catching the grain and then an elevator for the straw with one guy stalking it. Gee they are so far behind over here that its really a shame how stupid they are. It takes about four men to load a load of bundles. Whereas just one or two sometimes with us. Say Mother do you think you would be able to send me a carton of gum. It doesn t matter what kind, I sure miss a good chew of gum. I got a letter from the wife in Toronto and she asked if I wanted anything to tell her and she would sure get it for me. Pretty nice eh. Oh she s a fine girl Mother.I only hope that some day you shall meet her.she s no city girl either so you see she ll be able to do all the work. There hasn t been a letter from Edith yet, but still have hopes of getting it. It will take a little longer now as our mail will have to go back to Base P.O. and then to us. I received and answered a letter to Helen. Tell Margaret that there will be a letter one of these days. Right now I can t remember whether I answered her letter or not, but I don t think I did. There are so darn many letters to write, that its hard to keep track of. But I shall make out I guess. We have a very nice Padre. He came and gave us an hours talk this morning about religion and how it is combined with the war. He is a U.C. minister and a very good speaker. I don t know what his name is, but will learn it soon I guess. In fact I don t now [sic] any N.C.O.s or officers yet. Well I guess I ll sign off for this time. Hope you got my letter telling about my leave and will put it in my book. Good night folks, hope to hear from you soon. Am always thinking of you. Your loving son? England Aug. 19/43 Dear Margaret:

8 I guess it s about time I was answering your letter. Was very pleased to hear from you again. I got it about the 25 th of July. Then I went on 9 day leave on the 26 th, so you see I didn t have much time to answer before. Then after I came back from leave I had to pack up and get ready to move. You see they broke up the B de and all the Regt s. Made us pretty darn mad, but what could one do about it. Most of us got broke up, but I managed to get to go with one of my chums. But soon as we got to this Reg t they broke us up. Put him in one Sqdn and me in another, so I put in for a transfer. We ve seen a little excitement since we came to the place we are now. No damage though. That was something I always wanted to see. I haven t heard from Ian for some time now. Maybe he has moved also. I m in the 10 th Armoured Regt. Now known as the Fort Garry Horse. It is a Winnipeg outfit, so it s the good old west. I guess everyone is busy now back there eh. How are the crops, pretty heavy? I certainly wish I was back there, but it s not bad here. One can get much more variety of stuff here than I first figured one could. To tell you the truth we are getting fed better over here than we were in Canada. One thing, we have dessert two times a day and in Canada we were lucky if we got it twice a week. We are right in a city so its very handy. Most of the old Sask. Horse fellows are in the same place, so just about every night we go meet them and swap stories and compare outfits. All the new fellows have gone on leave today and I m just about the only one left. I guess there are four new guys left so I imagine I ll see a lot of kitchen for the rest of the week. But I ll lie low and not show up unless I have to. It s certainly hard to think of anything to write about cause you have to be careful what you write about. Is there much shortage of help this year, or have they some of those smart Easterners again. Maybe they would know a little more now. That sure was a joke. Since I ve been over here Ian and George Hamilton are the only ones I ve met since I ve come over. Bill Lawrence was on the same boat as I, so we had a good old talk. It was funny how we met. I happened to be standing in queue waiting to wash my dishes and who should be in front of me, Bill Lawrence. I didn t quite recognize him at first, but he recognized me first. He was the last person I was expected [sic] to see. Well I can t seem to be able to write anymore for this time. Hope to hear from you soon cause I always enjoy a letter. As ever, The devil s back yard Aug. 23/41 [can t be 41, must be 43] Dear Janet I received yours and mothers most welcome letters yesterday, and was I ever glad to get them the first any of us had heard from home. They had been readdressed at Barriefield on the 29 th so they must have made pretty fair connections. I ll never make another crack about your long letters as long as I live, they certainly make good reading, of course it was a short one compared with some you used to mail last winter. Wednesday s wasn t it? We are carrying on with the same old routine here, just killing time until they find a school to send us to. It used to be that if I had an hour to put in with absolutely nothing to do, I got restless, yes I did, but now I can put in a whole day without doing a thing except eat and sleep. It just

