g courtyard, and a long tower at the gateway. The men sleep in huts
round and in barns; we have a large mess-room, with a sort of camp
beds on which we sleep. We have a huge fire, which we keep going, and
we have piles of crockery and tableclothes, &c., which we have
"borrowed." The first night there was an officer of the Company we
relieved who had apparently a little too much to drink, and,
unfortunately, got thrown from his horse three times and was found
unconscious in a ditch, and has quite wrongly been charged with being
drunk, and is going to be court martialled. I am a witness for the
defence; we have with us at present two officers of his company who
have to stay behind for the court martial. The first day we were in we
slept in huts, but it was so terribly cold that the night after we
shifted our beds into the mess-room. The first day, Carroll and I went
a tour of the trenches; they are topping trenches, we sought and
found many things to devour and destroy. Finally, we came to a road,
where we asked the way, and were directed to go up it. We went up it
until we came to a low barricade, and looking over it, to find our
trenches just below and the Bosche trenches about 200 yards peeping at
us. Crack, crack; we returned to try again, only to find ourselves up
in the firing line. Finally, we succeeded in getting home all right
rather tired. We had a pleasant dinner, and got a large wood fire made
with ammunition boxes. The next day being Sunday we had breakfast at
10-0 in pyjamas and fur coats, and went a walk in the afternoon.

To-day we went up to the trenches and worked hard (?) all day
emplacing guns, and making dug-outs, &c. I lunched and tea'd with the
Scots, and returned in the pouring rain.

Much love to all, from your loving Son,
ALEC.

101/1 TRENCH MORTAR BATTERY,
101ST BRIGADE, B.E.F.
Sunday, April 2nd.

My darling Mother,--

I am afraid that in the last week or two I have not been writing so
well, but as you know when you become used to a life, and nothing
exciting is happening, there is little news, and there is not much
that strikes me as interesting to tell. When you begin to accept
things in the ordinary course of things, it is difficult to feel that
trivial occurrences o