No. 176

Major GS Andrews, RCE

10 Cdn Air Svy Liaison Sec

First Cdn Army Overseas

18 July 43

Dear Jean:

Well it isn't long since my last letter, but this one will even up the weekly schedule. Things have been a bit mixed up as far as I'm concerned the last few days, but I hope tomorrow that the situation will be clarified. At any rate it has been interesting, and may have some agreeable consequences later on. I hope so anyway. Like so many other things, I will have to tell you all about it when I get back.
Your letter of the 4th arrived on Friday, and was very welcome. I will be looking forward to seeing the latest pictures, of both my best girls. When I was up river last week, we stopped at one place where the only person about was a little girl. She said her name was Diana, and she was four. A sweet wee child, and of course I tried to imagine what it would be like to be talking to our Mary.

Am glad the mail is reaching you regularly too, although I'm afraid my letter before this one will be a few days late, I begin to look for yours on Wednesdays, it usually comes on Thursdays, and occasionally Friday. Often I am out all day, up in London or various places, and on these days always hurry home, hoping that your message will be waiting. Our move a couple of weeks ago does not seem to have delayed our mail much. I know the boss of the army postal service, Major Bloomfield, from the PO in Victoria, and he gives us the best of service. He is a good friend of mine, we shared the same room at Corps HQ the winter before last. It is going to be fun when we all get home to have these fellows up to the house to meet my wife, and you will like all of them, for they are the best of fellows. When you are at Swannells sometime, you may have met Kim Rathbone. Two f the officers in this unit to which my section is attached for rations and quarters were with Kim up in the Yukon on survey work. One is Major Sam Gamble, and the other is Lieut Stewart. Gamble is from Ottawa, and Stewart is from Vancouver and Victoria. He worked for McCaw, and knows Frank, although Frank may have forgotten him.

I cycled over to Shoelands on Friday after work, to celebrate Mary's and Ecila's combined birthdays. Ecila had a friend down from London for the week end, Mrs Kilgood. Her husband is a Col in the RE's, and is out in West Africa somewhere, probably with my friend Rothery. Their son has been a prisoner in Germany for nearly 4 years. It took me less than an hour to cycle over there, and it is a pleasant ride, and of course gives me a welcome bit of exercise and fresh air. We had a nice salad supper, and an interesting evening's conversation. Oh yes, and we had a delicious lemon pudding made with your powdered lemon and eggs from their 6 faithful old hens.

Well this looks like the end for tonight.

LOVE TO YOU BOTH....

GER.