July 3/17

Dear Folks:

In my last letter I told you we were going out to rest and I would have a chance to write oftener but our orders were changed and we are up the line again. However I'm just as well satisfied as we will most likely go out next month and the fruit will be ripe. I'm planning on a good rest then. "We haven't been long enough to be so very fed up and we will appreciate it more then.

We are on a little different front this time. So far we haven't been up to the front line but last night we were on a working party almost up there, and Fritz seemed to be quite peaceful. He was doing very little shelling and even his flares were few and far between. We have him pretty well buffaloed around here. In fact we seem to have trouble in finding him at all. I think the U.S. troops will see very little of it but you can never tell.

In one of your letters lately you asked what was the most useful institute at the front. Well without a doubt the Y.M.C.A. leads them all. In fact we could hardly get along without them. They have dugouts right behind the line & sell everything imaginable. For instance last night we were coming home from working party and were hot & tired and thirsty. We passed a Y at 1.15 A.M. and stopped. Well they opened up and sold us buscuits and even made us --25 of us -- hot tea for nothing. Believe me, after a six mile walk to work and a couple of hours working a little refreshment went fine. Then back in reserves they have lending libraries and even have lots of baseball gloves, balls, bats, masks, etc. Every thing of that sort is free and every thing they sell is cost price. In England we paid 4d for a package of Players cigarettes and over here we pay 2 1/2d. They even have yesterday's "Daily Mail" down in the "Y" now, and Brownie has just come in with his arms full of oranges and apricots. No, if the A.S.C. were to quit we could live OK as long as we had money.

I saw by the paper where W.T. was beaten out. Did he resign the mayorality to run for parliament? If he did, then Ed. has lost the only man in town who can run the old burg.

I saw a letter in the University of Albert Newsletter from Red Logan. He and Reg seem to be O.K. and they're alright as prisoners of war. I saw a bunch of Fritz prisoners the other day going out to the "cage". They seemed happy enough but were stripped of souviners by the time they got this far.

As per usual the weather has cleared up for our trip up the line. It always seems to do the raining when we are out of the line which is mighty lucky.

This is all tonight. I'll write when we get to billets again and send a few whiz-bangs in the meantime. I wrote Marg the other day but I'm not sure if I sent it to her present add. It will reach her OK tho' I think.

Love to Everybody

Bill

P.S. If you haven't sent me a few "spots" will you send along a fiver or so? My credit is almost played out. WJM