I am afraid that I have rather fallen off in the writing line lately,
but we have been leading a very pleasant but humdrum life, and the
evenings have been rather busy; at present, five rowdy young
subalterns profane the air with discordant music and facetious
witticisms, so it is difficult to write ("Mack, you will never write a
letter," "Do lend me a hundred sandbags," "Orders from Brigade," &c.).
We are at present in a very pleasant billet just a few miles south of
where we were before; we ought to be in the trenches, but as there are
no dug-outs for us yet we are building them before we go in, or rather
we are talking of making them at present. For eight days or so we were
in divisional rest, during which time we fired for practice most days,
entertained people to meals, and went in to the town near to see the
divisional pierrot show. Two or three days ago we suddenly had orders
to move to the section on our right, so Greig, Uncle Fred's friend,
told me to ride his second horse, and to come and look round with him
at the billets, &c. We had a very pleasant ride. The next day we came
along, bringing our things on handcarts, and one big horse waggon; we
came to take over this billet--it is a huge, big farm, square with a
long courtyard, and a long tower at the gateway. The men sleep in huts
round and in barns; we have a large mess-room, with a sort of camp
beds on which we sleep. We have a huge fire, which we keep going, and
we have piles of crockery and tableclothes, &c., which we have
"borrowed." The first night there was an officer of the Company we
relieved who had apparently a little too much to drink, and,
unfortunately, got thrown from his horse three times and was found
unconscious in a ditch, and has quite wrongly been charged with being
drunk, and is going to be court martialled. I am a witness for the
defence; we have with us at present two officers of his company who
have to stay behind for the court martial. The first day we were in we
slept in huts, but it was so terribly cold that the night after we
shifted our beds into the mess-room. The first day, Carroll and I went
a tour of the trenches; they are topping trenches, we sought and
found many things to devour and destroy. Finally, we came to a road,
where we asked the way, and were directed to go up it. We went up it
until we came to a low barricade, and looking over it, to find our
trenches just below and the Bosche trenches about 200 yards peeping at
us. Crack, crack; we returned to try again, only to find ourselves up
in the firing line. Finally, we succeeded in getting home all right
rather tired. We had a pleasant dinner, and got a large wood fire made
with ammunition boxes. The next day being Sunday we had breakfast at
10-0 in pyjamas and fur coats, and went a walk in the afternoon.
To-day we went up to the trenches and worked hard (?) all day
emplacing guns, and making dug-outs, &c. I lunched and tea'd with the
Scots, and returned in the pouring rain.
Much love to all, from your loving Son,
ALEC.
101/1 TRENCH MORTAR BATTERY,
101ST BRIGADE, B.E.F.
Sunday, April 2nd.