Feb 21, 1916
Dear Bro & Sister,
Your most welcome letter to hand which I received this week. Glad to say that I am still kicking but would like to get a nice little blighty, one good enough to get me back to old Canada. It's getting rotten out here but I guess by the time you get this letter the big drive will be starting & the first Div will be in it by the looks of things. So I will get a chance to strafe old Fritz with the bayonet.
Gerald's bunch got cut up pretty bad last week. I haven't seen anything of Gerald lately but I guess he is still alive. Len Gavel has got a job in the bush somewhere back of the lines so he is alright for the rest of the war. Rosy Souter is batman to one of the Engineer officers, bomb proof job.
Say Jim, you would be surprised at Rosy. Why he is that scared of the trenches the other day his officer gave him a message to take up the line & Rosy gave one of the boys five francs to take it for him. He told me that he didn't like the shells good enough to go up to them trenches. I have got quite a bit of money coming from the C.P.R. so if everybody was the same as Rosy there wouldn't be very much fighting done.
What do you think Jim? I haven't seen anything of A. Cann, A. Angel, & the rest of the boys lately. Dave Travis is still with us. He is sanitary man this last month. Gee you would laugh to see him empty the pails & ask him whether he would sooner be making trip tickets out. He said you dam right I would.
Say Jim, do you remember a fellow name Jack Murray, a brakeman? He says he remembers you when you fired out of Moose Jaw. Well he is in the 10th with me.
I am glad to say that I received the parcels OK. I see they have got quite a bunch of your fellows out here. They are way back of the lines. I don't know whether they are going to bring them all here or not.
Well we haven't had any snow yet but lots of rain & it's mighty damned cold. I think I have told you all this time.
Trusting this finds you both in the best of health as it leaves me the same.
With best love from bro
Sid
