Kailana
Chakrata U. P.
India
My dear Mum & Dad
I must write you this week before receiving your letter as the Mail is 3 days & 3 hours late, but on account of the new over-land service we shall have two Mails together the following being published in last nights paper: –
“The English Mail steamer “Kyber” is expected to reach Bombay on the 28th at 9 a.m. carrying London dates of June 4th & 11th.”
It is nice to write in answer to one of yours, but I guess I can find something or other to talk about all the same.
You will be sorry to hear that we had another death at Delhi yesterday – L/Cpl J. Perrett of “C” Company. He was a Trowbridge fellow & leaves a widow & 4 children. He died of heart-failure brought on by Malaria.
I am glad to say that we finished our Musketry on Saturday. It took us nearly a month for the Double-Company to get through all 25 Practices. I had good hopes of getting my 1st Class (105 points) but did even better than that & just managed to get “Marksman” (130 points), I shall therefore be eligible for 1st Class Proficiency Pay (6d per day) from August 4th next.
We have had the Chota Monsoon but the proper ones haven’t commenced up here yet though they are in full swing on the Plains. The atmosphere is wonderfully clear, & from the windows of this Bungalow you can today see for several hundred miles right across the Plains towards the S. W. – in all other directions the surrounding peaks are too high to see over them.
The War seems to be going on a bit slow the last week or so doesn’t it.
All papers are so one-sided, but if the truth were known I am afraid we should find that the Russian losses must be enormous lately.
Men whose time expired before Dec 31st 1914 can have their discharge next December (they then having served the time for which they engaged & 12 months extra, which is added in war-time). This does not affect very many in our Company but it does me for one, though I shall not take my discharge (I completed my term Dec 18th) because if I came to England I naturally wouldn’t resume civilian employment until the end of the War & the chances are that I should enlist into some other Regt which would likely enough be disbanded at a later date than ours. I reckon on the 1st Wessex Division being one of the first to be released at the end of the War, don’t you? In addition to this I shouldn’t be a bit keen on leaving any Company commanded by Major Randell; where any other Officer would give a Man 2 or 3 days C.B. Mjr Randell generally says “Now this sort of thing wont do, see that it doesn’t occur again” with the result that there isn’t a man in the Double Company who wouldn’t go out of his way to oblige the old chap.
Have “Rajah” & “Herbert” learnt any fresh tricks. I am very glad that the latter follows old Cotties’ plan of getting up to your bedroom via the front door porch. You haven’t told me if poor old “Rough” had to be executed: I hope that this was not the case & that he has mended his ways. Our old dog went out to the Range every day with us & I suppose he will now join “AB” Double Coy & go out every day with them, as he always goes out with the first Company which leaves Camp in the morning. He is a cunning old beggar & I have often seen him running up & down the lines of a Battallion marching in fours but have never once seen him get one of his paws stepped on. Did I ever tell you of his getting a bayonet into him at Tuglakabad? He was chasing some jackals & one of the sentries in the dock mistook him for one of them, but it was only a slight stab in the left hip.
I heard from Dick Drury yesterday. I am not sure if I told you of his injury in my last letter. He fell in the 100 yds race & injured his knee rather badly, but it is going on well, & though he wont walk very well for some time he hops to be out of Hospital today of which I am very glad.
I expect the garden is very nice now isn’t it. Here it is hard to realise we have had Summer ever since we got East of Gibraltar. The fruit here is very decent, walnuts are about 20 for an anna, apricots 15 or 16, & the largest peaches 8 or 9, whilst tomatoes are very cheap & plentiful, as are also onions & beetroot. Lettuces are tough & tasteless, in fact not worth eating.
At the Coffee Shop this week they have some fine English red herrings, 2 as each, each one in a narrow grease-paper bag & it is only necessary to put a match to the bag to make them fit for the table. Most of the Lavington Contingent celebrated the satisfactory result of the Musketry on Saturday by having a beer & herring supper, & very nice it was too, my pocket-knife still smells a bit fishy.
I am very much looking forward to having two Mails from you on Wednesday night or Thursday morning – I rather think it will be the former.
How are those rotters getting on with the Lavington Estate – Lands Speculators are no good to a Village are they.
I don’t think I shall have time for a letter to Tommy & Charlie this week, but please give my best love to them.
There are still heaps of yarns about as to our future movements, but being in the Orderly Room I am in a pretty good position for being the first one to hear of anything Official. It is said that 3 Divisions of Kitcheners Army will relieve 3 Divisions in India before very long but I don’t know if there is anything in this.
How is my old bike getting on – he must be having a nice rest.
Very best love & many kisses to both of you.
I am
Ever your affectionate
Jack
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The Jack Welch Diaries 