49.083 - ALS to Aut

3rd Officer Cadet Batt. B. Corp. Albany Barracks Parkhurst Isle of Wight Thursday 15 Aug 1918.

[text in upper left corner] Every body has tea at four o'clock I am always so hungry I make a meal of it Bread & Butter. Jam & tea. then dinner at 7.30 - R.

My Dear Aut.

As this afternoon is set aside for sports and I am ^too stiff to enter into any strenuous exercises. I arrived here last Friday afternoon after having a very fine holiday in London.

Reg came over about a week after I landed and we had a week together and then I had to go to my school. Reg looks very much the same old boy. he has not changed any that I can see. I did not know that he had his third star up, he said he got it in March and he has been mentioned in despatches twice. We took in a show together. The Purple Mask. it was fine, we had dinner together down town at the different hotels and it was a sight to see the women drinking and smoking cigarettes and incedentally looking to see what poor fish they can get a hold of if they have not already done so. as far as Reg and I were concerned we were just looking thank you and it was worth the money.

I had a most enjoyable time in London especially when Reg came. but before that I had seen nearly all the great sights. The Parliament Bldg. Westminster Abbey. St. Margarets Church where all the fashionable weddings etc take ^place. Old Curiosity Shop. by the way I sent you a little do-funny from there, if you dont like it save it for me. then we went down to The Old Cheshire Cheese Inn. the oldest saloon in London, here I had a real beer. you might tell Bob this to make him mad. Then one other day we went thro St Pauls Cathedral. Bank of England, Royal Stock Exchange and London Tower. and by the time I had gone thro these I was pretty well tired of looking at old statues, Monuments, prison dungeons & etc. One other day we went out to Windsor and went thro Eton College and Windsor Castle. While we were in London it rained nearly every day but down here the weather has been ideal. While in London I saw Chu-Chin-Chow - Nurse Benson, and Going Up. Chu Chin Chow was very fine. certainly a wonderfuly play and Nurse Benson was good too. Going Up was kind of crazy & then Reg & I saw the Purple Mask.

Reg says Ted is a wonderful big fellow he says he sees him every so often and says he is in a very good position at the signalling school, better than further up nearer the front line.

The school here is very nice and if I can get on to the English way of doing things I will be alright. there are only two of the draft here and we are the only two Canadians in the battalion. There are some Australians and New Zealanders here. this is the first class they have had colonials. They go in for sports more than anything else here cricket & rowing & etc.

I hope to have my walking-out uniform in about three weeks and I will sent you a snapshot.

You and Stan are the only ones I have heard from and I have done nothing else but write letters. So write and tell me all the news With Best love to all. Brother Cadet Harry.

Tell Helen to write me. R./