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Thomas Nelson and Sons PUBLISHERS
35 & 36 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.
28th February, 1916.
2nd Lieut. Alastair Buchan, C Company, 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers, B.E.F.
My dear old Alastair
I was very glad to see your last letters. I fear that now you will be back in the trenches, and I hope you will come to no grief in your working parties. I gather your bit of the front is fairly quiet just now. The French are doing marvels at Verdun, but I take it it is only the beginning of the great German offensive. There will certainly be attacks in Champagne, and quite likely in the Ypres salient. I believe we shall hold our ground, and the result will be to leave the Germans enormously weakened. The one thing we must avoid is to be hustled into a premature offensive before Russia is ready. When we strike this year we must strike a decisive blow.
Will you remember me to your Padre. I remember him very well at St. Columba's. He was a very good fellow - the best assistand we have ever had there.
I am off to the Grand Fleet to-night with the Russians. As I believe very strongly in a naval fight I am looking forward to hearing what Jellicoe thinks. It will be desperately cold. The
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whole of the North is deep in snow, and the Pentland Firth is a queasy waterway. The Government are doing us very comfortably, giving us a special train with a restaurant car. I hope to be back on Friday morning, as I am speaking in London on Friday evening. After that I expect to get my orders to go to the front any day. I need not say I shall make a bee-line for you.
We had a tremendous week of festivities for the Russians last week, which went off very well, though I am pretty well sick of them.
Walter seems to have been put back a bit in his class, and I hope he may get exempted. But the whole recruiting business is in a complete muddle just now. Until it straightens itself nobody knows the position.
I hope the weather has not been too beastly with you. It looks as if it were setting in for frost now. Your cheery letters do an enormous lot to keep Mother going. We go back to Portland Place tomorrow. Susie and the children send their love. Mr. John talks about you constantly.
Yours ever affectionately
John
