No 338909 Dvr. W. G. Calder
3rd Sec 5th C.D.A.C.
C.E.F. - B E F
France
c/o Arm. Post Office

August 24th 1917

My Dear Father:

Well we are here at last, & living under canvas at the base, but we are expecting to go "up the line" tomorrow. The grub is fine, the best since we left Canada & all kinds of it - & the bread is excellent - pure white like Canadian bread & as light as a feather.

They have swell canteens all over & things are as cheap as the devil - pipe tobacco that cost 1/1 in England cost 4d. or .40 (?) over here!! & exactly the same kind of tobacco.

Robert came up to our (?) in England the night before I left, May was with him & they brought me up a big lemon pie - there is no prospect of Robert coming over for quite a while.

Yesterday we went & had a vaper bath - the kind they give the troops over here & it was fine - I have never been so clean for a year. They put a bunch in an air tight room, & turn steam loose, well talk about sweat & dirt coming out of you, you would think that you had not had a bath for months - after you come out of the steam you go under a cold shower.

All the boys are practicing French now, & the little smattering I had helps me a lot - but the people around here I think understand our English better than our French.

Well goodby for the present. I will write again when I get "up the Line" - with love

from Bill