In the Pink

Date: October 27th 1917

Address: Church Army Recreation Hut or Tent - on active service with the British Expeditionary Force

From: Tom

To: George

In answer to your letter of 19th I am still in the pink. Have been in the line again, but out for a rest at present and I expect to go for a course on LG on 30th so that I haven't had such a bad time so far. There's nothing else but Minnies flying about the trenches.

The weather is R O T T E N.

Ginger Robinson came back top A Coy two days ago, still as noisy as ever. Albert Wilson is now ?/Sgt. Brimer is back came about same time as I did. Arty Gilmour is still here; he's had a sexton's job for some time but has rejoined when we came out of the line to REST. Lt Stearn is here again and Lt Rothfield is OC A Coy. Sgt Hope got made CSM but got Blighty first time up after promotion. Dicky Hope is CSM of D Coy. Crooks was Sgt when I came but has lost one stripe. Bob Kelly was Cpl, but lost both for being absent a few days off Blighty leave. All the batt news for the present. Tell Micky Smith that A Coy is in need of some reinforcements badly there's only two platoons and both very weak. He may volunteer after he has another course or two; he might have been Sgt Maj by now. I wrote to Lockey about a fortnight ago so he will probably have got the letter by now. Tell him I'm keeping fit.

Keep that job going. I see that the lads GET their rations, compre. If you cannot do your bit out here any more, do it when you are drawing rations. I'm in the pink and

Wishing you the Best of Luck

I remain

Yours, Tom

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Note: In WWI the German Army used a type of trench mortar called a Minenwerfer. This was nicknamed the 'minnie' by the Allied forces

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