A fat envelope postmarked 20 AUG 1917
'Canadian Soldier Letter'
addressed by Charley to his Mother; Mrs M T L Lloyd,
La Claire Hotel, Garry Street, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada.
Two of the letters are to his mom and dad, one is written to his sister V.V.
August 20, 1917 (postmark)
3 letters in envelope
CAMC Camp
Westenhaugen, Kent England
Dear Mother,
As you see I have
changed my address again and as yet can not say if I am on my way for France or
not. Nor do I care a great deal. My friends from Buxton left this morning
after being here for a week and I sure did enjoy their company if it was only
for a week. Just as soon as they heard I
was here and may have to go to France, they sent a telegram saying they were
coming on the first train the following morning. They have lived in England all their lives
and this was the longest journey they had ever had so I guess they think
something of your only son.
As yet I have not heard
how VV got along with her exams but I have great confidents in her and believe
that if such a thing as failing was to happen it would not be her fault.
Things around here are very quiet with the
exception of just a few drafts leaving every week for France. I have met several fellows here that used to
belong to our old unit and a few of them are fortunate to be pending discharge
and waiting a convoy back to Canada.
Folkestone and vicinity is just about the same as it was last winter. Except that it is
not raining every day for the last couple of weeks it has been absolutely
perfect as far as the weather goes. I
have been drilling again every day and doing guard etc it is just like starting
all over again. But even at that it is a change and I can't say if it is for the
better or not as a matter of fact I can't say where or what they are going to do
with me or send me.
Say
Mother I am going to give you the surprise of your life. On Saturday I am going into Folkstone and
have my photo taken and send you one if it cost a million dollars it has taken
some time to work up enough nerve but I eventually decided I would so you can
expect one any time now.
Well
Mother this is just a note to let you know where I am and that I am feeling in
perfect condition and will write immediately I change my address. As I expect it will be soon. Remember me to
Dad and VV and write soon
Love
Chas
August 20, 1917 (postmark)
CAMC Camp
Westenhaugen, Kent England
Dear Mother,
I must tell you the good
news I had my photo taken. Talk about
fussing around a fellow but I never had anything like it in all my life. Pulling and twisting at my head for at least
one half hour trying to make me look pretty.
It is just head and shoulders and are of a very good size. He asked me how many I wanted I says I want
one for my Mother and that’s all but 3 was the smallest quantity he would make
up. So there is one for you one for V-V
and one for this country. Now don’t ever
ask me for another for at least ten years I simply detest having those people
fussing around me. I have promised you
one for a long while so here it is or will be there by this mail.
The weather has set in
and every thing is fine. The drafts from
Canada still keep pouring in. Where they
get them beats me. A lot of the civilian
population around here seem to think the war will end this coming spring after
US gets a few hundred thousand men in the field. Lord let it be soon. If it doesn’t end soon I think I will go in
for an old age pension out of them.
Well how does VV like
her new job. I kind of think she will
make out allright at teaching and it wont be so bad when she gets a little
experience and is able to get a school in town.
There she will be able to live at home that will give you company as
well. Just had a box of cigars sent to
me and all the boys in the hut are going around with a cigar in their
mouth. Army is getting very prosperous ‘
Eh What’ You see when any one gets a parcel they always treat all in the hut
but by Jove it makes a big whole in the box of smokes. However I don’t mind they are all good
fellows and I am one of the first to share anything they get. I am the only first contingent man in this
hut so they look upon me as a kind of a legal advisor.
One of my old unit is
here and wants in fact begs me to go to London and act as best man for
him. He says ‘Come on Bill it won’t cost
you a cent and I want one of the old boys to stand up with me’ Gee I hate to
turn him down but I hate to act in that capacity but I guess I will just
because he is one of the old original fellows and a very good fellow too.
We are having a concert
here tonight and by all accounts it will be quite a success. The Col and several others are invited so it
should come off all OK. The Aeroplanes
have been flying all over us this morning, I guess that are taking advantage of
the good weather for a few maneuvers.
Mother this is just to say that at last I fulfilled my promise and I
hope you like them. Remember me to Dad
an VV and tell VV I will enclose hers along with one for you. Bye bye for the present I will write later on
in the week.
Love
Chas
Aug 20, 1917
From CAMC Camp
Westenhaugen, Kent England
Dear Sister,
Or rather I should say
“Please Teacher’. Well sister how do you
like chasing kids for a living by Jove it’s a better paying job than the
Army. I guess you find it rather lonesome
don’t you V-V. Never mind it’s a
respectable living and an independent one and after you get a little experience
you will be able to qualify for a town job and then it’s a pretty good
position. I have at last had my photo
taken and as soon as they are finished you shall have. Gee it was some job. They twisted my head around for about half an
hour trying to get me looking pretty and then failed to even make me look
presentable. However I have promised
Mother one for four or five years so you both shall have one within a week.
