Rear Party
6^th Can. Res. Bn.
England.
March 26, 1917.

Dear Mother,

This morning I was very lucky for I received a letter from you – dated Feb’y 11. I think I’ll start this letter by answering the questions in yours.

For a little while in February sugar was very scarce, but since then we’ve been able to make out fairly well. Besides that, I’ve sworn off on sweets to a very great extent. Not likely to do me much harm – eh? Our jam has always come along as regularly as the sun.

This last couple of weeks vegetables have been quite scarce. Spuds are a luxury now, only possible a couple of times a week. You’ve no idea how funny it seems not to have spuds on the table even if you only touched them once in a while. However we are getting in their place a great variety of turnips, parsnips, beets, and beans.

You mentioned my three days leave in London. Those three days and the week that Mina was here was a period of unadulterated happiness – with no unpleasant memories except that it had to end. If Mina and I ever get leave together again, we are certainly going to [Catharines?].

I’m very well off for socks at present – have a regular stack of them. However I’ve a couple of pairs of them to send to you for new toes.

The newspapers you send reach me sometimes, though I fear not always.

I haven’t heard from Allan MacDonald since coming to England.

Col. Johnston is still here in England. Each reserve battalion is doing a certain amount of vegetable preserving. He is “O.C. farming”. I don’t think that he’s very pleased with that job.

I didn’t run across Frank Austin, and haven’t heard from him.

Over here too, our weather has been quite fierce. Last week it snowed Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Today and tonight it is

[remainder of letter is missing]