mmand is located
in a little town well in the swirl of war, with the guns booming
in the near distance most of the day and night. The "unit under
my command," to put it in official language, lives in a field by
the railhead. We have a pair of first-rate sergeants (R.H.A. and
Infantry) and various very sound A.S.C. n.c.o.s in charge.
Everything goes merrily as a wedding-bell. A gunner officer looks
after the administrative welfare, pay, etc., of the artillerymen,
but the discipline and command of the unit as a whole devolve on
yours truly.

Next door to us across the line there is a concentration camp of
Boche prisoners. They work on the railway all day shovelling
stones in and out of trucks and lorries. To the eternal credit of
England the treatment the prisoners receive, the food supplied to
them, and the conditions under which they live are all of the
very best. They have their being in tents within a barbed wire
enclosure, not too crowded, and have excellent washing facilities
(hot baths once a week), good food and conveniences for its
preparation, including huge camp kettles for cooking--in short,
every comfort possible. The work they do is hard, but no harder
than that many of our own fellows have to do in the normal course
of events. The considerate way in which our prisoners are treated
is a great tribute to British chivalry. An old French soldier,
watching them one day in their camp, said to me: "Vous les
traitez trop bien ces salots." I replied: "Oui, mais c'est comme
ca que l'Angleterre fait la guerre--avec les mains toujours
propres."

I was grieved to hear of the death of Lieutenant Ivor Rees, of
Llanelly. He was a great friend of Arthur and Tom. It is awful,
there is no doubt about it, the sacrifice of these lives cut
short in their prime, but they are not wasted; of that I am
convinced. Besides:

One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.

Lloyd George's Eisteddfod speech was very stirring. I like that
phrase, "The blinds of Britain are not drawn down." I see the
papers are discussing Ministerial changes. I hope whatever
happens that Lloyd George will remain at the War Office--it is
the place where his personality is wanted. I am reading two
interesting French books: Emile Faguet's