Duff & Morrison Collection
“You may judge for yourself how I am feeling…” Rosa Duff, Toronto Nov.1, 1915
211 Fern Ave,
Toronto
Nov.1, 1915
Dear Lily,
Just a line to say am enclosing Lou’s last letter (or a copy of it). You may judge for yourself how I am feeling.
Am quite busy today making my Xmas cake and some grape jelly. Will make my pudding tomorrow, so I will be able to send some on to Lou in time for Xmas. God has been good to him, he has had some narrow escapes. I pray God he may be spared through this awful war.
Lovingly,
Rosa
(enclosure)
Somewhere in France,
Oct. 11, 1915
Dear Rosamond,
Received your letter of Sept. 20th and mother’s of the 23 and 27th. We
are getting along pretty well and myself and men have been lucky.
The day before yesterday we were having our dinner, and some dinner it
was, a steak and onions, fried potatoes, and bread, butter, jam and
coffee. This last trip into the trench, Fred Rowlandson, Oldershaw and
myself bought a few extras, such as canned coffee, cocoa, butter, etc.
to help out. At present I am in a position with my platoon with orders
to hold at all costs.
We are away from the Battalion entirely. I have so may men on guard and
the rest of us are busy night and day strengthening our position. Well
to get on with the dinner, we were just about half way through when a
high explosive shell drops about 30 yds. to the rear of us making our
dug outs tremble. A few minutes late a second one lights not more than
ten years to the north of us and a third one somewhere in the rear but
does not explode. We tried to trace this one later on to determine the
angle from which it came, also get the range, but did not succeed on
account of so much tall grass and scrub. Needless to say our dinner was
spoiled. Our dug outs got a severe shaking and the mud flew in all
directions. The tops of our dug outs and the parapet were damaged
slightly but I soon got a working party going after dark to make
repairs.
After things had quieted down a little, Fred and I scouted around to
examine the holes make, also dig up some pieces of shell. We got all
kinds from an inch long to ten inches long, the holes were easily six
feet deep with a diameter of about fifteen feet. I kept a couple pieces
of the one which lit so close to us, they are two small pieces of the
steel casing and a piece of the copper band off the end of the shell.
About 3:20 in the afternoon the German artillery opened up again but
their shells fell short of us and at least six out of about 15 did not
go off and are still buried in the ground.
About 3:40 I was sitting down writing my diary when a shell burst in
front of us and I had the pleasant sensation of a piece of the shell a
couple of inches long whiz toward me and bury itself in the dirt two
inches from my elbow. Needless to say I dug it up. It was so hot I
could not hold it for some time, however I have it now. The shells can
be heard approaching at least six or seven seconds before they explode
and you would laugh to see us clearing into the trenches. Yesterday I
had eight of my men filling sand bags under cover of a hedge when the
Germans open up again. I could hear the shells screaming towards us and
would call out “Here she comes boys, jump into the trench” which they
would do with little hesitation.
A couple of days ago our artillery opened up on the German trenches in
front of us, also on the batteries, they had the range to an inch. Fred
and I were out in front of our barbed wire entanglement with a pair of
strong field glasses and saw some awful destruction done. The Germans
replied with a few which fell some distance in front of us. We heard
another approaching and stood up until it got too uncomfortably close
and then flopped on the ground expecting it to burst on top of us. It
would be impossible to describe our feelings when we found out it had
passed over and beyond us exploding about 40 yards in our rear.
While I am writing, two of our air machines have passed over our heads,
the first was fired on by an anti air craft gun which we can hear being
fired quite easily. The second is being fired on at the present minute.
Neither one was or is hit.
We are well supplied with vegetables. We are close to the vegetable
garden of some poor farmer who may be dead along with the rest of his
family or a refugee. The house is just about 30 yds. away and a mass of
ruins, the only evidence of habitation lately is a sewing machine all
twisted up and a pair of woman’s shoes and youngster’s shoes. However,
his vegetable garden is in good shape yet and we have all kinds of
potatoes and turnips. Our Company Quarter Master Segt. stopped with us
last night after bringing our rations up from the rear with a fatigue
party. On the way he foraged some corn so we are having a treat today.
We have a cook who looks after our meals while in the trenches for the 3
of us Sergeants.
Just called to dinner by the cook. Wouldn’t you like to come and sit
down with us? You can’t imagine how we enjoy our meals with the
everlasting shriek of shells sliding over your head from our own
batteries. Some of them are pretty close to us too and besides you can’t
tell when you are going to have a piece of one of their Jack Johnsons,
Coal Boxes, or Whiz-Bangs, mixed up in mulligan or tea. Dinner is
getting cold so must beat it.
3 p.m. Just finished a plan of our little home for the Battalion
headquarters showing improvements we have made. The flying machines I
mentioned before dinner both came back this afternoon under fire all the
time. One of them who was getting it pretty hot started to plane down
as though he or his machine had been injured, he was still over or back
of the German lines. He got out of range of the anti air craft guns and
came into range of the first line trenches. He gradually drew over our
lines and started to go up again. You should have heard the cheers from
our trenches. He had us guessing for a while and sure fooled the
Germans.
I had a bath this a.m. in a Jack Johnson hole filled with water which I
thoroughly enjoyed. No rain for a week. Am feeling fine and hope you
all are.
With love to all,
your bro.
Louis
• Letter 1: 30 Dec. 1914 Toronto. letter from Louis to his Aunt Lilly
• Letter 2: 9 Jan 1915 letter from Rosa (Lily’s sister and Lou’s mother)to Lilly
• Letter 3: 26 Feb 1915 letter from Jean to her Aunt Lily
• Letter 4 18 Apr. 1915 letter from Tot (Lily’s cousin) to Lily
• Letter 5: 29 June 1915, England. Letter from Louis to his Aunt Lily
• Letter 6: 21 Aug. 1915 England. Letter from Louis to his Aunt Lily
• Letter 7: 24 Oct. 1915 Toronto. Letter from Rosa (Lily’s sister and Lou’s mother)to Lily
• Letter 8: 14 Oct 1915 France. Postcard to Lily from Louis
• Letter 9: 1 Nov. 1915 Toronto. Letter to Lily from Rosa (Lily’s sister and Lou’s mother) enclosing Louis’ lengthy letter of 11 Oct. 1915 in France
• Letter 10: 19 Nov. 1915 Belgium. Letter to Lily from Louis plus enclosure for his niece Jean
• Letter 11: 6 Dec. 1915 Belgium. Letter to Lily from Louis
• Letter 12: 7 Jan. 1916 Toronto. Letter to Lily from Rosa (Lily’s sister and Lou’s mother)expressing her worry over Lou’s silence
• Letter 13: 10 Feb. 1916 Toronto. letter to Lily from Rosa (Lily’s sister and Lou’s mother) with the cable explaining Lou has been wounded and will be in hospital in England two months
• Letter 14: 11 Feb 1916 England. Letter to Lily from Lou about his skull fracture from shrapnel
• Letter 15: 18 Feb. 1916 Toronto. Letter to Lily from Jessie
• Letter 16: 8 Mar. 1916 Winnipeg. Letter to Lily from Cecil Duff, Lou’s brother
• Letter 17: 16 Apr. 1916 Toronto. Letter to Lily from Harry Richey, Lily’s brother