Batts Hotel,
Dover Street,
London
Dear Mother and Father,
Well, I am on leave, which is the chief thing, and I am very lucky to have it as it has been stopped for some time. Only specials given. My O.C. and Brigade have been trying to get me leave for months, but the heads would not give it. I think they must have got tired of having my name sent in every few days and let me go for their own peace. I am in great form and very fit. The weather has taken up a bit too, which is good.
Had an Australian mail yesterday. From all accounts the rain must have done a lot of damage, but the after effects will be good. I last wrote two days before I left France. We have been waiting for fine weather the last five or six weeks to pull off the biggest show yet known, but the weather has been so bad they have been putting it off from day to day, which was rather trying as you never knew when the heads would start. There was great excitement just before I left. The show was off. One battery will go out for a week's rest, per brigade. We won the toss in our brigade and duly got under way, all feeling very happy. Of course, we knew we could not get away from the mud, but the noise and duty would not worry us. We got nearly to our appointed rest camp (merely an open field) about 10 miles from the battery position when a motor-bike orderly caught us and gave us a chit saying, 'You will be in action tonight about six p.m. Poor men, when they heard the news their faces did drop. It was very hard luck as it meant no rations, wet clothes and we would not get the guns in till late. But there it was. By this same orderly my leave warrant arrived. I was never so surprised in all my life. The O.C. made me buzz off right away, in case they tried to stop me, which was rather decent.
I had a rotten trip over, but you can put up with a lot with leave in front of you. It took three days travelling. Of course, you have to take your chance with trains as therer is no special leave train. Meals were the hardest things to get. All my meals consisted of omelettes comprised of six eggs, but I will know better going back and take a supply of food with me. These old goods trains go a bit faster than you can run and are continually held up. The channel did for me. It was rather rough and the boat we came on was rather small. No sleeping accommodation. We came by Havre and Southampton. We used our life-belts as mattresses, which took a little of the hardness out of the deck. We were put onboard at six p.m., expecting to sail at any minute, but did not get away until six a.m. next morning. I was very so-so next morning, a rough sea and an empty stomach did not help very much and I lay on the deck not caring much whether submarines or mines hit us. I made up for lost meals on arrival here. I have seen Mim, Aunt Lu and Coo and I am going to them for the day, then on to Mrs Norman Armytage to tell her how Charlie is. Mim is looking better than when I last saw her but seems to be working hard. There is great excitement about Walford and his Military Cross out here.
I saw Mrs Philip Russell and she told me she is going out to Australia so she will be able to tell you how we are.
I am going to try to give you a scheme so as to be able to tell you in which part of the line we are, without getting into trouble from the censor, We are now in what is known as the Serrie front. In my letter, I will put a capital on the first page and a dot over letters in other words which make it up. For example, if I write, 'S, Tell Estelle I got a letter from her this week and was very pleased' and put a dot over E, r, r, i and e, you will be able to read, 'Serrie'. I hope you will be able to follow the scheme. It will always be the name of some town or village.
I shall stop now and try to write again.
With love from your loving son
Bertie
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