Letters From the Front

Dated: January 21, 1916

SOLDIERS NOT BAD ACTORS

Pte. Manderson Tells How They Put on a Christmas Pantomime.

Writing from somewhere in France, Pte. Alan Manderson tells his mother, 622 Crawford street, Toronto, how the boys enjoyed their Christmas.

"For breakfast we had bacon and eggs, jam, bread, butter, and tea; not so bad for active service," he writes.  "At dinner, the sergeants were the waiters.  We had chicken with stuffing, a slab of cold beef, spuds with the skins on, and gravy.  Plum pudding followed, with brandy sauce, and we all had a bowl of beer to wash it down.  There were toasts drunk to the King, the commanding officers, and the boys in the trenches."

"We got a Christmas sock from the people of Canada for the Canadians in France.  Mine came from a lady in the east end of Toronto.  I may write and thank her for it.  At seven we had supper --just custard and figs.  Then followed the concert--a pantomime, "The Babes in the Wood."  It was great.  The actors were all soldiers in camp here, but I've seen worse shows in Toronto lots of times."