Letter to Mother - TN Wilmot
Sunday 26 July 2015
[KW date 26 July 1915]Dug Out Davies s/tMy dear motherVery many thanks for both your letters and the razor blades. You may be surprised to hear that I got two letters from you yesterday. Well one of them is the one that you sent to me at Devonport just as I came out to France. It is wonderful that it should have turned up after all this time. I'll send you the envelope back as a curio. It has been to both the 1st and 3rd Battns and also Rgs 7, 8 and 10 at the base.By the way I have never heard a word fromt he school about those footers so I'll write myself. I have received two parcels from Aunt Esther. I got one yesterday. She has been very good in sending things out to me. And thankyou so much for the chocolate which you Muriel and Joyce sent to me. I wrote and thanked Meriel yesterday. I hope Palmerston House Ross will reach her.I have not found a user for the elemac[?] razor blades but there has to be somebody. One of the sergeants probably.H. Daubeny came up from the base yesterday with 25 men. I had 1 corporal and 4 men of them came to my Platoon. I knew them all which was useful. The corporal is an especially promising fellow. He is only 19: and not been up here before. I would rather have half the men new to trench life than all used to it I think. Perhaps you'll understand why, but it doesn't do the men's nerves too good to have been out here too long.We had a note from the Germans on Wednesday night. They gave us rapid rifle & machine gun fire intermingled with whizz bangs for 10 minutes. I was just going out in front with a corporal to reconnoitre when they started. Lucky they did not leave it till 5 minutes later. However we went out and did what we wanted when they calmed down.There's fun starting so I must turn off.Your loving son TomPS My platoon is in the front line. I have not seen Daubeny yet as he is in reserve.I hope you'll be able to get those stocking puttees. They are just like puttees on stockings. They go over the boot. We came in here on Wednesday evening.