2nd April 1918 HMB
My Dearest Mother
It is extremely doubtful I shall be with you at the beginning of next week. There is some irregularity in transport between this side of the water and yours and there are other potent reasons to wit probable heavy convoys upon us. We have been evacuating the hospital as hard as we can go and have turned out a tremendous lot of our patients as we are expecting, have been warned to expect, a lot of men in. They may be Belgians and they may be French or English: of course we long for the latter. If we become busy in the course of the week I can’t leave of course: it would be a low-down dirty trick if I did. I’ll wire you as soon as I know, I must stop talking about our doings or this letter will never pass the censor, if it ever sees one.
The small pox epidemic is not severe I think. We are again allowed to go to Rouen. My vaccination has taken decidedly and the glands in my leg were quite swollen, but it is going off now.
Isabel and I are very busy gardening and planting seeds. Did you ever get the photos of her and me? You never said.
Did I tell you about the terrific hockey match a fortnight ago? VADs and WAACs. The XIs were supposed to be the pick of the VADs and the pick of the WAACs, I was invited to play for the former. We played on a Sunday: a ripping ground. The WAACs were a very hot lot: they play a great deal and had an old international for centre and had never been beaten. We had a splendid game and beat them 9-5 though the score at half-time was 2-2 and they established a lead soon after. I played left half and, except for getting awfully blown, didn’t make too much of an ass of myself.It was a glorious victory, and I was much congratulated by the captain a girl (aged!) from No2 who is jolly good. Her name is Etta Booker but she is known throughout Rouen as “Ate a banana” (spell it how you like!) We were to have had a return but now our minds and times are full of other things.
Sunday we went out on our bikes and picked primroses, we took tea with us, and lazed in the forest. We had a send off party for Loveday and presented her with a clock some of the “old guard” among the doctors came too and gave their present. She has gone to a Belgian Military hospital at Petit Fort Philippe, close to Gravelines which is a kind of annexe to La Panne. She can only just have got through Amiens, if she did, for we have no news of her yet. She is to be married in London very soon.
Best love to you all, your loving Dorothy
P.S. Please keep my allowance for me till I come. I had a letter from Father dated 24th from Peterborough but nothing from you since the 19th.
About Alford 