#338909 Dr. W. G. Calder
B. E. F.
France

August 30th.

My Dear Mother:

I received your letter of August 2nd yesterday & I was awful glad to from you it was such a nice long letter. Now I must tell you where I am writing this letter; - I am sitting on a sack of oats in the shelter of a hedge - my feet are floating around in about ten inches of mud & it is raining cats & dogs & has been for the last three days but I think things will be clearing up in a little while & believe me we will be glad as we have been pretty damp ever since we came up the line. Of course we are billoted out in stables where we sleep in the straw - no blankets just our great coat.

We had lots of fun coming up on the train from the place that we disembarked at to the "rail head". These cars over here will only hold 8 horses or 40 men, well two drivers had to ride in each car with the eight mules, which are placed in the car lengthwise facing the centre of the car, four at each end & their heads almost meet in the middle. Well Whyte & I had some time in that car for 16 hrs. we did not get a half hrs. sleep all night as one team was struggling & kicking all night & when they would paw out they would usually get us in the short ribs, believe me I do not want to try it again for a while.

We are about ___ miles behind the lines at present & can hear the guns quite often. At night we can see the flashes of them in the sky & the rockets going up lighting the sky.

I am glad to hear that you are getting Smith transferred to a Western division & hope that his leg will soon be all right.

I am sending this letter to B.C. in case you are not in Nova Scotia, but if you are I guess Papa will forward it on to along with the rest of my mail.

I forgot to tell you that just before I left Witley I got your cheque for 3 pounds O.K. & got it cashed the day before we left there.

Well I think I will close now as I have to go to work pretty soon.

With love for all

from Bill