9 makes us wonder what we will be like when we get back to civilian life, but we aren t letting it worry us. We are gradually getting used to this weather over here, it rains every other day, and is always damp. Today it has been raining steady and no signs of a break-up, but they don t think anything of it. Lots of times it s rained for three days at a time and no one quits work they say that we should be here in the rainy season so gosh knows what it will be like then. This country is just as pretty as we have been led to believe everything is so very green and the trees are beautiful. Every place has lovely gardens and a bunch of the reddest roses I have ever seen. The buildings are so different here than they are in Canada too, long rows of houses exactly the same. No individuality at all, and not a frame building anywhere. The more we see of the country now the more we realize what the poor devils have gone thru in the last year and a half, outside the bombings which are beyond description, they are so restricted that it isn t funny. They have ration cards for all food and clothing so they can t buy a thing without presenting their card and let me tell you, they aren t any too generous with their allowances. The civilians are cut down just as closely as we are, and we certainly don t get any too much. I would sure hate to work very hard on our rations. What there is is darn good, but there isn t much of it. There are very few private cars running because they simply aren t allowed enough gas to make it worth their while to keep one running. Half the time they can t get cigarettes or matches and a chocolate bar is a real treat we got our first since we ve been here, last night. I can t imagine what the people in Canada would do if they had to toe the mark the way these people are and you never seem to hear any grousing except in the army. We had a wonderful time in Glasgow Bond and I. We spent 3 [days] and 3 nights up there, and did they ever treat us swell. People seemed to go out of their way to show us a good time. For instance, one day we were looking at the billboards of a great big theatre, debating whether we could afford to go in or not, and a lady stepped up to us and said, would you boys be insulted if I gave you each a ticket for the show?. Of course we protested but she insisted so we went in and walked upstairs to the 1/6 seats and walked up to the front of the balcony and made ourselves comfortable. Pretty soon along comes an usherette and says you boys look comfortable, we assured her we were and she says you should be, you re in the royal circle, 3/6 seats. Boy did we feel cheap, but she says, no stay where you are, so here we were, all by ourselves with about 3 of the other 40 big shots. The show was Lady Hamilton and was very good. We went to a dance every night to a place that would make the main dining room of the Palliser look pale and did we ever have a good time. The floor was mounted on springs so it was just like the old community hall floor in Duhamel, they had a revolving stage with two swell orchestras one girls band with 14 pieces and were they ever smooth! Without a word of a lie there were two girls for every man and talk about nice! Boy, we thought we had reached heaven. The only drawback was that they quit at 11 o clock. Of course we took a couple home, and maybe you think we didn t have some fun finding our way around in the blackout! There isn t a light to be seen any place except a very small light on each car and streetcar. We bumped into more postboxes and lamp posts than we d ever seen before! One day we went up Loch [Oct 15/43] Dear Folks

10 Thank you very much for the cigs and the parcel. The parcel was very nice even though it wasn t mine. Bob Graham must have got Ian s and mine mixed up cause I got Ian s. I imagine he got mine. I went down to see him last night, but it was no dice. He has moved somewhere else, so I ll let him come to me. I wrote you just before we left on a scheme, so I don t know whether you have the letter or not. I sent it air mail, but maybe they will just send it ordinary. That certainly is a fine picture of Norman isn t it. I ll send Ian s letters on to him as soon as possible. It seems funny to-night. I m the only one left in camp. It s pay night at that, but I didn t draw any this time so will cut down a little and besides I ve seen all the shows in town. Today I bought a $ 50 war bond and am sending it home. It won t interfere with my pay any cause I have $ 10 differed pay. We were up in Scotland for two weeks and talk about a God forsaken place. The first day it rained hard all day and of course we had to be out in it and with 20 or so tanks milling around in the mud you can imagine what it was like. Our billets were in an old barn. We slept in what used to be a store house I guess. Our mess hall was the old cow barn cause one could see where the gutters used to be and there were the old stall posts still in it. The owner must have had a good herd, cause he had first and second and champion prizes pasted all over a large board. The rest of the time it was pretty miserable with rain and cold. As for myself I caught