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Date: January 21st 1917
To
Kitty
From
Jack
Letter

675928 G Co.
6th Batt 1st Brigade
East Sandling Camp
Kent
(Sunday)
21/1/17
My Own Darling Wifey,

I was very pleased to get your welcome letter, although I was disappointed because you are not coming down, but maybe dearest it would be better to wait till I come up & then you can come back with me, That would be far better & I can help you then, I know I should never have asked you to come alone, but darling I feel so lonely & miserable without you that I never thought of the difficulties you would have to encounter, my sole aim was to get you by my side so as to make us both happy & there are so many thing I want to tell you about that we can't say in out wee notes. It won't be long though until the end of Feb. I should get my six day pass on the 28th Feb. you see we are entitled to a six day leave once in 3 months & a week end from Saturday noon till Monday revalle.(6 am) once a month. So we must just wish for the month to hurry along. Oh! my darling love I am longing to see you & my little one again & also to see my dear Mother & Dad. It seems just awful not to be able to come & see you when you are so near. But darling it can't be helped & we must just make the best of it. I am full of hope that we'll soon be back in Canada. There are so many people talking about it, I was talking to Frank Oliver today (he's in the 12th Batt) & he says all the men whose wive's are over here in his batt. have been advised to send them back at once, he says he would'nt be at all surprised to hear we were to be sent back to Canada anytime. There are a bunch of our boys that were not fit when we first came here & they are all going to be sent back.

Now dearest I am sending in my application tommorrow to the captain to take a course at the bombing school at Folkstone to qualify as an instructor I was on guard on the hill all day yesterday & all last night & came of at 9 o'clock this morning & I got talking to the head sergent major up there & he said they wanted instructors & told me to send in my application & he would do all he could to help me. So if I get this it is just as well that you did'nt come down for a while as Ill be at school all the time & would not have much time to see you, but I could'nt help writing to see if you'd come down as I long for you so much. Kitty my darling I cannot live without you, I love you far better than my own life, you are my life, its for you sweet one that I breathe.

Now darling, I am so sorry I did not write you only once last week, but I expected to see you your sweet self or I would have written more often. Thank you so much for the stamps & your parcel was lovely. The cigarettes were fine I am smoking pretty heavy now as am expecting to have an exam anytime & I want my heart to be as weak as possible. I don't know how it is I am sure, that that lady gets so much seperation money, as I have made full enquiries & no one else gets over $20 a month, & there are fellows in our bunch who have 6 or 7 youngsters probably her husband was a first contingent man I believe they did make some allowances at the beginning of the war, but its cut out now.

We had a dance in our hut on Friday night, & it was great fun. I'm learning all the Canadian dances. Jimmy & Grit & all the boys came in & we had a fellow to "call off" (don't laugh), but the only difficulty was to tell the "ladies" form the gents so we had to tie a towel round each of the "ladies" waists in order to distinguish them.

Oh! I know my little darling must be so lovely, I can just fancy the little dear loving you (she's like her DaDa she just loves to cuddle, eh?) but then darling I'll soon be up to see you now. I am putting in for a week end next week, I thought I'd like to spend a Sunday at Reading if I could, all the other fellows are getting them so I thought I would too & Freddy wants to go with me. I wish you were there too lovely, but you don't mind me just running up there without you do you love? I just feel I want to go any where out of here every time I get the oppertunity & dear mother always wants to see me
Well sweetheart I'll wish you goodbye for now. Give my love to mother, Dad & Maggie & Sonny. Give my little darling a big hug & thousands of kisses & accept love & kisses galore to your own sweet self, & I'll see you ever so soon now.

I am ever
Your own own devoted hubby
Jack
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