A Company 11th C.M.R.

Oct 8th/1916

Dear Father –

Recieved your letter the other day, and was glad to hear you were getting along well in the army. I should think it would be rather quiet and lonesome though. It gets rather lonesome here sometimes, and there are a great many soldiers around all the time. Sometimes I get tired of looking at uniforms, we hardly see anything else though.

There is not much news to tell. Every day seems the same. We are drilling from 7.30 A.M. to 11.45 and from 1.15 to 4.30 P.M. So we have not much time to ourselves, as we are usually a little tired at night. Of course we have Saturday afternoons and Sunday we we have a church service from 8.45 A.M. to 9.30 A.M. Our Chaplain gave us quite a straight talk on the use of bad language amongst the men. He is a very good speaker. He was the English Church Minister at [Vernen?], before he joined us.

There is a very good Y.M.C.A. here in Camp. They have very good Concerts here about three nights a week. There are some fine singers from London take part quite often. Concert parties from all over England, travel from Camp to Camp and entertain soldiers.

Recieved a letter from Aunt Bella Magee a short time ago in answer to one I wrote Grandpa a shortly after we arrived here. She says he is not in the best of health just now although seems to be improving.

It seems as though they are after young men in Canada pretty hard just now to join up. We [here?] some talk of Conscription coming into force there. We do not get much news of the war here. Not as much as the papers over there printed.

Just heard that there is a draft picked from our Battalion to go to France and my name is up. We have been expecting it right along as some of the batt. that came over with us have already sent quite a few men. They send them all over in drafts from here now. The next letter I write I may be able to tell you something of what they are doing over there.

When you write to Ethel you might tell her I expect to go. I wrote her yesterday, but did not know anything about it then. We expect to leave this week some time. It is hard to tell for sure of course, as they change things around here quite a bit.

Well I have been in the army quite a while now. Over ieghteen months. When I joined I expected to see France before this. There is lots of time yet though I believe. It does not seem as though this war was coming to an end very quietly.

This is all for this time. I will write again as soon as possible, and will be looking for a letter from you all the time. Letters are very welcome here I can tell you.

Good bye for this time

With Love,

Frank.