Crowborough Sussex

Nov. 12th 1916
Dear Mother:-

I am writing this in the Y.M.C.A. I wrote a letter to my sister Lena last night. This is Sunday and I had to work all day on fatigue work in the quarter Master's stores. There were ten out of our section working there. The three sections who have come here (100-108-144) have had their share of guard duty and fatigue work these three days we have been here. Things will be getting better though after a while. I suppose you will be sending me a parcel for Christmas and if you do I would like you to send me about four or five plugs of McDonalds chewing tobacco. Several of the boys in the section chew tobacco and it is impossible to get the kind of tobacco they like here. I would like to be able to give them a good chew on Christmas. I expect to be here on Christmas and we all get passes at Christmas for six days. I wish you would send me some money for Christmas if you can, so I will have some money when I go on pass. The only fun a soldier gets here is when he goes on pass. We can't have any fun here. Well dear mother, I have not received a letter from home in answer to the letters I wrote home but I am sure I will get one soon. I know there must be some letters on the way. It may take the letters longer to reach me here since we moved as you have likely addressed them to Witley Camp. I have not heard from any of the boys of the 108th since they went to Seaford but I wrote a letter to Asmundur last night and let him know where I was. It is not very cold here yet but I guess it is getting rather cold back home in Manitoba. It has not rained much these last few days for which I have been thankful. It is very annoying when it rains and makes a fellow feel miserable. I have not been sick since I came here. I have only had a slight cold which was a running of the nose but not coughing. I think I will get along fine. We boys sometimes find the Army life tiresome but still I don't think we would want to be out of it. It is just the same with us here as in civil life, we are not always satisfied with our positions in civil life. The boys have saying that, "We haven't got much money but we do see life". They are having a divine service here in the Y.M.C.A while I sit here writing to you while the sermon is going on. They have just sung, "Abide with Me." When they started on the Lords Prayer I stopped writing And joined in.

I have just been thinking that you will be thinking of me on my birthday and I will be thinking of home. I wouldn't mind being home but we are fighting for a good cause and I wouldn't miss it for anything. I would not like to be home knowing that I had not tried to do my bit for my country like some of the boys down home. You must not think for a moment that I regret that I joined the army. I would do the same thing over again if I was a civilian at home. But still home is "Home Sweet Home" to me and to all the boys who are away from home. I don't know where I will be at Christmas. I am sure I will be in England but I don't think I will be in camp if I can possibly get a pass. I might go to London. Wherever I will be my thoughts will be of home. I am going to write to Mr Bristow's sister who lives in Somerset and if she invites me to visit her I will do so sometime when I get a pass. We have been having some trouble with lights lately. The electric plant in camp here is in some disorder so the electric lights in our huts are not working so we have been using candles. That's why I am writing in the Y.M.C.A. Well I will close now I wish G[?]sta many happy returns of her birthday. Tell her that I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. Kiss Dad and the children for me. Give my best regards to old Maggie and all the friends. If any of my friends wish to write to me by all means give them my address. I would welcome a letter from any one of my friends. Good bye Dear Mother and God Bless you

Your loving son

Archie.