My Dear Mother,
Your welcome letter of 29th April arrived a day or two ago. We are still out resting and put in our time training and keeping fit. Cricket has been the order of the day for some time now. The men played the officers and N.R.O's twice and licked us both times.
Last night four of us went for a walk with the intention of climbing the highest hill in Belgium which lies two or three miles over to our left. We got there alright just as the sun was setting, about 9 o'clock, and had a glorious view of the line both north & south although it was not quite clear enough to see the channel away to the north. The scene of the first and second battles of Ypres lay to the left, that of the recent push to our front and right.
While up there we got into conversation with a Scottish Captain who seemed to be interested in N.Z. He turned out of to Cecil Humphries of Christchurch you may have seen letters of his in the papers in the early days of the war. We went home with him to his camp had had a yarn. I had met him once in Wte [Waimate] three or four years ago.
That address of Connie Fowler's reached me alright. I wrote to her and have had a reply. She has a brother, Bruce I suppose, out here with our Divisional Train (A.S.C.) I will try to look him up. Connie is in training for a missionary and hopes to be going out soon. I hope she does not do so for another six months as I should have leave again by then and it would be interesting to meet again.
Sorry to learn from your letter that Dad was bad and trust that his trouble does not visit him again.
I hope also that Mr McDonald benefited by his holiday and is himself once more.
Our letters are always liable to be opened at the base but hope I have not said too much about that hill in this letter and that it reaches you to find you all in good health.
Love to all.
Rawei
Bruce was my grandfather, and Connie his elder sister, my great aunt. It's absolutely incredible to find this online!
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