12th Essex Regt. Colchester (Reed Hall)
,br> Dear Mum
Here are some pics I took of the kiddies at the side of the road on a route march and at lunchtime. It was a sweltering day. About a hundred and twenty fell out. You know what 88º in the shade and dust is like in the Essex lanes.
I had my photo taken for your benefit and it will arrive soon. I went to see Gran last weekend. She is getting much better and put her dress on for the first time in two months. Seale came to lunch and we went to Kew, which was lovely, all green and full of new and interesting ways of doing things. They use a lot of borage to make blue clumps, lovely little pinks and saxifrages in the rock gardens and the most gorgeous rhododendrons. I’ve never seen such mountains of white with gold middles, crimsons, blues and pinks.
I am here with Seale, Lucy Ouless, Simmie and Mabel Hare. Seale was shown Gran’s treasures and greatly admired the fire screen as a work of art. He then took me to the station and is going to Dover tomorrow morning I think. I am still in charge of the Signallers. We do map reading, morse, semaphore, buzzer, and then march out and do moving station work. I am with Alle White, a very nice straight fellow, Seale’s type only different.
Your loving Hugh.
Photo – Birch green at lunch time (children)
Photo – Kiddies watching us march by
Dear Mum
I am twenty-one, and have been so for a quarter of an hour. Never be twenty no more! I went to Early this so as to start well. Have now come to the conclusion that that is the only thing that will tide me over the rest of the time. There were lots of First Communion men who were confirmed last Friday by the Chaplain–General here. There were five or six from the 12th in it. One of them was in 16 Platoon before he formed the band, a very nice boy called Croucher. There were 4 12 Essex Officers there, which is a record. There are a gross of them.
We were at Goddard’s, 17 miles from here, for tea and supper, and had a very good time with Robertson to look after us. In the morning I ran over to Coggshall but nobody was in, so I got some lunch there!
Your loving Hugh
