Letters From the Front

Dated:

Gunner W. E. A. Rowat, son of Dr. Rowat, Athelston, 1st Canadian contingent, writes from the front as follows:

October 2

Dear mother, I just received your letter of September 14th and am replying at once, as I realized by its tone that you are rather anxious as to my safety. I am sorry that I have allowed almost a month to pass with no writing you, but, to tell the truth, I have had very little time at my disposal and very little inclination to write. You can be indeed thankful to God that I'm still alive, as I have been through some terrible fighting and had many narrow escapes; however I'm still game and without a scratch, and am glad, in a way, that I have had an opportunity of seeing some of the greatest fighting that the present offensive has brought to pass. Our army is wonderful, and what I have seen in the past few weeks convinces me that the Germans will be steadily and surely driven from position to position till they absolutely break down, and that breakdown is not very far off either. I only wish I could express myself more freely on military matters, as it is the only subject that I could make interesting at present, but of course you are no doubt aware that any undue verbosity would be strictly censored and the letter most likely destroyed, so you'll have to wait till I get home before your curiosity as regards my own personal experiences in this great move forward can be satisfied. Leave to England has started again on a very small scale, and I hope to get away in a month or two, as a little taste of civilization would do me a world of good. I am obliged to close, and in doing so will warn you not to expect many letters during the next two or three weeks, but will send cards, so you will not be entirely with out news of me.