Letter from Charles St.John to Lady Bolingbroke, June 1915

A cheerful and informative letter from Charles St.John to his mother Lady Bolingbroke written shortly after his being stationed at Crown Hill near Plymouth with the 9th Somerset Light Infantry. From there he anticipates leaving for the front, though as it turned out this was not his last posting in England.

Charles describes his daily training routine which is occupied with drills and inspecting the camp and tells his mother how much better the food is than at The Prospect where he was previously stationed. He goes on to say 'some of the fellows cannot live on 7/6 a day (their allowance) but I think I can just about do it'. Perhaps the straightened circumstances he was used to at Lydiard Park helped him budget. The war must have felt close; he describes the nightly searchlights and the sound of big guns, but the hardship he was about to endure is still remote.