Just a letter to let you know that I am in the best of health and hope you are the same. France isn't very much different from England, but it's very old fashioned and rather cold and wet where we are. We are moving again. I don't know whether we shall go in the firing line or not. They have had a lot of fighting, and some of our N.C.O's have had some narrow escapes. When the German aeroplanes try to pass over our lines, the shells burst in dozens round them. It's hard to hit them, but we can see them turn tail and hurry back. I see we have general compulsion now. They mean to make sure of winning the war, but things will have to go a bit quicker than they are now. So there's been a row in the Fitting shop about the money. I don't blame them getting all they can, though they would find a difference on this job at 7/- a week. It would be all right here if we had a bit more to eat. All the chaps are complaining about it. I'm not sorry I came over here, but now I'm here I don't want the war to last too long. If it 's over by Christmas, I shall be satisfied. In any case, I shall try and get a leave when I have been out here about 3 months.

This is a letter which I wrote about 2 weeks ago, and I just found it.