Ward 16
No 1 New Zealand General Hospital
Brockenhurst, Hants
June 21st 1918
Dear Mum,
I am still at the hospital but I am up and able to go down to the village so the chances of a relapse are getting more and more remote. If all goes well Neil and I will be going on leave today week. We will have a fortnights leave and will then return to Eweshott for graduated training. There is little chance of either of us being anywhere the firing line before September at the earliest. I got five letters from NZ the day before yesterday. Many thanks for the birthday card. It was one day late, but still that is as near the date as could be expected.
I spent a comfortable and lazy birthday – plenty to eat and nothing to do but read and make myself comfortable in an easy chair. Not bad that for a soldier on active service. The letters were dated from 16/4/18 to 1/5/18 as I had received all letters before that and these latest account for every Sunday between those two dates it seems as if I have been lucky enough to have received all letters sent so far.
I don’t know whether you remember Mr Walker from whom I had physical culture lessons about four years ago. I saw him yesterday. He has a job in the clothing store of the hospital. I am sending a few postcards of Brockenhurst village. I am going to try and get postcards of every place I go to after this. No more news.
Norman