a heck of a cold, but am getting over it now. The Air Raid Warden was just in to see me about the black-outs. They are sure a lot of trouble cause half of them don t fit. But they are pretty good about them. I wonder would it be too much trouble for you to get me a lighter and send it over. Also if you could get a wrist watch strap cause mine is just about on its last legs. The old watch is still running good and keeps good time. I m certainly lost without it when I forget to put it on after a wash. I suppose harvest is all through now and will be moving back to Calgary soon. It seems funny to think of [?] rank in the Air Force. I bet he thinks there is no one like himself eh. What is his address. I might write him sometime. I also must write to Margaret Hall too it has been some time now, but there just hasn t been time. Tomorrow I m hut orderly so will have a soft job for awhile, but there is a Col. inspection so everything has to be just so. Mother if there are any extra pictures that were taken this summer or any time would you send some along. I showed some of the fellows that picture of you and they said, Is that your grandmother. So I had to remind them that I was the youngest of ten. There hasn t been any letters from home and around there for quite some time, but I expect they are all busy as usual. How did the crops turn out this year? I have quite a time holding up my end when we start arguing about Manitoba and Alberta, but I manage to get along. The SM gave a talk the other day and he mentioned that he got some darn good men from the other regiments and then there are two or three men that spoil the compliment. There really are some guys like that. They just don t seem to care. Oh well I m not worrying about them. Well this looks to be the end of my rope so will sign off. Say hello to everyone and write soon. All my love, Nov. 2/43 Dear Folks,

11 Well it s high time I was answering some of your letters. I received another one today which was meant for Ian, but I enjoyed it anyhow. You sent me one Oct. 17 so I guess this was Ian s. He was up to see me the night before we moved. He is also getting a move so we will be farther apart. Right now we are in a small village and our billets are excellent. It is a big 8 story building. There isn t a heck of a lot in the town, but there is another town about four miles away with a theatre, so we walk back at night. It is just a nice walk, but it would be torture if I had to walk to Duhamel. Now is a good time to get caught up on some letter writing. I have only received the one parcel and two of cigs. I got a letter from Helen today also and she has sent me cigs. Pearl has sent me three bunches, and haven t received them either, so they will be along any one of these days. There was a big shipment of mail and parcels today, but none for me. Helen is really tickled now eh, now that Ray is home. I ll bet there is some big chatter eh. I imagine you will be lonesome without Edna this winter eh. I suppose Charlie will be the man of the house when Dad is away eh. Ian and I had a nice chat, but my head was just about splitting. Sometimes I m bothered with it quite a bit. It will come and go all of a sudden. So you have had some snow eh. It seems funny not to have any here, but there is sure lots of rain. It all comes off the ocean I guess. I d sure like to see Albert riding a donkey. That would be a sight. My leave is coming due again. I could have gone this coming Thursday, but I couldn t get in touch with Ian in time, and besides I wouldn t have enough dough, so I m trying to get it on the 11 th. I may go up to Scotland again, but I don t know. I ve seen about enough of that country for one time. It certainly was miserable the places we were at. Rain just about every day. Gosh it won t be long until Xmas will it. This will be my second away from home but this time, slightly further than last. Well Charles how do you like Calgary, quite different from Hardisty eh. I bet you sure miss the young dames eh what. Oh that s right your dame is at the Okanagan. Does she know your name yet? Ha! Ha! So I ll be uncle again eh. I m getting used to it now. You know I ve never had a letter from Laurie and Edith yet, but I guess they ve been pretty busy. Well I seem to be running out of news for this time so will close this off. Oh say in that cake you sent me, I passed it around and one fellow took a bite and he thought it was a piece of wood or something and here it was a shingle nail. He asked me if dad was shingling the roof when you made it. Well must write some more letters tonight, so will sign off. Lots of love, Nov. 10/43 Dear Folks, Received your Oct. 28 letter yesterday and was glad to hear from you again. The mail is coming very poor now. Haven t got any cigs for a heck of a long time now. Tomorrow I m going on leave for 9 days. I plan to go up to Edinburgh again. Don t know whether Ian is getting his or not cause I haven t heard from him. At present I m on guard, so I don t have any work to do. The weather has been pretty fair, but it gets darn cold at night.

