Let us hope that now all these men are called up the war will end a little quicker

5^th June 1916

My Dearest Father

I’m afraid I’ve been a long time writing, but I haven’t breathed since last Thursday when we started packing: I took some of my most precious possessions up to Bonsecours in the ambulance: contraptions like x-ray photo tubes, just a bubble of glass as thin as paper with a few little bits of platinum and other metals inside it and the cost about £6.10 each ! A flick would break them and we have 5 of such affairs so you can imagine our part of the removal was nerve trying work. My boss and I worked like n******. We ran up and down all day in cars with our precious toys- I, in addition had all the dispensary, or pharmacie as we call it, to pack. I got a huge case and a lot of shirts, towels and such like garments and packed all the bottles that way: everything went from bottles holding 8 pints to bottles holding 1 tablespoonful. I couldn’t empty them as there had to be things up there and it would have taken a few days to restock it. However I got my case which weighed nearly 4cwt up and unpacked it on Saturday and there wasn’t a single thing broken – it was rather an achievement on my part: a lot of praise is due to my orderlies as they packed everything beautifully and worked like n******.  We slept here on Friday night: Tim and I share a room 4 metres by 2 1/2 metres , not much room for two hefty lassies is it?

After the big front room in our flat we feel a bit cramped but are getting more used to it. I spend half my spare moments carpentering. We have an elegant pacing case with shelves in it: it is covered with blue stuff and has a blue curtain in front of it. I put in the shelves myself. It makes a top hole dressing table. Then we got a square bit of planking and fixed it to the wall in a corner with supports, and screwed hooks into the underside, and hooks on the wall underneath, it now has a neat gathered curtain round it that Tim made and it is a ripping hanging wardrobe. I have fixed up shelves all round for books etc and hooks on the door: the shelves we have stained dark brown and they look awfully jolly.

It is very trying for you to lose your precious Vear and I do sympathise with you most tremendously. However these things must be I suppose, and let us hope that now all these men are called up the war will end a little quicker.

What rotten luck we had over the Naval Battle: it is awfully sad in some ways or very wonderful in others.

I must stop now as I want to write a short note to Mother.

My very best love

Your loving daughter

Dorothy.