Hut C3

Manitoba Reg. Depot

Shorncliffe, Kent

Oct 25th 17

Dear Mother,

I have not written to you for a couple of weeks as I have been moving around.

I had a letter from each of the boys dated 10th Oct and they are both all right. Syd had just got back from his leave to the south of France after having the time of his life.

I had four days leave when I left the school at Hastings. I did not travel around much but stayed with the Rows as usual and paid a call on Mrs. Thornbery at south Croydon. I also took a run over on the Sunday to see the Groses at Forest Hill. Mrs. Grose is Mrs. Thornbery's sister and Dad's first cousin. On the Monday I went up with Mrs. Row to Westminster Abbey where we met Prescott who showed us around. He knows all about it as he writes books on all these historic buildings.

I was put on a labour draft for work in France but I have been taken off that while they are trying to put me in some job over here, so at present I am doing the old army game of nothing except helping the sergeant in charge with some of his writing.

I got a great surprise the other day when Jimmy Playfair came over to see me. He is training with the 11th Reserve Battalion and expects to go to France any day. He was in the Army Service Corps but they found him fit and put him in the infantry as a fighting man. He is looking well on it.

I met one of Syd's old sergeants out of the machine gun section. He knows Frank and says he is one of the coolest young beggars he ever saw in the trenches.

Love to all

Jack