France (Lens)
July 10, 1917

Dear Old Helen:

Thanks ever so much for your nice letter. I suppose you will be enjoying your holidays when this reaches you, eh wot? Don't go onto big a spree as it gives you an awful headache next day. I showed Dug your picture and he let off such a sigh I thought he had bust a lung or something very similar to it.

If you happen to see Mrs. Mathews please thank her for her welcome letter which I should have answered before if I had not lost the correct address.

We are back to our old routine of trench warfare. One place our line was in the middle of a big town. We lived in cellars and had a fairly good time. Old Fritz chucked over a lot of shells and trench mortars all night but was fairly quiet by day. Therefore we used to get behind a wall and have a sunbath. One night however he was chucking shells over our way so we moved farther down to get out of line of his fire. While we were away a shell took the corner of our house.

We had very few casualties however. One night one of our patrol officers was upstairs in a house in no mans land when a party of about fifty Germans came through the lower part of the house. They however did not come upstairs or they would have easily captured the patrol. We saw some jake air flights up there and at one time had the bullets close to us.

I have just received a nice parcel from Miss Fooks. She has certainly been a brick to me. She sends me a nice parcel every ten days or so as regularly a clock-work. Say, Kiddo I wish you would get Mum to send me the correct address of the Reeves, Frank and Orlow in Sussex. I wrote to them not long ago but the letter was returned as insufficiently addressed. Please tell Mum I still hope to buy her little mare and wish she would make up her mind to sell it to one of us as we shall need it in the future.

I hope to get Non to learn the violin and encourage him to keep at it. I am sure he will make a good player if he only has the chance. Well kiddo I do hope you have a fine vacation and just enjoy yourself to your utmost.

Your loving brother,
Sid.

[Editor’s note: Transcription provided by collection donor.]