12 So Agnes is finally getting married eh. Oh well she is getting a good fellow and he is getting a good wife. Always did like Agnes. Golly Duhamel must be awful dead with everyone gone. Oh well it will liven up again one of these days, when we all get back. Which won t be long (I hope). I m sorry I was so long in answering before, but it just couldn t be helped. Pretty busy you see. It is no holiday now. Wrote to Helen the other day. Ray wrote some to me and was sure good to see his writing again. Has Matilda come yet? How is Charles H. getting along? I haven t his address. I wonder if you would send it to me please. What is Gordon Ross doing now. Is he still at home? They are pretty lucky but right now I wouldn t change places with him or anyone. It would be nice to get home, but I wouldn t go now. I don t know whether I told you or not, but before coming over here, I was to be catagoried, but I lied out of it. They figured something would come again of that operation. But I assured them it didn t bother me. So here I am and never felt better in my life. It was Ian who used to visit the Wilson s in Camrose, but I d heard quite a bit of talk of them. It was to bad. I wonder who they ll get for band leader now. How come Mary Sol. didn t go back to Sedgewick, to high school? I suppose nearer home eh. Tell Marie that she must be slipping letting a nice fellow like Don Grantman getting away on her. She must have someone else s eye eh. I m glad he found someone else all the same. That scheme of yours, should work out. It sure is nice to get letters from home. I haven t heard from Janet for a long time now. She must be busy too eh. I am planning on spending three or four days at Aunt Isies, and then go back to Edinburgh, will see Edith and then will come back to London three days early and meet one of my friends there and then come back together. It really amuses me. A lot of these fellows, as soon as a leave comes up sends about their only telegram home. You can imagine what it is. Money of course. I can t see why they can t get along on what they make. Lord knows I can and generally come back with some in my pocket. Well its time for me to go on duty. Hope this reaches you O.K. and will write when I come back from leave. Telling you how and where I spent it. Must go now. All my love to you, Your loving son, Nov. 21/43 Dear Folks: Well here I am again. Just came back off leave today much to my dislike. I believe I could have stayed away forever. Had a real good time. Now to tell you about it. Left here on the 11 for Arbroath. Well I got as far as London and had to wait until night to go up. Well I got thinking about Ian, so went down to see him. When I got off the train I just had a feeling he wasn t there and sure enough he wasn t. He took his leave the Saturday before, well maybe you think I wasn t disappointed. Well I stayed there that night and then went back to London the following morning. I went to a show in the afternoon and intended to catch the train that evening again, but about eight o clock who should I run into but our old Cpl. So we had a grand talk and stayed in London, well Sat. morning I finally got on the train for the north. I went as far as Edinburgh that night and got a bed and then to a dance. I chumed around with a fellow from Ont. (never seen him before). Then Sunday I had dinner with Edith and left about four in

13 the afternoon. In the meantime this fellow had got acquainted with an old boxer and he told him that he had a friend, so this boxer told him to bring me down to his club. So we spent Sunday evening at this club. It s a war club, something similar to the Cdn Legion. Well there were all kinds of guys there one in particular was a magician, and he was really good. Maybe you have heard of him. His grandfather was a great magician Frame [?] was his name. Come to think of it I guess you wouldn t know him. Then Monday I went up to Aunt Isies. Oh it was cold. Honestly I just about froze up there. There was a cold north wind and I didn t take a coat with me. Well when I got there, there wasn t a fire in the fireplace. Oh I would have given anything for that old heater in the setting room. Well I stayed there until Wed. and then went back to Edin. Then I met two Old Horses and we chumed around until Sat. morning and then I had to leave. I was ten hours late, but wasn t reported A.W.L. But I was OK. cause I had the R.T.O. sign my pass that the trains were late. Thank you very much for the parcel. It really is going over big. I was pretty lucky. Received 600 cigs, 300 from Pearl and 300 from Helen, your parcel and a beautiful picture from Pearl. It really is a good picture. Soon as we have a big move again I ll send it home for you to keep for me. Or us or something. There was also a letter from Ian telling me his arrangements for leave, but it was a trifle late. Oh we may get together again sometime. While I was in Edinburgh I went to see about a picture but it would take a month just to get the proofs and another one for the picture, so I ll try one of these places down here and there will be one coming sometime but I m afraid I can t make it in time for Xmas. But better late than never. I m sending you a souvenir form Scotland and also a Xmas card. There isn t much else one can send, but you ll know I m always thinking