Letters From the Front

Dated: December 26, 1915

LETTERS FROM THE FRONT

James Mann received [the] following letter from his brother Arthur at the front yesterday. It shows the 31st to be in the trenches:-

Belgium, Dec. 26, 1915

Dear Jim,

It is the day after Christmas now and I am still going. Received your parcel yesterday and I was sure glad to get it. This is the only one that has reached me so far. We sure did have a good time on Christmas day. There were about fifteen of us put in five francs each and bought a lot of eatables and made a table by laying our ground sheets on the floor of a barn with a pile of rifles in the centre and gathered a bunch of holly and trimmed it up. We had a pile of oranges and the rest was canned goods, peaches with condensed cream, lobster, salmon, pork and beans, sausages, roast beef, pickles and finished with plum pudding and Christmas cake, which came in different parcels. We had cigars and finished the night by all the "bombers" and the band, what is left of it, joining in and having a time. Well, we had songs and music all night.

The R.F.A. (Imperial Service) were with us. they are a fine bunch and have been here for fifteen months, so that we did not do so badly. Of course, Bill (meaning Billy Jackson)¹ and Corp. Des. George² were here. When you find one, you find all the Red Deer boys. We go back to the trenches tomorrow ready to meet Fritz if he takes an idea that he can get past us, but I am afraid that he is out of luck when the 31st is in the trenches.

ARTHUR