E. Sandling
Oct 22 -18

Dear Folks:

Well my luck has turned at last and I've had seventeen letter in the last two days - whats more eleven of them were from home so I'm well away now. The queer part of it is that I haven't had any Aug mail - except parcels and I think I got all of them. It seems funny that the letters shouldn't have come too. The 11 I got all ranged from Aug 30 to Sept 27 and beleive me I was glad to get them. Two months is a long time to go without any mail - even in England. the parcels have been coming fine - one every day or so and not all in a bunch. There are six of us - all Canucks - at one table in the mess and lately I've been supplying quite a few "extras". Its got to be a byword now as to whats coming next.

I can't begin to answer all the questions in the letters but I'll do the best I can. As regards pictures - well no one here has a camera but I might get Burnies for awhile. Don't expect anything in flying togs for months yet. The only rank badge we wear is our ordinary cadet white cap band. I get a couple of weeks off Xmas time and I'll be with the fellows then & will try to get some taken. Haven't heard form Chuck - Lynn or Mac yet. I'd like to find out where Chuck is but can't find anyone that knows. Our old "bunch" have been lucky - all of us wounded but none seriously - unless its Lynn - I'm afraid he got it pretty rough. Lawrence is back home - Peener, Chief & Burnie at Bramshott - Chuck & Mac in hospital and yours truly here. I put up a gold stripe here because its an order - altho' I never wore it before. I was only in hospital a few days - well ten to be exact - but it was an Imperial Hospital at Hertzelle, Belgium and I couldn't stand the way things were run so I got out as soon as they would let me. I'm not sure that I told you I was hit at all but it was only a few scratches on the face. I've got a good souvenier tho from it - a little piece of shrapnel in my chin. It isn't big enough to bother getting it taken out. Mac & Jaff were certainly in luck. It seems so queer for other fellows who stick it for two years or more - almost always get killed when they are hit. Well from present prospects iis liable to be over before long. Here's hoping anyway.

Had a letter from Tom Lawlor yesterday & he said he was trying for a homestead for me. He said he was going to see you people about it in a week or so. Yes I would like to have one somewhere up north altho I hardly think I would ever work at it much. Tom told me that Lynn Feurts father had died. Is that right? It will certainly be hard on Lynns mother & sister.

Garfield McConnel has been hit again too. He has certainly seen life in the Army. Haven't heard from Jack Clark yet. If he comes thru' without getting hit - he will be a Capt I guess for the 10th got cut up quite a bit.

Jay was wanting to know who to send some Xmas parcels to. Well its hard to say just now who is left. I haven't had a letter from the B'n yet. Swinny would certainly appreciate a parcel. His add is Pt. Chas. Swinford Scout Section - 1st C.M.R.'s France. Charlie Crothers - a kid from Brandon - is another good scout. He has stuck it for thirty months now & has never been hit or never missed a trip in the line. He went thru Yores '16 - the Somme - Vimy - Hill 70 - Lens - Passchendaele - Amiens - Arras - Cambrail and all the rest of the fighting. & has never been hit. Some record eh! - and he's only 20 now too.
Then there's Cecil Charles Percival Brown - you have heard me speak of Brownie I guess - he's a game little kid & don't get very many parcels - his add is Corp. C.C.P. Brown - "C" Coy 1st C.M.R. - Charlie Crothers is in the Scout Section with Swinny. Then don't forget Peener & Burnie & Chief. They are my three main side kicks & the best of good scouts. Don't bother with them all tho' - just whatever you want to do. - You know Peeners add. don't you? Well Burnie & Chief are the same exactly - R.A. Burnett #911315 and W.R. Spencer # 911270.

Things here are going the same as usual. The Canadians haven't been paid for over a month now so I'm mighty thankful for the cable you sent. You can't imagine how much it has changed the whole situation. Its almost easy to form fours now.

We wrote our mid-term exams last Monday & most of us got by O.K. It was a dead cinch but even at that some failed. All the duds aren't in France yet. I've been doing six words a minute in signalling - not very fast but that all we have to do at this wing. Its the ordinary Morse code that they use in telegraphy.

Went to the theatre at Folkestone on Saturday and saw a pretty fair play - Dear Brutus - It was hard on the imagination but pretty fair for Folkestone.

Well I'll call a halt here. I aught to be getting some mail direct soon shouldn't I? You can suite yourself whether you send it direct here or thru London.

Love to Everybody Bill

Am sending a programme of a concert we had last week. No 3 Squadron put it one. It wasn't bad. Our Squadron are having one this week - Sprigge is signing up I think Bill