of you. There hasn t been any mail for some time now. Mostly parcels and no letters, but they are very much enjoyed. Well there isn t much else to write about for this time, but I must congratulate myself for writing so much. Hope this reaches you OK and hope you are all fine. Oh Aunt Isie was wondering why she hadn t heard from you, but I told here you were pretty busy. So long for now, all my love, 4/12/43 Dear Do Thank you so much for the parcel. I got it this afternoon. This will help out for our trip. Be gone for a week and there is nothing like some hot soup before going to bed and especially sleeping outside it gets pretty cold at night. We have boxes provided in the tank so all we do is wrap them and put them in. I ve been receiving parcels good now. Two from mother, one from you and one from the Duhamel Service Club. They sent me a bunch of canned stuff which always helps and then my pal got a parcel today so that also helps out. It s been pretty cold out these last few days, but have lots of clothes to put on. I ve had lots of cigs too. Some from Mother, Helen and Pearl. I guess you don t know who Pearl is well I ll tell you. One of these days I m hoping she will be Mrs. Hutchinson K.M. It may sound funny, but I don t think it is. Everybody else is doing it so I can t be the last one. She lives at Oyen Alberta so is a true Westerner. But I met her in Toronto. I used to chum around with her

14 brother in the other regt. So that s how we got acquainted. Then you see when I was still in Canada and down east I used to spend all my leaves in Toronto. Had some real good times too. Haven t seen Ian for an awful long time. He has moved and I moved so that makes us much farther apart. We were going to go on leave together but he got his before he could let me know and this army mail is so darn slow that there couldn t be any arrangements made before I went on mine, but I had a good time by myself in Edinburgh. I spent a day up at Aunt Isies but it was so darn cold up there so came back to Edinburgh. Then I met a few old pals and went pubbing and dancing. Didn t stop for eats. One good thing we kept warm. Well I ll never let mother get down and scrub a floor again. I just finished 4 days C.B. and every night I scrubbed floors. My knees were so darn sore after it I could hardly bend them back into position. If they had the proper equipment it wouldn t be so bad but all they had was a scrubbing brush, a bar of soap, pail of water and a cloth. But it was something to do at night. Haven t seen George since the first time. He must be oversea s eh. Or have you heard from him. The only people I seen from around home are the two fellows in our regt. One is Krikken [?] from the Old Newby place and McCrank [?] from out by Wetaskiwan [sic]. I didn t know him before but one day we got talking and found out he knew some people I did. So I m not altogether alone. Gee I haven t heard from home for a heck of a long time now just about a month now. But I guess she is pretty busy. Well Do I just can t seem to think of anything else for this time so will close with what I have. Must go buy a stamp for this and will mail it at the same time. So Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you and hope you have a pleasant one. Your loving brother 12/14/43 Dear Folks, Received your ordinary letter the other day when we were out on a scheme and thank you very much for the watch strap. All I have to do now is get my watch fixed and will be well away again. It isn t really broke but the hands seem to catch at a certain place and it also has some thing loose inside, so I ll take it down to the jewelers and get it fixed. I suppose you are all getting ready for Xmas. Who is going to be home for it this year. Just Janet I guess eh. Past Sunday we went on a week s scheme. Made 450 miles so that wasn t bad. Our tank broke down in a town so it was about 10 at night. Our Sgt went to a house and asked if there was anywhere we could park a tank for the night, so the man and lady came out to show us where to put it. So he was saying that there would also be room for our beds too. The man says Gad no your not sleeping on the ground are you. So the lady says Sure we ve been doing it all week so we can stand it for tonight also. Of course he was just hoping and praying they would ask us in for the night cause it was sure cold. But sure enough after we got the tank parked the fellow came and told us to bring our bed rolls into the house and they would find room for us in there. The man said we could sleep in the attic where there were lots of apples, so that sounded O.K. Well we (five of us) went into the house and they made us right at home. Gave us tea and bread, butter and cheese and apples. Oh they were really nice. Their son was home from Italy. He had

