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Date: February 28th 1916
To
Dear Ones All
From
Eric
Letter

Royal Flying Corps, Norwich
28 Feby, 1916.

Dear Ones All,

Well another week has gone by and I am still here and more or less resigned by this time to my fate, though I haven’t given up hope of having another try at the flying game a little later on.

I received from Father to-day Aunt Jeanne’s letter telling about Mrs. Cocker’s kind offer to have me visit her in Wales, and by the same mail came a letter from Mrs. C. herself inviting me very cordially to visit there. It certainly is good of her for of course, she hasn’t the foggiest idea whether I am a regular mutt or not. But I am a long way from Wales and it is doubtful if I shall ever be able to take advantage of her hospitality.

Bun Robinson and Neil van Nostrand are both off to the front. Bun leaves immediately, and Neil went about two weeks ago.

From all accounts Farnborough is a very desirable location, right next door to Aldershot, less than an hour from London, and has the finest mess of any unit in the Corps. So for the few weeks that I shall be there I am pretty sure to be mighty comfortable at any rate. Incidentally I shall be close to all those Canadian chaps who are encamped in the Aldershot area, and that is the best feature of all. I am afraid I shall have to ask you to send over my evening clothes. I had no idea that I should need them when I came over, but in the Flying Corps we are at liberty to put on mufti whenever we are not on duty, and at mess everyone “dresses” either in ordinary dinner coat & black vest & tie or in the gorgeous regulation red and blue mess kit. So far we Canadians have beer permitted to wear "clean khaki and slacks" but as it now looks as though I might be in England for some time I shall have to have proper evening togs. I have no dinner coat and shall have to have one made here. I think I can count on Father making up the parcel without leaving anything out, including both a while and a black vest and my pumps.

I had a long letter from Mrs. Gorham the other day telling about the efforts they are making in Halton & Dufferin towards recruiting. It sounds as though they had virtually a form of conscription in that part of the province. I suppose it must be pretty much the same in Bruce.

I was glad to get Jessie’s letter and to hear that Pat and little Alex are both deep into military affairs. This will be all for to-night, Dear People, but I am sending you some snap-shots- six in all- and all of them I think quite censor proof. Please pardon a punk letter but news seems scarce this week.

Yours with much love,
Eric.

P.S. Did I tell you that dear little Gladys Creamer knitted me a Balaclava cap and sent it to me along with a sweet little note. Wasn’t it nice of the kid to go to all that trouble for me!

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Original Scans