Series 2 Jack McNaughton part 1

5/

You spoke of ploughing. Well I saw a farmer ploughing no later than yesterday. The weather over here is not so awfully cold, but it is damp and very raw with a deuce of a lot of rain thrown in. This of course makes mud, up to ones waist in some places.

I forgot to mention that treadmills for threshing are in style over here. A single horse gets on this thing and has to keep going or he will get in wrong. The farm implements are very old fashioned.

You have seen pictures of ruined villages etc. Well, they are not exaggerated one particle. It sure is awful what a modern bombardment will do.

This is all for now Sis. You will understand about me keeping mum when I was sick and think it is by far the best policy.

With love and best regards to all

Yours as ever,

Jack

YMCA logo On Active Service [postmark[ Toronto, ONT Jan 25 12 pm 1917

Miss N. McNaughton, Granton, Ontario, Canada. RR#1

[stamp] Passed Field Censor 1364 [signature written up the left side] A.A. Richardson

Somewhere Jan'y 5th/ 1917 Dear Sis: Yours of the 18th ult. received and was glad to hear from you. In all I received ten epistles tonight and only two from the same place. One was from Oliver and he was OK at time of writing. We have concerts, practices etc, pretty often over here, but they are of a slightly different nature. Tell Norman he don't know what old clothes are, or how a new suit looks after one trip in the line. It bothered me for about two minutes, and then prenez Garde was finee. Am actually surprised at Aunt Mary. Guess I better send over a few full grown rats or a parcel of "itchy coos" so they

2/ cane be distributed at these Mother's meetings. I suppose a bomb would answer the purpose but guess all the sane bags are out here. Perhaps there are not enough titled ladies going on that raid to send Aunt Mary. Tell her there is a Cripples' Guild coming and she must be a member of that society. I haven't rec'd the box yet Sis but sure am greatly obliged to you folks for sending one. A parcel was mailed to me from Toronto Nov 7th and it arrived the 26th ult so you see it took it own time. I might say I was hungry one day up the line and I ate black currants, also that I have tasted Xmas cake and plum pudding but I dont think I better write my thoughts concerning the latter two because Jessie would have to study religion

3 again to tell her brother in sin what a wicked world this was and what poor cooks were in it. Guess Jessie was and is so worried about the attention Tom Hill paid to the other young lady that she hasn't time to waste over yrs truly, but if I ever get back to Granton she wants to have an eye for me. Granton must be some "villers" now to have a newspaper eh? I suppose items like this will appear- A rain cloud passed over the village this am but was too busy to stop. So Manworthy was firing on the GBR eh? Wonder why he don't tackle a mans job and fire in the line? Well Sis as usual there is not much I can tell you. We were out of the line for Christmas and New Years and are still out for rest and training but mostly