15 been in action for two years and he told us a lot that was very interesting. Then the man of the house decided it was too cold for us to sleep in the attic and asked us if we would mind sleeping in the hall, so we said no. Are you sure it won t be too hard and all this. Well we thought nothing of sleeping on branches and what not so we certainly didn t mind a floor and then there was a big carpet on it. They gave us the whole run of the house. We had our own rations with us, so didn t put them to any bother. I had a tin of herrings and left that with them and also some tea and cocoa. They were really pleased with it too. So they gave us breakfast and we went out to the tank and waited for the transporter. Well we only had to wait till noon before it came to get us and we had 45 miles to go. Well we got half way home and it started to snow. It really snowed for awhile and we couldn t get up the hill with the tank on the truck, so had to unload and go up empty. But got home safe and wet. Say Mother when you send me another parcel I wonder if you would send me ½ lbs tobacco and some O.K. papers. Also if you could send that sweater that Janet knitted me last year. I wish I could have brought it over with me, but didn t have any room. It would be nice to take on leave cause it really gets cold here and I don t mean maybe. So Helen has had another son eh. Well I guess one can t get everything one wants eh. Maybe it will be a girl next time. Well there is supposed to be some very big shot coming to inspect us tomorrow so had better get everything in order for him. I hope one of these days they smarten up and just let him come around when we re working. Well Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you all and next year I hope to be with you. Love, Dec Dear Folks, Well it is pretty well settled down now, at least for those who are broke including myself. As far as Christmas goes there isn t much to write about cause it just didn t seem like Xmas at all. I should be writing this on Air Mail, but there isn t any more forms for us until Jan. 15 th so I guess it will be ordinary letters for a while. Well I ll try and give you the Great Day in detail. We were allowed to stay in bed until 7:30. The S.S.M. was around to the rooms two or three times and we would not get up for him. But when he mentioned eggs and ham for breakfast we got up. Well then at 9 A.M. we had to fall out in sports dress. Then we started to run. Went about a mile and a half to a football field where the Officers were playing the Sgts. Well they couldn t play football any more than they could fly. Of course I never ran out there. There were over half fell out on the run. When we came up to the field late the S.S.M. asked us what was the matter, so we never paid any attention to him and kept walking on. He s sure a fruity guy. Halfway through the game fellows kept sneaking off home until there was hardly anyone left. Then we had our dinner. It wasn t very big, but was pretty good. Pork chops, turkey, potatoes and gravy, dressing, beer, (which is something new for a Xmas dinner). Plumpudding raison pie and cookies, so really we had a good meal. Then after dinner we sat around and talked and finally went to sleep. Slept until 5 o clock and then was suppertime. There was two sandwiches and a piece of cake for supper. After supper six of us went to a show Orchestra Wisers [?].It was pretty good. Then we made coffee and ate Xmas cake then went to bed. This morning I slept

16 until 10:30 then got up, washed and went to church. Then had dinner and after dinner washed my clothes. Well that s about all there is. Did you have a good Xmas at home? It was a pretty lonesome time here. Everyone in my room was darn lonely, but what can one do about it. It won t be long now until it is either one way or the other, so I ll be seeing you soon. I would have liked to go see Ian, but they would only let us travel 20 miles, so I could not reach him as it is too far. But hope to go see him after the middle of next month. I received your parcel three or four days before Xmas (that is the Oct. 30 th ) and also my cigs. And thank you very much. Also thank Marie for her share of the chocolate bars, cause they are really enjoyed. Say mother that cloth that was around the parcel is a good thing to have cause it makes a good dish cloth. I won t have to use it for handkerchiefs cause I got so many now that it will keep me going to use them all. Received a flat 50 cigs and a nice letter and handkies, from Janet. I m sorry for what happened at the farm. I figured it would come sooner or later, cause its been brewing for a long time. I never did like Laura. I haven t had a letter or anything from her yet. I wish I hadn t sent them that little calendar. Say did you ever get that pin cushion I sent you. I hope it arrived O.K. I also got a parcel from Doris, a long letter from Margaret Hall and Mary Riestad. I was really surprised to hear from her again. She wrote me sometime in Sept. Haven t heard from Gerald for a long time. Oh yes I got a nice parcel from Duhamel Service Club. Haven t had a letter from Pearl for quite sometime either. Ian owes me a letter too, but I guess he ll kick through one of these days. You know I ve never had any word from Edith and Laurie yet, but I guess they have been pretty busy. Well I have some music in the room now. Jim Garnow on the fiddle and Fred Primrose on the Guitar. It really sounds good too. Well I finally got my watch fixed it cost 8/6. He said it was full of red rust and had to take off the second hand so it would run, but it keeps real good time now. Oh oh here s our dear old Sgt Major and Orderly Sgt. Well I just can t seem to think of anything else to write about so will close with what I have. So here s wishing you all a very Happy New Year and God Bless you all. Your loving son