Chippenham, Wilts
My Darlingest Chotie,
I'm writing again as I promised to do yesterday.
We had quite a merry little time last night, with the Sergeant Major*. He's turned out a lot better since I got my second stripe. I later learnt that he got it for me! What a life. I don't know whether I'm coming or going lately.
Pete has settled down here and is doing very well, thank you.
Everyone here has taken a sudden dislike to the NCOs. L/Corp. Shingles who is my second-in-command was bashed on the head with a rifle last night when he was asleep. He was laid out flat. I was going to put the platoon on charge but this would stop me going out tonight so I let it go, as I don't think much of Shingles anyway.
I'm writing this stretched out full-length on my kit. Pete is scrounging my cleaning stuff to do his buttons with.
You'd like Clp. McCracken. Blond hair, blue eyes, everything in fact. He's rather hot on Rugger. He was made up a full corp, soon after me.
We had a pretty good church parade this morning. The O.C. was missing but everyone else was there. The preacher (bless his little heart) got quite mad and said “And the next time we pray, you get down and kneel properly.” Mac & I had slept on our slacks all night to get a crease for the parade, and we didn't see kneeling on them. Having no soul, I don't see what difference it makes anyway.
If only I was nearer home, I could see you every Sunday as we now get off from 12 noon until 10:30 p.m. That is of course unless I was on duty of some sort.
There's been scores of fights this weekend as usual as everyone who can get out gets completely and hopelessly tight. They come in looking for trouble and we have to get them to bed somehow even if it means knocking them out, which is often done. They always seem to get up in the morning as right as rain.
Well, Darling, there's no more to tell you, except of course I still adore you and always will,
Your devoted
Dicker
qui t’aime pour la vie.**
* Can this be Sergeant Major Gurd? (see letters from mid September 1940)
** “who loves you for life.”
© Chotie Darling, 2010
19th November 1940 - Canada approved initiation of mass production of war bacteria.
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