Chisledon Camp, Wilts England

Aug 3/16

Dear Father,

It is twenty minutes to eight and I shall not have long for this letter, but though short it is important. Enclosed you will find an application form and a letter to President Falconer. If he is not in the city I wish you would ask Professor Alexander if he would fill out the forms but the President would be better if possible. Also if you have my B.A. diploma please enclose it with the application form when you send it back to me. If not, will you please get it from the Registrar and send it. Also if you can get hold of Austin Campbell will you ask him whether a short note from himself I being a military man of some degree of importance I would be of any assistance! And please ask Mother to give me Henry Jamesson’s address. If he is still in the city she could invite him up to ten, and then you could ask him to write and tell me when his company is coming over and perhaps he would be willing to speak to Capt Wallace and ask his advice.

In the mood I am at present I am determined to try and get a commission at any cost. I am afraid I had too good a time at the hospital because now I am back at camp it seems absolutely impossible for me to adapt myself to conditions. Things are so crowded that I can’t keep track of anything and have already lost my hat, a towel, my razor and several other things. Then the drill is simply the limit. When you come back from a cycle ride you are simply plastered with dust and sweat and there is only a tiny little bath house with one shower for the whole training center. There are just two taps for the Canadians to wash out and as for my dishes I can’t keep them clean at all. Everything is so filthy that I haven’t got the heart to make any resistance and am becoming a fearful pig. However I still have a sense of humour.

Was out on my first cycle ride this morning. Got as far as Marlborough and had to drop out – couldn’t keep up the pace or make the hills. In spite of the fact that I was in hospital over three weeks I don’t think I am going to get any leave. Wishing already that I could get some more measles from somewhere. Sometimes I am greatly puzzled to know what to do. Everything seems to be all right with me internally and yet I don’t seem to be quite strong enough to keep up.  Bill wants to be transferred to the Cyclists and I don’t like to ask for hit transfer because I am afraid that I might not be able to go to France and he says he wouldn’t want to be in the Corps if we couldn’t keep together. I wish I could land a job like Earle has in the record office at London. It makes me so sore at times to feel that I am good for nothing in the army except to clean Sergeants wheels and do the dirty work around the camp.

Mother doesn’t need to worry about my safety as an officer. I almost think that it is safer for the simple reason that you get looked after better. As a private you have to be half dead before the docs will pay the slightest attention to you. Besides I shall try to get into the Intelligence department or something like that. By the way I got the parcel which she and Aunt Nat. sent me from Bal[?]Lake the other day. I was awfully glad to get the razor and handkerchief but I hope they won’t send any more parcels just at present. You see I don’t know where on earth to keep them. The officers have a new game, land of a [?] and go seek affairs. You are not allowed to have anything in your tent in the day time and there are strict orders to the effect that loots, boxes etc must be kept out of sight. The natural thing is to stick them under your blankets but to day the orderly officer started looking under the blankets and giving orderly room to the men whose boxes were hidden there. The whole idea of the army is to make you do what is totally unreasonable and physically impossible and then punish you severly if you fail to do it. We have a new C. O. Now a Capt Goodwithe back from the front he is fearfully strict but pretty square on the whole I think. What I hate about our present system of dealing out injustice is that for a crime a man has to be tried before the O.C. of the whole training centre Col Eastwood who is of course an Englishman. He gave one of our fellows seven days in prison to day for insubordination. As a matter of fact the offense consisted of his not answering one of the lieutenants when addressed. He had just come from a long cycle ride and was so utterly done out that he couldn’t speak.

I wish the Government had enough sense to offer reasonable terms of peace to Germany. They would be sure to be accepted and this business has gone on too long by far.

Well I shall have to close. I hope Father that what I have asked you to do won’t take too much of your time or five you a great deal of trouble. Your knowing Pres Falconer so well will be of more to me I think. Have been very [?] interested in a letter from Dal. And glad to hear you are having such a great time.

Much love to all at home,

George