Letter from Lawrence Pridham addressed to “Dear Folks” sent 14 January 1917 from London, England. Note the page numbers carefully when reading.

You can click on each page to see a larger version and view a transcription at the bottom of this page.

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Army Post Office
London
Jan 14/17

Dear Folks,

I received your pcl [parcel] and book from Grandma for which I thank you very much. Sgt McDonough was here when I opened the pcl the ? which I shared with some of the other Sgts he wishes to be remembered to Uncle Will. I would have written sooner but we have moved again, one more step to France. Before we moved however, Capt Alec Pridhams Bn moved right next door to us but alas he was on a course and I did not see him at all, yet I got a note from him and also sent him a card. I was disappointed at not being able to see him. My address now the 12th Reserve Bn. East Sandling, Kent, Eng. We got here Monday, all kind of things are happening and we never know where we will be when the answers to our letters come.

A French plane has just flown over us on some mission and believe me, I’d rather be in France fighting than going on this way, words cannot express our miserableness at the present moment. Really it is the hardest thing on earth to write a letter here, the only thing we each write about is what we are doing and that would bore you as much as it does us.

I mounted the first guard here and came off yesterday and mount again to morrow morning at 9:30am and its no cinch on guard on active service with all the red tape and discipline. I must say that the writing paper came in handy as we are generally broke and the [??] the same as mine were black, oh! its a beautiful life.

Every one of us NCOs [non-commissioned officers] volunteered to go to the front at once in preference to living this life, death is preferable to it. But they ignored us so far. I was on a draft previous to this but was held by my major. As the Sgts say they would sooner be in jail where they could take a full breath without getting a District Court Martial.

Oh! That I was in Lord’s country as Uncle Phil said in the Xmas card. No the only country in the world. Most all the bns [battalions] are all smashed up and all over the map. We have been in 3 camps since we landed and have met nearly every Bn that has come from all over Canada. The country is all Canadian soldiers. I have not seen any Eng troops as yet.

Well I think I’ve stopped writing this letter about 10 times and taken a walk around the hut to get warm.

Well I must thank you all again for the good things. I will write later if I have any thing startling.

With love to all
I remain,
Lawrie

Now with 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles
Canadian Exp Force
British Exp Force France

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• 27 September 1916 (Base Borden)
• 30 September 1916 (Tottenham)
• 07 October 1916 (Base Borden)
• 14 January 1917 (London)
• 15 February 1917 (France)
• 27 March 1917 (France)
• 5 July 1917 (France)
• 23 September 1917 (France)
• 31 January 1918 (France)
• 1 February 1918 (most likely from France)
• 21 April 1918 (France)
• 11 July 1918 (France)