St Martins Plain
Shorncliffe Kent
England.
July. 18./15.

Miss Maudelean Carter
Clinton, Ont.

My Dearest Maudie,

I suppose you will be getting tired reading my letters by this time but it will not be long untill I will not be able to write so am going to write as often as I can before we do go away.

We have been putting up tents for the wounded all week, the Camp is about five miles from here we used to go down on the train, we built enough tents for fifteen hundred and at the rate they are coming in they will soon fill them up. They are sending lots of soldiers to France now there must be going to be something doing there pretty soon for they have sent somewhere about five thousand from here this last week so our turn is likely to come any old time, and for my part I don’t care how soon for I am getting sick of this country for it rains every day almost and there is about six inches of mud all around our hut but then we are lucky for there are some of them in huts and the rain almost pours into them So you see we can consider ourselves lucky, but every day our work gets harder they have us drilling all day now with our full pack on, so when a fellow carries seventy or eighty pounds for seven hours a day he generally feels like going to bed when night comes and that is where I go every chance I get for I am getting lazy or else I am tired all the time it can’t be that I am getting lazy (“eh.) “Gee” you should see me doing my washing any day is wash day here so any day you come along you are likely to find me washing but don’t think I wash every day (that is clothes) for I am more likely to leave it for a couple of weeks at a time I am afraid of soiling my hands ha ha.

I have not saw Spearpoint but they tell me he joined the “Suicide club” the Machine Gun section so he must be tired of living for the longest a man stays at that job is about two days so he won’t last long at that; don’t you wish he were back in London or even Clinton eh. Well I guess I should stop such foolishness and write some sense but I hardly know what to write for I have not been out for a couple of weeks and there is nothing going on around here but work and I know you don’t want to know any more about that for you have enough to do. how is your Brother Will, I hope he is keeping better.

We had General Sam Hughes and R.L. Borden here yesterday we had an inspection and there were about sixteen thousand men on parade where we were and there were about twenty thousand more about a mile and a half farther west so Sam & R.L. were having quite a time looking us over.

Am going to send you a handkerchief you will get it shortly after you get this letter. it is one I bought at a place called Folkestone about two miles from our camp, I thought it would make a good cushion top but you can do what you like with it. if I ever get back to Canada I will bring you lots of things there are lots of things I would send you but I am afraid they might not reach you well I thing I will close for this time. I know I will have a letter from you before you receive this but write as often as you can Love for it is mighty lonesome here.

As ever your own true Love
Tom.
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Tell Annie I am well and looking for a letter from her.