Item 03: John Chute (Jock) Ellis letters, 1915-1917, with letter from T. C. Ellis, 1917 - Page 16

[Page 16]

the North of France never developed the characteristic Frenchman – impulsive & passionate.

But tell John it is almost miraculous the way grass, clover & crops grow here: at a most prodigious rate, and of course the land bears very heavy crops.

The farmers in some places proceed quietly within 1½ miles of the front lines – thats the closest I know of: the tendency is for the Military to keep them further back.

At Fleur Baix [Fleuxbaix] (Flanders) an old woman had her house with in 3000 yds; there were shrapnel holes in her roof but she calmly went on: one of her young calves was killed by a shell bursting prematurely from a battery gun behind her house. Curiously at Armentieres the electric light was supplied from Lille, the latter in German