S. S. Scotian, August 16
Dear Lettie

I've thought it is about time I was writing to you and give you some news. Well we arrived in Halifax on Monday night about midnight but we stayed on the train until about 9 Tuesday morning and then got on the boat about 11 but we did not leave Halifax till seven on Wednesday morning and we have been going ever since. Well we have had a fine trip so far. It has not been very rough but there is quite a swell on today. There has been a few of the boys sick but I have not been sick yet. I was a little light headed the second day we were on but after that I was all right. We're not travelling as troops but as passengers. This boat was to take back passengers from Montreal but was cancelled at the last minute so we're getting fine food and a good springbed to sleep on. They were short of stewards so there was six of us was picked out and asked if we would take it on and get paid by the steamship Company. So I am one of the crew now. So you can see I have been busy all the way over. I was only on the boat an hour when I was working. There is a cruiser been with us all the way over there are four other boats. The cruiser takes the lead then comes the Scandinavian, the Scotian, the Metagama and the Cameronian. They have the 119, the 120th, the 123rd, the 124, the 125 and the 134th and I do not know what others are with us. There was one soldier died on the Cameronian when we was two days out and he was buried at sea the next day at 12:00 o'clock. All the ships stopped when he was being buried and the band played and all the soldiers were on deck standing at attention. There is lots of sports aboard. We have band concerts in the evening and at night we have concerts in the different dining rooms. I will enclose a program of one of them. We expect to land Friday night or Saturday but we don't know where some say we're going to Liverpool by the northeast of Ireland. We expect some battleships to meet us tomorrow morning. Tell George I seen some whales one day and some other big fish that jumps right out of the water. I suppose you will know long before you get this when we land in England. We get all the war news every morning. I suppose the exhibition will be on by the time you get this letter. Try and get the coke in as soon as you can and then you'll be all right for the winter. I do not know what my address will be but if you address my letters to the Army Post Office London and I will get them all right. This is Thursday the 17 we're in the danger zone now. There is one big gun mounted on the stern and our fellows have four machine guns on deck all ready for action. The ships are going zig zag all the time and we have to carry our life belt all the time. Well I think this is all at present. I will write you when we get to our destination. Tell George I asked him not to go near the Don be a good boy till I come back.

Dave