Search The Archive

Search form

Collection Search
Date: September 13th 1916
To
Dear Ones All
From
Eric
Letter

London 13/ 9/16.

Dear Ones All,

Ever so many letters from home had accumulated during my week’s absence- three letters from May, two from Ruth, two from Molly, and one from Father, and they were mighty welcome too after being without word from across the Atlantic for a whole week.

What a beautiful trip it must have been to Vancouver, and what a memory it will be for years to come! The welcome you all received in Seattle could scarcely have been a warmer one than what awaited me in Glasgow- but I’ll tell it in proper order.

I left here last Tuesday night and arrived in Edinburgh the following morning. The English Pullman cars are all stateroom cars and very comfortable too, so I had a good night’s sleep. Whatever claim Edinburgh may once have had to the nickname "Auld Reekie" it surely doesn’t deserve it now, for the air there seemed to me to be particularly sweet and fresh. I spent the morning poking around Edinburgh Castle, and in the afternoon climbed up to the top of Colton Hill over looking the city, and lay on the grass for hours in the sunshine. Next day, Thursday, I saw some more of the "points of interest" in company with a guide whose R's kept rolling all over the place (I told him my name was Robertson and he related it after me, making it sound exactly like a machine gun in action) In the afternoon I went to Glasgow, and spent the rest of the day trying to locate the relatives.

I went to all the addresses you gave me, Father, and in every case the people were unknown. Next morning I was more successful and located David Alexander ( by means of a city directory) at his office at 43 Mains St. I am enclosing a couple of his business cards. His house address is - 8 Windsor Quadrant Glasgow, W.

He gave me a most hearty welcome and insisted on my coming up for dinner that night and pressed me to stay with them for a few days. His wife is very sweet and was very warm in her welcome too. They have no children. Your cousin Mrs. Anna Campbell died a couple of months ago, father. I know you will be grieved to hear that as you were so fond of her. I met no others of the relatives there as my time was limited.

That was on Friday, and that night I left for London. Just stayed here long enough to get some clean clothes and then left for Brighton, together with Lou Brennan, who is now convalescent. We both enjoyed the sea air but there isn’t much to do in Brighton except to inhale it. Everything else is too expensive to indulge in. We came back to town yesterday quite glad to get away from the place.

I wish I could say that I felt ever so much better for my holiday but I can’t. What I really needed was to get away from crowds and pavements and things. The trouble is that I didn’t know where to go. Oh, for a Muskoka and a tent and a canoe! However, it was a change and a sort of a rest and probably I'll be able to do better work than I have been doing of late.

Poor old Chap Kilmer, I'll surely see him if he is still in the city. What a horrible thing it is to lose a limb! There are many thousands of young fellows now-a-days like that unfortunately. But Chap always seemed so full of life and energy that it seems particularly hard for him.

Thank Norman for his good letter which was ever so interesting.

With a great deal of love all around,
Yours as always,
Eric.

Original Scans

Original Scans