Somewhere in France
Pte WR Gullen
No 772521
Feb 11th 1917
Dear Agnes and Fred
We marched here from the line this morning will be in this town for a few days training of some kind, I am about all in have a large boil on my neck [havett?] had any sleep while in this time between carreeing sixty lb things and boil my shoulders is very lam it seems to take along time coming to a head, we came very fast my cloths are sticking to me and cold no need for it at all. I though the one parcel of Mary’s came from you it was mailed on the same day is your did not know my last wente with our mail may take longer to come now but not over a day or so I received Franks letter of 7th Jan while in was very glad to get one in, we have never been over the top that is the time that gets you no use saying may come out if your nuts enough to go in, this thing is animal like and terrable expensive but the most have got the bug, will be a lesson for all time, you can live and die of old age in the ground if you do not go over, only one in a thousand make any [hits?] you [mits?] say, which cost five dollars each Mary and I had longe talks over this while I was training she is very partrotic, but these people are all for them selves and money and I never did see them do much without the money and money covered these mistakes if there money got low they could not do anything the old saying big fish will eat little fish and that is where they got all the money, they have not did the people any good [these?] [ages?] you can see in the bigest city what they have done, Mary is to much affraid of public opinion if I had of gone once to live with the boys, would have been more like it [As?] H Davis did I saw Willie Rawzel to day while we were leaving the line he is in the second could not talk to him he said Geo is in England wounded I tried to find the fellow that use to work for Clare but didnt we have not had our dinner yet will get some tea sometime I have got a few cakes at the store did not spend any of the Francs before going in, excuse this letter my arms are very lame write often
Yours
Roy
[added at top of first page, date/author unknown: “16.”; “Rec’d Mar. 8/17”]
[Editor’s note: Dot code used by Gullen to secretly indicate his location. Characters that appear to have been clearly marked in the letter with dots underneath them have been marked in the transcription with an underline. Written together they spell “hersin” (probable reference to Hersin-Coupigny, France?).]
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