Well V-V I don’t know as
yet if I am gong back to France again or not.
They say that all First Contingent men don’t have to go back before the
fellows who have never been there have a smash at it. If that is so then they may shift me around
England somewhere.
Say what are you talking
about, I have no lady friend in this country so don’t be foolish. You should know by this time that I am not a
ladies man. Church parade is just going out
to the field to have service, bugles going and band playing reminds me of old
Valcartier. A person has to be in a camp
like this before he really realizes he is in the Army. Everything is so different from hospital work
in a hospital it is not near so military, and everything here is
discipline. Inspection after inspection.
Well VV I guess Dad and
Mother miss you allot. Is sure must be
lonesome for them. Ah well if I get
through this allright it won’t be long till we are both with them and then we
will be all happy. The Canadians as you
know by now had another bad cutting up and it’s about time some of those
cold-footed yafs that are still in Canada came out and did their bit. By Jove VV the conscripts won’t get a very
good reception from many of the old boys.
Do you blame us. Just imagine I
am going on my fourth year of military life.
Long while isn’t it to be a soldier.
Ah well VV your brother was not chased out of Canada by the girls
anyway. But did his bit before most of
those people realized there was a war on.
Raining here very near
every day for the past two weeks miserable weather for camp life. Say VV what kind of a place is Westbourne if
it is near Gladstone then I know it and it’s not a bad little place.
Say VV I have got
another mustache and it's whiter than Dad’s what do you know about that, Gee you
would laugh if you saw it. The fellows
from Winnipeg that see it just howl they think it’s the limit and I guess they
are about right. There is nothing of any
importance to tell you only I am as well as can be, as you will see by the
photograph. If you get this write me and
I will and often. It may help you from
getting lonesome. Remember me to Dad and
Mother and tell them I am writing them today.
Love Chas
( V.V.'s note on the back of her letter) "This was sent to Westbourne.
Why did he write so much to me! Something wrong, eh?"
Vida Valerie has just begun her first job as a teacher; born in 1899, she would have been just 18 years old.
OLD HIGH BLUFF S. D. # 13
(formerly HIGH BLUFF S. D.)
In 1859 the first school was built under the guidance of Archdeacon
Cochrane. It was built west of the Anglican Church and graveyard
and south on the main trail toward Dilworth Lake now known as
Black's Lake.
The teacher from 1862 to 1870 was John Norquay, later the Premier
of Manitoba. Mr. Gerrond was then the teacher for many years.
In 1876 the school was destroyed by fire, and the sixty-five students
attended school at the Drummond house,just west of the graveyard,
where the Bullock buildings are located. Mr. Drummond kept a store
and Mrs. Drummond helped with the teaching.
That same year 1876 , Cochrane school opened to accommodate the
growing population as homesteaders moved into the district. In 1877
with seventy-seven pupils attending school, plans were being made
to open schools at Nairn and North High Bluff.
A new school 34' X38' was built directly north of the Bullock buildings
on the corner of Highway #26 and the High Bluff road. The land was
purchased from Colin Setter and in 1879 the bell rang for the first
classes in the new school. The last Old High Bluff school was built in
1893 at this same location
In 1893 the school district became known as Old High Bluff School
District # 13 when the High Bluff Village School District # 771 was
formed with a school opening in the New High Bluff Village two miles
north.
Teachers from 1900 to 1963 were: Mary Bell, K. Hammond, Annie
M. Cole, Winnie E. Jeffery, Millie Tweddle, Violet Y. Wilton, Lens J.
Grant, A. G. Huskins, Kennina M. McKay, May Tidsbury, Ethel
Rowley, Vida Lloyd, Ellen Cook, Miss Limbrick, I. Steen, R. G.
Joseph, Sylvia G. Olson, Phyllis McKay, Colena Muir, Bernice Nixon,
Annie Cruickshank, Marion P. Wilkes, Kathleen Trimble, Sally
Williamson ( Sally Hicks), E. Martins, Miss Clark, Gwendalyn Lewis,
Shoemaker, John Jackson, Mrs. Duchny, Vera Arrell, Mrs. V. M.
97
Prestash, Mrs. M. Rutledge, Franz Solmundson, Mrs. Mary Rutledge,
Mrs. Ethel M. Mathews, Mrs. Ethel Tidsbury.
Old High Bluff school closed in 1963, joining Cochrane, North High
Bluff, Flee Island, Portage Creek and High Bluff Village schools to
become the Consolidated School District of High Bluff # 2418. The
building was sold and is now used as a family residence."
This Google Map capture shows the distance between the La Claire Hotel in Winnipeg at 187 Garry Street to High Bluff and to Westbourne. It's calculated at about a 6 hour trip by bicycle today.
