On the move with his battalion, Sherriff only had time to write two brief letters home. He explained to Pips that:

‘we had a long day’s march today, finishing up this evening in a fairly large town [Fouquieres] for the night, and we go on tomorrow, consequently my letters have been rather irregular and I am sorry, but as soon as possible I will continue my usual flow when I am able.’

He could not say exactly where he was, nor where he was headed, but he told his mother that: ‘We are going to new fields, which is a change from the old ones, which you get used to and gradually grow to dislike.’

A (slightly battered) tintype of Sherriff on a cycling tour with his father and sister Beryl c1907. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 3813/14/1/5)

Despite being fairly tired after his march, he told Pips that he had ridden to a nearby town on a bicycle to do some shopping [the Sherriffs, especially Pips, were very keen cyclists] – ‘the first time I had ridden a bicycle for nearly six months, and I kept getting on the wrong side of the road.’

He reassured Pips that he should not be alarmed if he were not to receive letters irregularly. He told him, as he had his mother the day before, that ‘should anything occur (wounded or even ill fairly seriously), you are quickly warned, so there is no need to worry…when you get letters irregularly it will probably be the faulty mail service.’ He apologised that his letters had been shorter and less interesting of late, but that was because his training in rest had been ‘fairly monotonous’, and he had already described the local French scenes in previous letters.

Captain Gerald Spence Tetley M.C., as drawn by Private Edward Cole of the 9th East Surreys. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: ESR/19/2/7/1-15)

He made no comment about the fact that his lethargy while in the officers’ rest home had slowed his letter writing, but he did comment to his mother that the time away from the line had helped:

‘I have now had a month from the line altogether – when I left it with Neuralgia I thought I could never go back again to the line, I felt so shaky. But I feel better now, calmer, and your letters never fail to cheer me up, dear…I have just read two long letters from you…two of the nicest letters that anyone could get.’

In the letter to his mother he enclosed a card which had been sent to him by Captain Tetley (‘In memory of New Year’s Day’), along with a letter case. Sherriff told his mother that ‘New Year’s day will always be memorable as I was with him all day from 3:00 in the morning till 2:00 in the afternoon, during which time we were shelled almost incessantly – and he gave me [the letter case] as a memento of the day’.

[Next letter: 4 March]