1917 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT LETTER OF THANKS, GRATITUDE AND OF THE SOLDIER'S LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

On offer is an interesting original 1917 Canadian Expeditionary Force letter from France with excellent content. It was sent on December 24th 1917 by Private Fred Wadeson,144497, who was an original September 1914 CEF enlistment. (He wrote his name and regimental number on the back of the last page of the letter.) He was apparently rejected at first, because he attested a second time, to the 77th Canadian Infantry Battalion. The 77th was broken up as reinforcements upon arrival overseas, so I'm not sure who he served with in France. Excellent three pages written to thank an American woman for a soldier's relief package that he had received from her. He outlines the contents and describes how each item is useful to him and his chums. He says "God bless the ladies, if it was not for them we would be in a state of barbarism". He then goes on to tell her about the trenches: " ...when Fritz starts shelling the hard lumps of dirt are almost as dangerous as the shrapnel, still I prefer that to the everlasting mud. The big majority out here think the war will be over by next spring. I think so too myself, the pace is going too fast...what you read in the papers about the tempo, bombardments night after night, it is quite true. Prussian militarism is gradually being wore down, & most everybody here thinks that the end is near." "There are lots of American troops in France & they are right on the firing line. I am just yearning to meet some of your boys, but at present have not had any luck." A good letter from Christmas in the trenches, 1917. Comes with it's original censored cover. VG.