Sunday Feb 7th 1915

Pte J Davey
16880 No H Coy
1st BC Regt
2nd Brigade
1st Canadian Contingent
British Exped Force

My Dearest Kate

Many thanks for the cholera belt which I received this afternoon also your letter which I got about half an hour before the belt. I knew they were keeping back as I told you on my last letter. I haven't got the papers yet but expect they will be in on the [?] mail. I think the belt will do fine although its not the usual colour but that doesn't matter as nobody will see it when I am wearing it. The others I have are not so thick as this one so I think I had better keep it until the old ones are worn out as I may get cold be changing the thick one for a thin one [?] I wear live this ones at a time to make up the [?] thickness. Yes dear: I am feeling quite alright after the dysentery, but of course it was only a slight attack that I had still it was bad enough at that. I hope these belts will keep me from any more attacks of it. I was sorry to hear that you were disappointed that Sunday. I think if I were you I would have told that couple that it was a private beach. I can just picture you walking along the top throwing stones & things in the sea & to think they wouldn't take the tip & remove themselves. I think you had better post a sign up to say that that spot is reserved & that trespassers will be shot on sight. I hope dear you won't get caught by the tide when you go on our island until I come back when it will be a pleasure for me to resave you again. I hope you haven't had the same kind of weather as we have today. Its simply poured with rain all the day here. We had a church parade this morning. The hymns were Onward Christian Soldiers, Save of my Soul & that one for those in peril on the sea. They sounded fine to considering the only music we have is a couple of [?] from the band. After church parade we had a music parade to see that every one was in camp ready for departure. I wonder how long it will be before some who were there this morning must answer their name at roll call. Its hard to realise that we are soon to be in the firing line with all the boy's around here so lively & full of fun, but I suppose that its better to be life that than the other way. Something seems to tell me that I am to be one of the lucky ones & that I am going to come through alright & I hope I shall be too: but if it happens that I am not to live through it I was to go under in action rather than in hospital with fever or anything life that. Please don't think I am [? Mopy] dear when you read this but you say you alway's want me to do my duty & the thought's of you will alway's prompt me to do that. I think it must be awful for a soldier to shirk his duty & let some other fellow do it for him & get killed. I should almost feel like a murderer myself if I did a thing like that. Yes dear: it was too bad about that Victoria boy to get killed almost as soon as he got there. He wasnt struck off the strength of this regt until after we heard that he was killed or at least it wasn't in orders & it was only a week ago that it came out in orders that he had been killed in action. Yes dear: I think I have got all the letters & papers you have sent me up to now except those that I expect to get tomorrow. You asked me how I liked the gum. Well dear to tell you the truth I sent it home for my little cousins from the States. I had promised to send them some the second time I was home but when I came back the Regt had moved over here & I couldn't get any so when that came from [?] I sent it to them. We can get "Spearmint" at the y.m.c.a. I haven't bought any myself but I think on the march on a hot day it would be far better than drinking water as the more you drunk the more you want to chewing gum or a small pebble they say keeps the mouth moist so you see chewing gum is useful sometimes but it makes me hungry if I chew it very long so perhaps it would be better for me to leave it alone on the march as there may not be anything to eat at the other end. We dont do so bad here as far as decent grub goes. Mrs. Sivell is always sending him parcels of cake & boiled eggs & the other day she sent him a fine ripe pineapple. Edginton gets tobacco & cigarettes from his home in the [? Isle of Whils] & is the one who was in the N.W.M.P & quite a nice fellow. He & I sleep together & we are great pals I get butter & cream from home occasionally & we all share up together. The other three go shares on stuff we get from the dry caulieu so you see we don't do so badly. We have all managed to get in the same section but they would have split us up if we hadn't spoken up. I hope we can all get in the same billet together & keep together all through as its nice to know you have pals handy on a job like this. We all get on fine together in this hut & keep on good terms with the others, but we all have our particular friends & the crown I am with are all sworn pals & we are all from Victoria & visinity &came with the 88th & I hope we shall all go back together too: We were go on guard together as as our names are pretty well together in alphabetical order so when it comes to our [?] there is usually two or more of us on it. I have just been warned for Sanitary fatigue with three of the others for tomorrow so its almost impossible to separate us. I haven't had any more news about Father so I hope he is better as they say "No news is good news" & I am hoping it is for me. I am sending you a cutting from today's paper with some letters from the front. Probably you have seen them before as the "News of the World is on sale in Victoria. I see the Germans are going to blockade England & they are going to try & stop the new armies from crossing the channel so we may have a little more escortment going across the channel than we did crossing the Atlantic. I think England can look after us alright & see that we get across alright. It would be rather a [?] sight to watch a naval engagement from the troopships & to make our bets on who would win. That's what we do with the hares on the plain here. Sometimes there are half a dozen of them altogether & its fine to see them scoot with this care back over & going like the wind when we slap our hands or yell at them. I wish we had a few greyhounds so we could have some [?] once in a while. Well dear I think this will be my last chance of writing a letter to you from here but I may be able to drop a card on the day we go I think this is all I have to say now dear so will close with heaps of love & kisses XXXXXXX
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Please not the addition to the address just came out in orders Jack