Somewhere in Belgium,

Feb. 20th 1916.

Dear Ollie:-

Yours and Bob’s letter of the 2nd arrived yesterday and was very pleased to hear that none of you were on the sick list. Almost every letter I get from Canada contains more or less news of how bad the La Grippe has been over there. Was also pleased to hear that Bob’s business has been better. I had a letter from Mother and she said that Dads business had been picking up.

It has been much livelier along this part of the front lately but there have been no changes of any account take place.

We have had some rather exciting little air raids lately. They are almost a daily occurrence now and we are getting used to them. The other day three of them came over and put a good one over on us. They were flying so low that we were doubtful as to whether they were ours or not but when the bombs commenced exploding we knew different. They dropped eleven bombs altogether. One of the chauffeurs of the corps flopped down alongside of a log and a bomb dropped not more than five feet on the other side of it. The hole it made came right up to the log. He was all covered with mud but wasn’t scratched. This morning while we were eating breakfast a bunch of them came over and commenced dropping things and our sergeant-major acme in and got a bunch to go out with rifles and ammunition, the first time I ever heard of it, and it was funny. There was one fellow walking around with his rifle under one arm and eating away at a piece of bread and jam. When breakfast was over and we got settled down again and I was just lathering my face for a shave the bombs commenced dropping again. They came over a second time. They are apt to be over again for the weather conditions are great.

There is a rest camp just across the road from us where men are sent that are not sick enough or wounded bad enough to be sent to a base hospital. The R.G.M.C. boys who are attached to it have a choir of twenty and they gave a concert the other night. I just wish you could have heard it. They sang some beautiful choruses. Their leader is a sergeant-major and he has evidently had a lot of experience in choir work by the way he handled them. They sang one chorus, I think the name of it was the “Martyrs in the Arena.” It is supposed to be a description of the slaughter of Christians in the early days and is recognized in the Old Country as a test chorus. It certainly was a beautiful thing. There was also some comic solos, quartets etc. While we were sitting there enjoying it all old Fritz was trying to break through the lines about six miles away from us and I understand that a number of the boys that took part in the concert received orders to “stand to” that same night. Isnt it a funny war? That is the way it goes on though. There is a moving picture place in a town not very far away and while one bunch are in the trenches, the other bunch is taking in the movies.

Well Ollie I must sing off for now. Kindest regards, best wishes, and love to all.

Sincerely

Percy

Address

#362, Coy 1.
C.O.R.C.C.
B.E.F.
Army Postoffice
London
Eng.