Codford
30/10/17
Dear Dad
I received your letter dated Aug 12th last week, also one from Gorrie dated Aug 19th. Everything is going on much the same here. Norman and Neil are still at Aldershot. I had a letter from Norman yesterday, and they seem to like their job there. I am now brought down to B2 so that I will be going back to Sling in a few weeks. I will get another weeks leave from here before going to Sling. The weather here has turned much colder and on Sunday the frost was so heavy that it looked like a fall of snow and all the water was covered with ice. The water in the taps was also frozen. We have plenty of coal in the huts at nights, but we are not allowed to burn it in the daytime. I notice many of the 23rds in the last casualty lists including some of my own platoon. There are some of the main body here, and they are bitterley disappointed at not getting home for a rest. after being led to believe they were, and their opinion of their King and country would not look well on paper. The papers have just announced that Itlgy (miswritten – Italy) has had a big set back (the series of battles at Caporetto where the Italian army lost 300,000 men in October 1917), so that the chance of peace before Xmas looks smaller than ever, but there is always the chance that there is a lot that is never published, otherwise the war will last for a good many years yet.
Vic