France.

Dec. 4th 1916,

Dear Ollie:-

Was very sorry to hear from home the other day that you had been laid up. Trust by the time this reaches you you will have fully recovered. I had been wondering why I hadn’t heard from you, it seems ages since I last had a letter.

I have had a shift since I last wrote you. Our O.C. has been put in charge of all our line of work in this district and took a couple of officers, a surgeon and a few sappers as a headquarters staff and I followed on shortly afterwards. Have a much better job than I had. There is a bit of pencil pushing in connection with it an not so much mud. We are on a very busy part of the line as I soon found out before I was here very long. Since last April we were well behind the line and heard very little or saw very little during that time. A couple of days after I came here our guns commenced a bombardment and it went on full blast for over a week and then it quietened down a little. I saw over three thousand of the prisoners that were taken including several officers, a couple of which were wearing “iron crosses” and several more wearing the ribbon, The most of them were carrying little bundles or parcels and their clothes were rather clean so they evidently didn’t put up much of a scrap or they wouldn’t have had time to get bundles or parcels.

I had another letter for Father about ten days telling me the name of the place he was at but I can’t locate it on any of the maps we have here. Of course they are only of the British front and I kind of think he must be farther south.

I expect to go on furlough within a month and am going up to Scotland to have a look around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Weather has been somewhat chilly these last few weeks and very foggy but it is much better than the rain.

By the time this reaches you Xmas will not be very far off so I wish you all a very merry one and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Love to all

Percy

Address

Sap
R.C.E.5. Headquarters
Field Post Office
B.E.F.
France