Cambridge Hospital
Aldershot
9th Nov 1917
Dear Dad
We are now entering upon our sixth week at the hospital and there is still no word of a move of any sort so it seems quite possible that we are in for a much longer stay here than was first intended. Now that we have stopped so long it seems just possible that we will be kept her until the winter is over. Everything is going on A.1. and both of us are as sound as ever we were and Neil spends most of his spare time playing snooker and billiards. As he wins nearly every game it costs him next to nothing so he is not doing any harm except running a grave risk of suffering from acute swelling of the head. (I have been beaten again)
Convoys of wounded are arriving every third night now on the average and as a convoy means getting out of bed somewhere about midnight and doing anything from 1 to 3 hours work you can imagine that they are not particularly welcome, more especially as we go on duty at 6.30 am as usual. It is pretty well dark when “Reveille” blows at 6 am and fairly cold too, but not nearly so bad as I expected it to be. Of course, winter is still to come, but we are getting on that way and I dont think it will trouble us so very much if we spend it where we are now. As I write there is a fine, bright coal fire burning in the grate not four feet away, and I have taken my boots off and have got my feet well warmed so on the whole “Yours Truly” is fairly cozy and comfortable. I think somehow I could stand quite a lot of this. Neil is reading to-nights London “Star” and is giving me his opinion of the Russian situation and the war in general. If Mum starts worrying about us you can tell her that the chances are that we are doing nothing more desperate than washing up dishes or carting about drums of dressings or something of that sort. I had an interruption just then. I had to knock off to eat a lump of cake. One of our fellows has had one sent from N.Z. and is passing it round the fire. Soup is being served out at the cook house and we are going down soon to get ours. It doesn’t sound very much like the hardships of war does it? I am enclosing some views of Aldershot and one of the hospital. No more news.
Merry Christmas to all
and best wishes from
Norman
Convoy tonight. What oh!