Throughout the month of November we will be posting excerpts
from a selection of wartime correspondence between Pte. Sefton Stewart of the
77th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and his family in Richmond,
Ontario. The complete letters will be on
display at the Stittsville Public Library in the Museum's exhibit honouring
Goulbourn in wartime.
This is letter number six:
Somewhere in France – September 22, 1916
Dear Mother:
Received
your letter written Sept. 5th the other day, being very glad to hear
from you all. Today I got letters from
Clystal, Jonathan and Austin Dilworth.
I
suppose George is back from the Fair. If
he went, I hope he made out good; anyway it would be a good time for him. I am writing this in a dugout on my
knees. By the time you receive this, the
Richmond fair will be over. Hope there
is fine weather for it. It has been very
wet here lately, making the trenches very muddy and miserable.
We are
now unable to send mail regularly as we were before. As you know, it has to be censored by our own
officers. How did Pa and George get
along with the grain? There must have
been a splendid crop on the six acres.
They
are now holding the Germans down very good but they are sure hardy guys. There is great talk of the war being over by
Xmas, so they are rushing things at all points.
I am
sure that Eric would have a splendid trip west, together with the other Richmond
lads. How are Channon and Willie getting
along?
You
mentioned in your last letter about Sam McFee’s brother getting shot in the leg
being an accident, but it wasn’t. It was
a bullet from a machine gun that hit him while out working.
I hear
Miss Cowell is Evyleen’s teacher, also George’s. Did you ever get my old 77th
badges which I sent just before leaving Bramshott? If sending any underwear, send full
length. You were talking of sending
money. Well, we can get Canadian money
exchanged here.
Must
close for now.
Best love to all,
Sefton
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