France

3   11  18

Dear Ethel.

Thank you ever so much for your letters you ever so good to send me & hope that you are not thinking I have forgotten you all it is far from it, do you know we have never been so busy & unsettled for a long time as we are now.

The war is going along nicely & we are meeting quite a new experience in the war, the country that we are in now is all new country & it would do you good to you ask Mr Leakey whether he knew my Pa.

Am glad to hear Rar Ford is improving it must have been a fine baby.

The weather is still very good & hope it continues for another month at least & think before you get this letter the war will be pretty nearly finished & may get an enjoyable Xmas yet, but am afraid not at Coombs.

Have never tried any more for my commission as I think I am better of as a Seargeant so am not worrying any, & my people did not want me too. I think I told you that my sister had see how delighted the French people were after being liberated from the Germans, when we went into the towns the people would hardly believe their eyes & ran out with coffee & would have given us almost everything they had which was not very much as Fritz had taken everything with him we had to give the people 25 per cent of our rations & do not know what they would have done if it had not been for supplies coming from America & it is pitiful to see the way the French people have left everything thing in their homes in lots of cases Fritz has drove the people ahead & others where they have gone back behind over own lines for safety & we are getting all these home for billets. The one I’m in now is all complete with a fine spring bed which we don’t forget to use any chance we get then we have a clock that plays a tune every half an hour of course we turn the hands forward ourselves once in a while & is just as good as a Gramaphone & also breaks the monotony, then there is a lovely mirror over the mantelpiece it must be over 6 feet high with a big massive Oak frame its a lovely piece of furniture & just wish I had it at home.

I left a good billet about 2 days ago there was 2 of us had a great spring bed with white sheets & was about 5 feet from the ground, and had to take a run & jump into bed if you jump too high you hit the ceiling & if you don’t jump high enough well you hit the floor.

Well have still managed to keep my name out of the casualties list I have never heard from Edgar yet but he must be getting along fine.

Will write & ask my Dad about Mr. Leakey. I am sure he knows him, did started nursing & I believe has been promoted already.

Now I must stop & scribble a few pages home hoping to hear from you again shortly.

With best wishes to all & hoping to be home soon

Yours with love

Fred.