osted to the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers (the battalion Norman Kemp was
in!). I shall not be going up the line for a few days, but by the time
your reply to this reaches me I shall be there...."

My diary of that same day, May 28, records: "To Paris Plage in the
evening." And my letter written home the following day proceeds as
follows:

"After writing home yesterday I walked down town, and took a car to the
seaside place opposite. The country through which the car went was
pretty, and the seaside place quite passable; all right in peace-time I
should think. Unfortunately the last car back leaves at 8.15, so I came
by it....

"To-day, Royal Oak Day, we have spent on the 'bull ring' again....

"I have seen David Morgan (who was in the same billet with me when we
were privates together in the 29th Royal Fusiliers at Oxford, in
January, 1916) this evening. I managed to find the C.R.E. offices where
he works. He saw me, and came out to me. I went inside. He is very cosy
there, in a nice new hut. He was working at a drawing. His hours daily
are from 9 in the morning until 8 in the evening; but, as I had come, he
managed to get a pass to go down town with me this evening. We therefore
had a walk. He looks very well with his stripe, and he seems to be
having a good time. He desires to be remembered to you both. I left him
at about 8. Then I had dinner at the Officers' Club, but was not struck
by it....

"It is now 'lights out,' so I had better stop."

"May 30th.

" ... We spent the day on the 'bull ring' as usual. It has been fine. We
have not, I am thankful to say, had any rain at all since I landed in
France on Saturday last.

"This evening I have spent parading the streets of the town. I have
become heartily 'fed up' with the dirty antediluvian place. Morgan
actually, after nine solid months of residence here, says that he likes
it and the people. I could not have imagined that there were many of
the latter whose acquaintance would be particularly charming; but he
speaks upon the authority of long experience!"

I also wrote down the following note at that time while I was still in
Etaples:

"One noticeable thing to-day (May 30) has been the number of men and
transport which have been passing through on the trains all day and
going north, obviously coming from one part of the Front and going round
this way, to avoid the observation of the Germans, to another. We are
massing troops round the great city where gre