B.E.F. France
March 12, 1917.

Dear Mother: -

Your parcel containing the piece of Cora's wedding cake, the gloves, socks chocolate and the pickles Mrs. Lackey sent arrived last night and received a royal welcome. Thank you very much for it. The gloves are the very thing I wanted and with the cuff style are particularly useful as they keep the mud off my sleeves and wrists.

I am writing to Mrs. Lackey by this mail. The pickles made the bully beef so much better tonight. Cora's wedding cake was perfect. I am still waiting to hear from her.

By the same mail a parcel came from Leicester so you see last night was a fortunate one for me. This one contained fruit cake, tarts and marshmallows, so you see soldiers fare pretty well back of the firing line.

We are still in the same town and enjoying life, though our stay is drawing to a close. My next letter may be from somewhere else.

It has been rather wet here lately making it heavy under foot. The cold weather seems to be pretty well all gone.

Today has been a fairly strenuous one, but as we are in comfortable billets we do not mind. I cannot tell you what we are doing but it is the most interesting kind of manoeuvring we have yet done.

In a letter I got from my friend Miss Chapman yesterday I received a copy of the announcement of the wedding taken from the Free Press, so you see I am kept pretty well posted taking all sources into account.

I forgot to mention that the butter you sent came in good condition and is very acceptable. It is a pleasant change from margarine although we do not get enough of the latter to get tired of it.

By the time this reaches you, it will be almost seeding time again. I had hoped to have been there to help with it this year but now it will have to be next spring instead.

I think likely I owe Clara & Arthur a letter but I have not heard from them for a long time nor from Abe either. I think I shall drop Abe a line tonight as I have more time just now than I will have later.

There is no news in this but there seems to be none I can give you. I will let you know anyway that I am O.K.

With love to all
Your affectionate son
Douglas.