‘The longer one has of the line, the nervier one gets,’ wrote Sherriff to his mother. ‘There is no “getting used to it”, I am afraid, it is simply “bearing” it’. His remarks were prompted by the awareness that he would shortly going back into the line, which, by now, he was ‘very sick of’. But he recognised that he had to go through it, and there was nothing to do but ‘hope and pray that all will go well.’

While in reserve he had been training batches of men in some engineering work, and the weather had been good – a ‘hard, crisp frost’, with snow lying on the ground, and, as yet, no signs of a thaw (of which he was glad, since it made things ‘sloppy’). He was keeping well, and noted that, while in reserve, he was having a ‘very happy time’, with ‘very nice men’, although unfortunately he didn’t have as much time to spare as when he was with the RE: ‘I always have certain duties to do which have got to be done- which, I suppose, is really much more good for you as it teaches regular habits.’

R C Sherriff  (2nd left) taking part in the Artists Rifles sports, 1916. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 2332/6/4/1/9)

While in reserve they were doing much the same thing as they had while in their barracks in Dover – ‘in the morning the usual drill, etc – the band has just played “retreat” which reminds me of the old days in the Artists Rifles, where I should not mind being now’. He seemed to meet a lot of men he had known while the Artists – indeed, the day before he had met someone against whom he had jumped in the Regimental sports.

He hoped that everyone at home was well, and that his mother was adjusting to her night work at the hospital. He knew it could be trying at first, and that it was easy to get sleepy, but for his part he had become used to it ‘as almost all [our work] is night work’. Before closing his letter he reminded her that when he was back in the line, his letters to her were likely to be rather short until they came back out again – but he still hoped that ‘my leave will not be very long in coming’.

[Next letter: 23 January]