10th August 1916
Dollie has asked Arthur to retrieve some of her brother Evie’s kit and Clarke is now in charge of Company “A”; more wedding plans – Arthur has hopes that the CO and Colonel Howell will both be able to attend and instructs Dollie on how to address the invitations; Arthur fervently wishes the rotten war would end – he just wants to go home and marry Dollie.
Arthur to Dollie
Thurs. 6pm
Your dear letter of Sunday came to-day. I was awfully pleased to get it. The weather to-day is very heavy & cloudy. It has been trying to rain but not very effectually D.G.
I’m so sorry you hadn’t yet received Wednes letter – it ought to have turned up by Saturday. The mails are jolly good as a rule – but occasionally they delay and its so hard to go without news.
I’ll try to find out for you, darling, about Evie’s cording – though I cannot promise any success to the search. Clarke is now in command of “A”.
About invitations, darling: I think it best that I ask those at home to send me their list. Then I can look through it & add what I want & send it on to your Mater; don’t you agree? About the Colonel, dear. I think he will continue in charge of the school for a bit. His address as such is Lieut Col. A. Anthony Howell CMG Commandant 56th Divisional School of Instruction. Then for Sammy it will be necessary to send two, one to him as CO & one to the Officers of 1 / 3rd London Regt RF.
Yes, darling, the Battalion came up at the end of last week, but D.V. by the time you receive this we shall be out again. The trenches need a great deal of work & there are still a lot of dead lying around.
News continues good all round: its tophole. I only wish this rotten war would end: I want to come home … I’m looking forward to next leave – I scarcely dare think of it…