London, Oct. 1st [1918]
Dear Cath:
What do you think of the writing now – notice any improvement? (“none at all” I hear you say) But I’ll have you understand that I’m using my right hand now, so you had better reserve your decision. This is the first letter I have attempted to write you since my arrival here but I sent you a card a few days ago so you already know I m located in the big city and enjoying myself immensely. My arm is still in a splint but it doesn’t bother me at all any more and I can go wherever I please every afternoon from 12 till 7 PM so you may imagine how how mighty glad I am that I got in the way of that bullet. Things are pretty warm on the Western front just now + it’s awfully nice to walk down the Strand or Piccadilly + read all about it. I see by todays paper that the 1st Can. division has been in it again and of course that includes the 15th battn. We certainly have been getting out hot & heavy during the past two months & over the top four times in less than three weeks. I can’t understand how I ever managed to carry on as long as I did without a scratch but I’m quite pleased to be able to say that I was in Foch’s big push. We went over with the rest on Sept. 2nd just at dawn our battn. being a few hundred yards on the right of the Arras-Cambrai road. I dropped out of the show at nine A.M. just as we reached our objectives – about 2 miles from our starting point. Naturally I had to walk all the way back before I could find a dressing station but tot tell the honest truth I didn’t mind a bit. You see I knew I was on my way to Blighty. Poor old Fritz! He surely is up against it now. According to tonight’s paper. Bulgaria has surrendered unconditionally to the Allies terms and Austria is rather expected to follow suit. Well here’s hoping that Germany comes to her senses too and that the whole buisness is brought to an end. They must surely are by now that they haven’t a ghost of a chance.
We have been having some dull disagreeable weather lately but I was downtown four or five times last week just the same: Took in the matinee at the Palladium (vaudiville) Saturday and saw some very good acting.
Sunday afternoon my cousin Donald Ainslie dropped in for an hour and a half. The last time I saw him was at his home in Toronto in Feb. 1916 just before they moved the 134th to Niagara. Of course I was rather pleased to see him again. Don has been working at the Admiralty Research office here for 4 or 5 months but is being moved to Scotland this week. He knows Mr. Asbury quite well and gave me his address so I expect to see him one of these days.
I do wish they would hurry up with that mail of mine. It must be six weeks or more since I’ve seen a letter from Canada – seems more like six months! The other day I rec’d a field card from a cousin in France posted in Aug. + bearing my batt. address. Well if a field card could find me I don’t’ see why the rest of my mail shouldn’t.
And how do you like your new school – do you find teaching as pleasant as you anticipated? Margaret will be out at Morpeth again I suppose.
Well Cath I know this is a most “disjointed appeal” as Mark Shaw would say, but it’s about the best I can do at present. However I hereby make a solemn promise that as soon as I recover the free use of my right wing and get out where I can see something worth writing about I’ll send you an epistle that will be a bit more interesting.
Hope everyone is O.K.
As ever
Leslie
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