LANCE-CORP. FINNEMORE WRITES(FROM ENGLAND)

Mrs. D.S. WILLIAMSON, Camborne, has received the following letter from her brother, Lance Corporal Cephas Finnemore, Crowborough, Sussex, England:

Crowborough, Jan. 3rd

Dear Sister:
I am in the Y.M.C.A. with nothing to do until bedtime so I may as well be doing some writing. I have had an awful time trying to get my writing done. It gets dark so early here that you might as well call it all night, and it certainly can get dark here. I had to get a flashlight to keep from running into people in the dark. The roads are very narrow and all up or down hill. I was up to London last week and it is very nearly as bad up there the lights are cut down so dim and all store lights covered. It certainly is a large city. I travelled all day and then did not see very much of it. I had a ride on the underground railway. That is the only place where it is light and dry. It is a double track electric road; and the cars certainly can travel. They are only about three minutes apart, and you can go to nearly any place underground (In London). It is an awful place for women drinking. You could see them coming out of the bars all over the place carrying their little jug or bottle. I would like to have a week up there to see it all.

We are in a quiet place here, four miles from the station, and two mile from a small village. I had a letter from George the other day. His brother, Harry, has been wounded, and his other brother, Jim, is down near West Sandling where I was before, but I did not see him. We have a very nice Y.M.C.A here. They hold church in it on Sundays. It will seat from six to seven thousand. Well, the holidays are over again for a while, but they did not affect me very much. We had a holiday Christmas Day and a big dinner and that is all I can say for it. I was expected to get some leave, but they stopped all leave after the first two bunches went away. I was to go on the third lot, but no such luck. So I stayed here in camp and made the best of it. We had to attend drill just the same New Year's Day and to make it worse I was having my examinations on the machine gun. But I guess I got through all right. I am taking an N.C.O. course and it is pretty hard for me. We get lectures every day and have to recopy the notes and study them at night. It generally is a two hours job and I feel like going to bed after I get through. It may come in very handy as it is the same as about twenty officers are taking in our class. But I do not expect I will pass in all subjects, but as long as I get through on the gun all right, I do not care as I will be qualified to go to France then. I have no idea when I will be going over, but I do not expect that it will be for a month or six weeks.

We are having rather bad weather here raining every day. The mud is fierce. I have not received the box you spoke of yet. They are very slow in handling parcels. There is big talk of German peace these days, but I think it will be the Allies' peace in the spring for there certainly going to be something doing, as soon as it dries up again. I am feeling fine now and getting fat. I guess it must be that Christmas dinner that did it. How are all the folks? Well I guess I will have to ring off for this time.
CEPHAS FINNEMORE.