No 150

Major GS Andre

ws, RCE

Survey, HQ First Cdn Army O/S

24 Jan 43

Dear Jean:

MAIL CONTINUES TO POUR IN. A PARCEL FROM YOU LAST MONDAY WITH TOBAC & KLIM etc, and another on yesterday with the book for Anita. Your airgraph of 10 Jan came yesterday too. Cigs from the FB, a parcel from Mr Tassie in Vernon, letter from FD Mulholland, my uncle Alfred Andrews, cards from Bill Halkett and Charlie Swannell. Col Meuser & Harry Luscombe say I'm spoiled, and I guess they're right ANITAS BOOK IS A VERY NICE ONE. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE ESPECIALLY GOOD. AND IT'S A good story. I read it last night, and will take it up to Morris's tonight, Harry and I are going up there for supper. It looks now as tho my Xmas books for Mary and Graham didn't arrive, Ecila sent a book too, so both must have gone astray, Next time I'm in town, will see if I can get some, there were one or two WHICH WERE REALLY WORTH HER HAVING. I'M TAKING A TIN OF THE LEMON POWDERS UP TO Morris's. You have been very good dear, and have sent such a good choice of things in the parcels. Once more let me tell you not to send things that are hard to get there. We do very well. Had an interesting visit to a US Army Air Survey unit during the week, it was interesting, and a Colonel there used to BE AT PORTLAND ORE, AND KNEW MY FRIEND LAGE WERNSTEDT. I HAVE WONDERED HOW LAGE has been lately, no word from him. He wasn't very well latterly. Poor Shelley I must try to write him. He had a lot of the stuff in him that we are fighting to regain now, not what we have lost to the Axis, but things we have lost to sloppy thinking, poor leadership, and letting down on personal and individual DISCIPLINE, DURING THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES. AM READING LORD ELTON's "ST GEOrge and the Dragon", and he is quite right in many of his ideas. I note that the Smedley parcel arrived. They will be thrilled to hear from you. This is the best winter we've had here so far. Both December and this month have been wonderfully mild. I note your ideas about putting in a lawn. Don't make it too big and try to lay it out in one piece without intricate borders and such. Remember MISS FIDLAR'S FARDEN? AND WHAT A NIGHTMARE IT WAS TO KEEP CUT AND TRIMMED? I will be looking forward to having the pictures of you and Mary, especially more up to date ones of you. I gather from your letter that Betty is now Mrs Richardson. That's fine, she deserves a good husband, she has been more or less an orphan all her life. The war has been going better lately. I wonder when and WHERE WE WILL TAKE PART IN IT. ONE THING, UNCLE SAM AND THE AUSSIES SEEM TO BE giving the Japs all they can handle and a little more, it relieves me of a lot of anxiety about my wife and baby and our little home on the Pacific Rim. The recent air raids on this country have been just tiny nibbles compared to the ones during '40 & '41, and compared with the ones we are making on Axis controlled EUROPE NOW. IT LOCKS AS THO' WE HAVE AT LAST GOT ENOUGH PUNCH TO MAKE HITLER'S nose bleed, with a black eye for good measure. It makes me pretty mad when I read about the big strikes back home. The fault is not only on the side of the strikers. All war industry should be state owned, then strikers could be called mutiny, just the same as in the armed forces.

LOVE

GER.