France, May 2, 1918

Dearest Emma; –

Your letter of April 25 came yesterday and the fine long one dated April 26 reached me today at noon, at least I found it at noon, in the mess when I had finished a morning’s work in the dressing room. Have had practically no mail from Canada lately. The forget-me-not you enclosed was not really necessary you know but I am very pleased to have it anyway and wish to express my thanks. It is very pretty. The apple blossoms are all coming out on the trees in the orchards here and are beautiful.

Personally I should rather you took up some work in England than come to France, for the present at any rate. There is now a grave possibility of things becoming rather serious over here at any time regarding the communications with England and I should be just as pleased to have you on that side of the Channel until the situation is clearer. But as I said before make your own choice. Your decision in any case will have my full approval. That convalescent place you mention, I should think, would be rather attractive. There isn’t a chance of me getting to England on leave in May or, so far as I can foresee, at any time during this season of active fighting unless I acquire a souvenir in the form of a chunk of shell. You know I never become ill, so my only chance to get over during the next 6 months is to become listed as a casualty, and much as I desire to meet you that price would be too great. It would be mighty fine though to have you there to come and kiss me if I should happen to be sent over wounded. I know from experience that it is mighty cheerless for one to be in a hospital with no acquaintances or friends to call around.

We have had 4 or 5 days of dull cloudy weather but this morning the sun came out warm and bright for the first time in I don’t know how long. The airplanes are very busy to day and there will doubtless be a lot of fighting before night. The weather yesterday was very dull and cloudy. I had to go off to give evidence on a court martial case in the morning. The case did not come up however so I had my trip for nothing.

The tailor in London had not sent me a bill for my clothes yet – Have just opened the box you sent with the ink and filled my pen. I was about to say that the tailor had not sent in my bill and is likely waiting for me to come in for a try on. When I ordered the clothes I wrote him that I expected to be in London very shortly and would give him a chance to try the clothes in regard to the fit before he finished them up. This was before the bottom began to drop out of things. I am busy saving money these days so that we shall have enough to celebrate our victory properly over there next winter, for I think that if we get another leave before the war is over it will be because the Hun is beaten. However if we are to win the war decidedly we must expect at least two more years of it. Well, I do not like the war very much but I am prepared to spend the balance of my life over here rather than see Germany get off with less than a crushing defeat. If the Huns win they will as Bernard Shaw put it “Skin us alive” and if we win we should certainly give the civilian population of Germany such a taste of real war that the survivors would ever after shudder at the sound of the word. Some of the things our people have tolerated in the way of slackness and corruption in this war though makes one almost doubt at times that we deserve to survive as a nation. You gave me a few instances yourself in your last letter.

With best & greatest love
Harold W. McGill