France, 4/8/1918.

Dear Mother,

I wrote to you a few days ago but did not get any opportunity to post the letter as we had to go in the line suddenly. We had a rather lively trip in and got strafed heavily one morning at dawn. The shells were too close for my liking and some hit just on the parapet making me feel rather uncomfortable. To make matters worse, it rained heavily all day and by night all the trenches were half full of water and the sides of the trenches began to give way etc. I lost another of my best pals also. He was a chap named Jim Smith and we were sergeants and officers together and got our commissions on the same day. He was carried by our stretcher bearers under the white flag. Our trenches were only about 200 yards apart but old Fritz treated the white flag with respect. He fired over the stretcher bearers head at first but as soon as he saw the white flag and the stretcher with Jim Smith on it, the Huns all got up in their trenches and waved and yelled out to us in our trenches. However, as soon as the stretcher was gone, there was no further reason for a cessation of hostilities so we plunked a rifle grenade near them and, carried on the usual war again.

The Americans are first rate in the trenches but apparently can’t see the use of sitting down in the trenches and being shelled by the Hun. They think they ought to be chasing the Huns at the point of a bayonet all the time, but you see the Yanks have a great deal to learn yet. At the moment of writing this, there is a Hun plane overhead and our “archies” are running rings around it with shells, so that the poor old Hun does not know which way to go and must be feeling sorry he came over to have a look at us.

Well Mother, I am still alright only I am a little tired of all this silly business but that is only natural as I have had a good long run without any decent break like most men seem to get. Most people have been wounded and have had 6 or 8 months away at a time. But ‘nil desperandum’ as they say in the Classics. This should reach you some time near your birthday and then I wish you many happy returns, etc. and I would like to be the birthday present. The parcel you sent to arrive for my birthday has not arrived yet, but of course it may come at any time.

Will close now, with love from

Walter.