Letters From the Front

Dated: February 29, 1916

LETTER FROM THE FRONT

Belgium, Feb. 29.

Dear Dad and Mother, -- I received your most welcome letter of February 6th last night.

You certainly have had some very cold weather this winter, it seems to have been a hard winter all round. It has not been so awfully bad out here although I guess we have had our share of wet. Recently we have not had much rain, but it has been pretty cold during the nights and mornings, we frequently have to break the ice before we can wash. Many thanks for Bill Mallory's letter.¹ I did not know what had become of him as I had lost his address. He did very good work out here, both at Ypres and also at Festubert, he was one of the men who carried out Major Dyer at Ypres, and the last I saw of him in that scrap, he was taking away his second man on a stretcher, it was quite a job too, for they had to be carried three or four miles under the enemy's fire.

I see the ladies of Red Deer are doing their best to entertain the men of the 89th, I only wish they could entertain the boys of the Fifth, I am sure they would enjoy it for we have some very good talent in our Battalion, we had a concert last night in the Y.M.C.A. tent and had a great time, the 2nd Brigade band supplied the music, and the songs and recitations were supplied by our own boys.

I had a letter from Geo. Notley a few days ago, he is attached to the 3rd Divisional Cyclists, and he expects to get out here very soon, they seem to have had a rather rough time of it at Salisbury Plain almost as bad as we had.

I think it would be a good thing to raise a Battalion for Red Deer and all local boys, with some local officers, and if they would only send us Red Deer boys home to help organize it, it would be great, for a holiday in Canada would look pretty good to us just now. There is not much news to tell you in this, for we are doing very little fighting, we are still in the same old place, and as long as the Germans leave us alone we shall stay here.

Remember me to all enquiring friends.

Your loving son,

COLIN