Somewhere in France
Friday Dec 7th 1917
Dear Edna.
Well Teddy here I am again, still alive and feeling fine as usual but I am afraid with little or nothing to say.
There has been no mail at all from Canada for a long time untill (sic) last night, when your letter of Nov. fourth arrived and also one from Margaret Smith and a parcel from Aunt Bell at Unity But there was no news from home, I am sorry that you had no letter from me though, I guess it was my fault for not writing oftener (sic) for I have been awfull (sic) lazy in that line latley (sic).
We are still out on that rest yet and are fattening up like a lot of pigs although the weather is as cold as the mischief. My address is the same 829297 B. Coy. 52nd Battalion Canadians BEF France.
Oh say Edna I am expecting leave to England very soon I was to be away by now only it was cancelled for a few days. I’ll be going for fourteen days in London some change to what I have been used too latley (sic) and well that is about all I can think of these days.
Things are very quiet around here nothing doing at all, we were at a concert in the Y.M.C.A. at the next village last night, the first since coming here, it was very good though although the girls were just imitations.
I will be on the look out for that parcel of yours and will write as soon as it arrives and let you know how I enjoyed the meal. I sent you a Christmas card a while back, it is not up to much but the best I could get here, it has the Battalion Badge on it and the ribbons are our division and Brigade colors we all wear them on the shoulders of our tunics.
Well this is all I can scrape up this time, so will close hoping to hear from you soon again.
I remain Your loving Cousin Cecil Minary
829297 South Camp
A Coy 144th Battn CEF Seaford
c/o the Army Post Office Sussex
London Eng. Dec 26th 1916
Dear Edna,
Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive and feeling fine, and to thank you for that splendid Xmas Box and cards which arrived this morning, it is the first of my Xmas Boxes to arrive, there being five others on the road somewhere.
I have just had the box open and everything is in dandy shape, the outside paper is as not even torn and there was only one dent in the tin and that was on the side where you had packed the small cakes so the jar of jam came through fine and dandy so I’ll have some nice dessert for supper for a few nights now.
Well Edna we spent Xmas in quarantine still although my hut got out of isolation last Thursday; but the Battalion if luck holds good will be out sometime this week.
We spent yesterday in lines all day. We had a pretty good dinner considering circumstances each platoon eats together at dinner, four platoon, the one I am in had fifty-five men, three Corporals and two Sergeants for dinner, quite a sized table, what do you think?
We had some turkey, roast pork, plum pudding, and nuts, apples, oranges then there was beer for those who wanted it; but that spoilt (sic) the afternoon as a lot of the fellows took too much of the good stuff, by night a third was drunk, another third feeling good, there was only three other fellows in the platoon besides myself who did not take any of the beer, so you can imagine what kind of afternoon it was for us fellows, as for me it is the last Xmas I hope to spend like that, they are a nice bunch of fellows when they are sober, but the way they were yesterday evening I’d just as soon be away from them.
You need not be afraid of me starting anything for after yesterday I hate the sight of the stuff worse than ever, but of course the fellows will all — Kendra Minary noted a fold in paper so she could not read word — (?) me to take some just for friendship sake but I always say no, they don’t think anything the less of me for it.
I hope Edna that you will not think that I’m trying to praise myself up, but I feel so disgusted after yesterdays performance and to think of that kind of rejoining (sic) for Xmas.
The weather has been quite warm these last few days Sunday was nice and calm with the sun shining bright and yesterday was the same, we were drilling this morning without our gloves on it was so warm but we are not out at all this afternoon as it has been raining heavy.
There was very little mail for me last week only one letter from Annie my sister they were all well when she wrote except Roy, he had been sick bad for two or three days but that he had started to eat a little again that morning.
Well Edna, this is rather a short letter but will have to close as I can think of nothing of interest to say.
Hoping this will find you all well and thanking you for the splendid Xmas box.
With love to all.
From your Cousin Cecil
829297
South Camp
A coy 144th Batt CEF
Seaford
c/o Army Post Office
Sussex
London Eng.
Dec 16th 1916
Dear Edna.
Received your welcome letter on the 14th and was pleased to get it, you will excuse me for not writing sooner as the Canadian mail only leaves hear (sic) twice a week and I thought I would wait untill (sic) the last day before writing.
The mail has been rather scarce as there has been only one other letter besides yours and that was from Margaret Smith it came the same day as yours, they were all well then when she wrote, I have not had a letter from home since the fourth I don’t know what could have happened to them as there had been a letter regular every week untill (sic) now, the germans must have sunk the boat that it was on or it has been badly delayed.
