Sherriff wrote to his father (whom he called ‘Pips’) from the base camp, where he had arrived at 9 o’clock the previous evening. He could not tell him (‘for reasons of censorship’) where the camp was, but we know from his later diary (Memories of Active Service) that he was in the camp at Étaples (or ‘Eat-apples’ as the Tommies called it). He told Pips about his journey the previous day, and about the tented accommodation in camp – with three to a tent they were fairly comfortable, and although washing and dressing were cramped, he was contented that he had all of his luggage and enough blankets.

He said very little about the camp in his letter, but he had a lot to say in his diary, describing a vast camp, with lines and lines of huts, glistening in the rain, cookhouses sending columns of smoke into the air, hospitals, recreation rooms, YMCA huts and many open squares for drilling.

Alomst everything he had encountered in the past day or so was in English – so much so that it was hard to believe he was in France. He took the chance at the camp to buy a good pair of trench boots (boasting to his dad that he had paid jus t£1-16s-9d, compared with £4-0-0 in London), but he also made sure to change some of his English money, to use in the French villages and towns later.

He had no idea when he would be moving on, nor where: all he knew was that he was due to report at 2 o’clock that afternoon, ‘so that will mean we have some work to do.’ But at least he had been spared the morning drill for those who hadn’t yet been to the front (‘to keep our minds occupied’), although that was in store the next morning if his orders to move hadn’t come through by then.

[Next letter: 30 September]