Chastre, Belgium, 24/12/1918

Dear Mother,

We have at last arrived at our destination at the above village which is about 9 miles south of the Charleroi, after a weeks marching. We left Beaurepaire on 17th December and marched 13 klms the first day to Avisnes which town we reached at 2 pm. That afternoon we spent walking around the town which is a very decent place of about 30,000 population. lt has several large public buildings and a beautiful old gothic church which is very well appointed inside with gilt ornaments and marble. The cemetery is also a place of interest as there the Germans built a Military cemetery in which there are about 1000 graves of Hun soldiers and about 300 graves of French and English. ln the centre of the Military cemetery is a huge granite pyramid which is inscribed in German and French to the memory of the brave German and French soldiers who died for their country. The pyramid itself is a massive affair about 15 ft. high and 10 ft. square and something like the one I described in Bapaume cemetery. The one at Bapaume is a “bragging” one but this one is a real monument.

When we left Avisnes next morning in the pouring rain en route for Sevres in Belgium we passed the Avisnes railway station. There the Huns burnt an ammunition train full of shells and the scene of destruction is terrible. Shells are distributed all over the road and adjoining fields and every house within 500 yards is destroyed and the train itself is a twisted mass of wreckage. I tried to get a photo of these 2 items of interest but it was raining hard and rather dark so could not do it. It was at Avisnes that the Huns had an army distribution centre and Ludendorf and the Kaiser often went there to be on the scene when following the course of the war on the Western front. The people say that they used to have high times with their banquets and dancing and the town used to assume a Parisian aspect.

After leaving Avisnes we went to Livrey a march of 23 ks in the pouring rain and bleak wind. We all got wet through about the legs and feet and arrived at 2 pm well fed up. However we had good billets for the night and lost our troubles after a meal of bully beef and bread and jam and tea. There was nothing much of interest in Sevres except that the Huns cleared out in great haste with the British close on their retreating columns only 3 hours after them. The people took to the fields while the British dropped a few shells into the village and 4 hours afterwards came back to their homes and were delivered with much rejoicing. Just outside Sevres there is a wood which is traversed by the main road. At the entrance to the wood is a lonely German TT field gun which is supposed to mark the spot where Foch met the German Armistice delegates and signed the preliminary papers. We then marched to Solre St. Gery, a distance of 9 ks and spent the night in good billets. Next morning we fell in and marched to Daussors which was about 18 ks and reached the village at 1 pm. This godforsaken hole was to have been our home for 6 weeks or so but we did not like the place so set about discovering faults and soon found some foot and mouth disease amongst the cattle, so that we were moved on the 23rd December. The place was one of those villages where one has to visit the church or cemetery to be cheered up.

Well after 2 days at Daussos, we went to Chastre and here we are now. Our company is in Chastre and the rest of the battalion is at Pry about a kilometre away. The place is clean and we Officers have our billets, with the exception of myself, in the local chateau and we are all, including the NCOs and men, very comfortable. My batman has a room and a bed to himself, and in fact he is so comfortable that he had his doubts about getting into the bed. The poor beggar has not been in a bed except when on leave for 3 years.

Tomorrow is Xmas Day and we are all working hard to make it a day of days. We have bought some tinned turkeys at 30 francs each out of regimental funds and also a lot of beer and other luxuries for the men and with them and the comforts funds parcels the troops ought to fare fairly well. We ourselves are going to be well off as we have a turkey, fruit, Christmas cakes, wine, whisky, gin and vermouth and some cordials and plenty of vegetables so that we should fare nearly as well for good cheer as if we were at home. The Prince of Wales visited part of our division this morning and presented some medals to the men and NCOs who had won them some time ago. We had 5 of our officers presented to him. He will, I think, come round again and present the rest of us with our medals as there are still some to get them.

Now my dear old Mother you seemed rather annoyed because I said something to you which I should not have said. The fact was someone evidently twisted some of your remarks into an shape and sent the Chastre …24/12/1918 (page gone).

(Back page(s) missing. Further search among documents in other places could ascertain if such pages exist and then added to complete this Letter.)