[Page 42]
[Letterhead of Y.M.C.A]
[Printed text]
For God, For King & For Country.
Y.M.C.A.
With the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
Patron
Y.M.C.A. National Council.
H.M. The King.
Patron
Military Camp Dept.
H.R.H. Duke of Connaught.
Dec 29th 1917
Dear Aunt
Just a few lines to let you know that I am quite well again & hope you are all in the best of health. We are expecting to go back to the regiment today, we was warned two days ago to go, but have not heard nothing since.
Well we had the most misserable Xmas imaginable, in fact the worst Xmas put in in all my life. When we whent to bed on Xmas Eve it was nice & fine, but at half past two in the morning we had to get up, as our tent was under water & our blankets & just about every thing we possessed was under water, we had to stand up till daylight, & when you could see it was just like looking out on a lake water every where. There is a waddie right close to us & when we whent to bed it was dry & in the morning it was running a banker & it is fully twenty feet deep, there was dead horses being washed down it.
The funny thing about it here, is that it dries up nearly as quick as it gets wet. My word there is no doubt that it fairly pours when it rains here, I believe it can rain more here in ten minutes than it could in two hours home there, I never saw rain like it before.