Crowborough Jan 7. 17

Dear Bee,

I was going to write you a few lines tonight - altho there is nothing new to tell you as I just wrote mother a few days ago: However there is nothing else bothering me just now and I know you are always glad to hear from me. I got mothers letter yesterday, telling about your trip to Howiedale. I am sure you would enjoy seeing all the old faces again. It is too bad that the weather was so cold. So Milton and Walt are both married. What kind of wives did they get? Mother says Nettie looks thin & old, that wont suit her very well. I imagined Ruby would turn out to be some girl and I guess she is.

What do you think? I received a letter from Ariel Oliver yesterday too. It was a very nice one alright tho it is a typical Oliver letter. I guess you know what I mean.

And what do you know about this? I got a swell box from Maggie Brown filled with good things to eat. It sure was a dandy box alright and the worst of it was that I had never answered her letter that I got last Spring. I put it off so long that I was ashamed to write at last. However I wrote a good long one tonight and maybe she will forgive me, eh. I was awfully sorry that I did not get your book. Good books are scarce here and I have no use for the English magazines. You can bet that when I get hold of a “Popular’ or “Adventure” I have a good read. There is a big Y.M.C.A. but close to us but the library does not amount to much. The Y.M.C.A. is surely doing a great work for the soldiers, both in this country and in France. They have great big Huts in all the camps, with reading, writing, materials and refreshments counters where the soldiers can get good things to eat and drink very reasonably. There are concerts, boxing contests and lectures nearly every night.

Tell the kiddies I got their letters alright and want them to write again. I suppose they have grown a whole lot since I saw them last summer. You wont be lonesome in the cold weather or idle either with the three of them in the house so much.

I am wondering if mother gets any of the papers I sent her. I guess to best way will be for me to subscribe for six months or a year then she will be more liable to get it and will be more liable to get it and then sometimes I miss getting it and cannot send it.

We are working hard just now on the Vickers Gun. I don’t know what the idea is but they are sure rushing us. We get as much in a couple of days as they used to give in ten. Well I was called away when I just in the vein for writing to you for an hour as I had been thinking of you folks so much lately and this was the next best thing to having a good talk with you. You don’t know how much I long to be with you sometimes for a few hours so we could have a grand old spiel. Just wait till I come back. Some of our boys of the 128th have been up in the trenches but so far as I have heard there has been no casualties. I do not know when we will go to the front but expect it will be in the early spring anyway. There is sure to be a big call for machine gunners when the big drive starts. I see in todays papers that there will be a great number of “tanks” come into the drive and who knows but I will be in one as there are several machine guns in each tank. They must sure be some machine of destruction. At any rate I hope I will be able to do my share when the time comes. We have several of machine gun men in this camp who have been to the front and have been wounded and they say that some of the best men lose their nerve and some others turn out to be almost heroes. None of them however seem terribly anxious to go back.

How did you spend your Xmas? I had a fine time in Wales as I told mother in my last letter so will not say any more about it in this. I think I have scrawled about enough for this time as I had not intended writing tonight but the spirit moved me that way. Try and write often even if it is only for a few lines as it seems awful good to hear from you & mother. Give my love to all the kiddies and Harry and take good care of yourself. Lovingly Bruce.

 781871 Canadian Machine Gun Depot

A Co. Crowborough

Sussex

England