Christmas 1916

Dear Mother:-

Well I suppose that all the folks at home can tell its Christmas day at any rate but that is more than we can. We spent Christmas Eve on the roadside having drawn up about 6.30 pm We stayed up about the lorries a little later than usual and sang some songs for awhile. Christmas morning we started forward again and drove all day till about 5.30pm. For lunch Christmas day we had a tin of herrings in tomato sauce and at night for dinner we had a piece of cold bacon we had boiled and a piece of plum pudding which was sent from England for all the troops. We had half a pound each. Christmas evening, or night I suppose you would say it is, and we get more rain so I will get to bed as soon as I finished this letter.

This is the rainy season here and we get rain every day and owing to the heat we have heavy lightning and thunder storms heavier than I have ever seen before.

I have had no mail whatever for over a month and a half so I don’t know what the news at home is since the time school started and camping out time. You see the last letters I got were written four months ago or more.

The roads here are bad and we are held up for three and four days sometimes waiting for road repairs. This usually happens in some wilderness away from any camp.

Well Mother I hope to get some mail before New Years anyway and perhaps someone has mailed a parcel with a few tasty things in it. Quite a lot of the boys have had parcels and I have had a piece of cake or biscuits.

I haven’t any news to write so I guess I will have to close this letter and get it on its way in the morning. I am hale and hearty and still able to eat so I expect a person would say in good health. Hoping you are all well and having a good Christmas and New Year I will close with love to all

Harold.