FRANCE
3.1.17
Dear May.
You will wonder why I have been so long writing but there has not been much news & the censor we have at present is so terribly strict that it isn’t worth while writing as we don’t know when our letters pass or when they are destroyed. I have therefor waited until I could get a green envelope, but if I had known it would be so long I would have sent a field card in the meantime. Any way I have been in the best of health all the time & but for a I slight cold I am feeling quite well. Mark & Chris Millar are both here & are alright except that they too are troubled with the usual cold.
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I was rather sorry, as well as amused to hear that their people were so much concerned about them, while they were all the time with the Coy. & had almost forgotten about their wounds. I think I have already told you that their wounds were of a very slight nature & neither was away from the Coy for more than a few days. Chris had a bruised leg & Mark a scratch on the side of the neck, both done by bits of bursting shells. At home they would have taken no notice of their injuries & it is a pity that the authorities allow their people to worry so unnecessarily when another couple of words in the cable would put their minds at ease. I am glad I sent a cable & will do so again if anything of the
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sort should ever happen again but never worry if it fails to come when you expect it, because it is no use sending one until it is all over & we are back to our base & then as you know it may take a week or two to get through. By the way I thought Jim Hargest cabled to Mandeville that Chris M and some of the other district boys were well, but perhaps they thought Chris was wounded after that, while as a matter of fact he had been away & had rejoined the Coy by then. Frank Marshall & Mark Farrington are camped about two miles from us. Mark C saw Frank a day or two ago but we haven’t come across Mark F yet. You can let Mrs Bagrie know that I see Bill Catto pretty well
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every day & he is keeping well. You can also tell her that I saw Arthur McEwan last week & he too is doing alright. He is in the Rifle Bgde. About the sox that Averil sent & the photos you enquired about everything is alright. The sox arrived just as we were marching up to the Somme & I wrote acknowledging them, as for the booklet of photos I sent one each to Averil, the finder of the camera & to W Bagrie (Chch) & they have all been acknowledged. They were very similar to the one I sent Rodie. I am glad you are taking off some prints for Mrs Bagrie & Mrs Hargest. I have few old Egyptian groups that I brought over here hoping to get them printed but
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find that I can’t post them from here. They are a bit knocked about but I would like to get them home. I hope you are lucky enough to get a few good snaps of Ruth. The instantaneous exposure scale is not very reliable & might give you trouble. Of course photogy is out of the question out here, & while I think of it you might keep any decent photos you see of our work in France. I often see very good pictures in the illustrated N.Z. papers but of course I can’t keep them & strange as it may seem we are not allowed to send them through the post. Last night I had a letter from Mr Pratt saying that the parcel was coming but it has not
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arrived yet. Jeannie’s parcel got here safely yesterday but yours has not come yet but there are bags of them arriving every day so I I expect it any day now. The chap McKenzie who wrote you for my address is one of the family who used to go to the Meth. Church in Gore. I had a letter from him by the same mail as Mother’s. I don’t think there is any more news, although Xmas week has just past. Averil’s programme & letter arrived alright the other day.
Love to all
Len
