France, June 21, 1918

Dear Wife; –

Your letters of June 15 & 16 respectively came to hand this morning. I am so pleased that you are feeling better. Are you getting enough to eat. I hope there is not Tb. in your hospital. If there is keep away from it, you had your shared of that stuff down at the hospital in Bramshott. Anyway your last few letters have relieved my anxiety somewhat & made me feel a lot more cheerful. I dream about you nearly every night. Sometimes in my dreams we are together in England and at other times back in Canada. Last night we were having a great time trying to catch our train for Liverpool in order to take ship for Canada.

I had some Canadian letters this morning, one from my sister Frances & one from Dr. Chambers. Chambers sent his kind regards and wished to know if you had yet acquired the proper accent. He said Miss Murphy often inquired for both of us.

We have just finished dinner. There is a drizzling rain falling which means that we shall not be bothered by Hun bombing planes to-night. They have not been bothering us much lately anyway. I suppose they are all busy on the more active fronts. Last evening we had a late dinner as most of us went off to the picture show. I shall soon be quite a movie fan.

I hope you are able to get out quite a bit and see your friends. I do not mind where you go or whom you see provided you refrain making special visits to German officer prisoners. Did you see that account in the papers of the young officer being court martialed because he remonstrated with the commandant of a prison camp for allowing certain prisoners special visitor privelages? The visitor who had a special pass was the wife of the under secretary of the blockade. Ye Gods! Is it any wonder that the people are suspicious of the government? Hearing things like that make one positively ill. What in the devil is the matter with the English anyway? The ones that amount to anything turn out to be mostly Scotch or Welsh.

Am very sorry that you are anxious about your cousin, at least I am sorry that you have failed to hear from him for so long a time. Let us hope though that he is alright.

The Americans have been engaged in some very heavy fighting lately and have given a good account of themselves.

No dear I never tire of having you tell me you love me. The effect of the pleasant surprise never seems to wear away. I shall never cease to wonder though how it happened.

I have now 5 manuvered letters from my brother and must really try to write him to night. Good night my loved one.

Your loving husband
Harold W. McGill

France, June 12, 1918

Dearest Emma;-

Your letter of June 5 arrived this morning having taken a whole week to come as you will see. I did not have a letter from you yesterday. Canadian mail arrived to day but there were no letters for me. I got the cake though that Elo sent. We shall probably have it for dinner to-night. It was mailed on April 8 and I fear that Elo will think that I have forgotten to write and thank her.

I am awfully sorry to hear the bad news about Dr. Leacock and fear that she may have a bad time of it. It is too bad that she could not have returned to Canada before her illness. Is Lieut. Leacock going to remain in England? Please give them both my very kindest regards when next you see them .

We are still in the same place and enjoying life as much as is possible with the military situation what it is. I fear it will be a summer of ferocious and almost continuous fighting. What the final result will be no one can say but I have every confidence that the enemy will have exhausted himself before he can obtain a decision in his favour. Great numbers of American troops are coming over but of course many of them are insufficiently trained to go into action. They will soon get themselves into shape though. Did I tell you that we now had an American M.O. attached to our unit for instruction? He is a very good chap. His home is in Pennsylvania.

General Bell and Capt. Petty had dinner with us last night. Mrs. Bell is still in Paris.

Do you remember what happened exactly six months, a half a year, ago to-day? We have been married half a year and have lived to-gether for 12 days, or on an average of two days a month. Hope the ratio will improve before long.

Your ever loving husband

Harold W. McGill