The weather here latly (sic) has been terrible for rain every thing is mud and water. We were out firing on the ranges on Tuesday. “the isolated huts” and you could hardly see us for mud when we got back. We are going out on Monday again for a whole week of it this time from daylight till dark so we have a pretty busy week ahead of us.
We are still in isolation for the Measles yet, but will be out on Monday just two more days The Battalion if there are no more fresh cases will be out of quarantine on Wednesday next. Us fellows in this hut will have been in isolation a whole month but two days so we should enjoy ourselves when we do get out.
We are not sure if we will get any Xmas leave or not but once we do get out of quarantine will not be long going to France probaly (sic) the first half of January.
I have not wrote Jack Blythe yet but will some of these fine days for there is a chance that we may be able to see one another. I have not seen any thing of the 16th Battalion but the 160th came into Witley Camp first a few days before we left there they certainly had a long time of it on the water just twice as long as we were.
London is some city all night, but I would not like to live there or any other city for that matter, for I’m like you the country every time.
I hope those snaps you had taken are good as I would like to have some, that box you are sending will certainly be made welcome for I’m looking forward to the time it arrives. Margaret Smith said she was sending me one too so Xmas is going to be fine leave or no leave. How do you like your new home, not as well as your old one yet I expect, No I did not see Emma Minary but would have liked to all the same.
Excuse me just a moment as the mail has just come in the three letters for me with a Nesbitt Winnipeg and Whitemouth stamps on.
Well Edna here I am again after spending half an hour reading letters they are all well at all three places and seem to be enjoying themselves, there are also two more Xmas boxes on the road so Xmas is beginning to have quite a cheerful look on it. Annie says she is going taking music lessons on the piano now but does not say how she is getting on. News are rather scarce around hear (sic) and as I have my buttons and shoes to polish tonight yet, I’ll have to close for this time, with love and good wishes to all.
From your Cousin Cecil.
Ps. Annie says that Alf and Herb Patterson were out hustling with a bunch of fellows and some one let a gun off accidently and shot Alf through the calf of the leg, but did not hit the bone, and Herb was skinning a wolf and run a nife (sic) into the thigh of his leg, some luck eh? They are both getting along fine although Herb is weak from lose (sic) of blood.
829297 Pte CE Minary South Camp
A Coy 144th Batt CEF Seaford
c/o Army Port Office Sussex
London Eng Dec 9th 1916
Dear Cousin:
Just a few lines to let you know that I’m still alive and think of you now and then although I have not received an answer to my letter yet I’m writing anyway for my letter of yours may have went astray for some of the letters from Manitoba has already done so.
You will see by the heading that we have been moved since the last letter I just forget if I told you or not. The camp here is not so good here as the last as the soil is all clay so we do a lot of wading through mud although the scenery here is splendid we are right on the south coast between Brighton and Eastbourne the Camp itself is only half a mile from the sea shore and the same from town, the coast here is all chalk cliffs that drop straight down to the sea from fifty to three hundred feet high.
Seaford itself is only a small summer resort with a sandy beach about a mile long so the town is kind of empty this time of year.
The weather hear (sic) has turned a little cooler now with some frost in the mornings but not heavy enough to do any damage as everything is green yet.
They had picked out a draft for France from this Battalion and I was in it but the Measles had to breakout so that stopped the draft, the Battalion has been under quarantine for nearly three weeks now and are likely to be for quite a while yet as fresh cases keep breaking out all the time, so it looks as if we are going to spend our Xmas in our huts some cheery lookout eh? I was intending to send a few things over for Xmas but cannot as we are not allowed downtown to buy anything.
We have quite a time passing the time away these long evenings but we manage it pretty well, one of the fellows in this hut has a Mandolin so we all gather round the stove after supper and sing all the songs we know and of course try a few that we don’t know, then we have two or three comics one of them would make a good imitation of Charlie Chaplin so we have some good laughs.
There were three letters for me this week one from home one from Berta Prette and one from Annie Prette, they were all well then, Annie my sister said that they had just brought home a new piano that day and that she was almost to excited to write so I guess she will be busy these evenings learning to play it.
Well as news of any kind are rather scarce I’ll have to close for this time hoping this will find you all as well as this leaves me and wishing you all a happy Xmas and a Bright new year
I remain Your loving Cousin Cecil
Kendra Minary of Souris shows off a portrait of her great-great-uncle Pte Cecil Minary outside of the family bakery. Cousin Enda’s portrait. Photo Jules Xavier/Shilo Stag