Dear May

I should have wrote you before, but I have had no time. We are firing the general musketry course now, which is also the final course. I am doing well up to now, but the results will not be decided until another week now. I am trying for the Marksman Badge. With either this all a first class shot you get 6d a day extra, which is called proficiency pay. 6d a day will be worth having. The bullets make a terrific row as they whistle through the air. At first the recoil of the rifle and explosion of the cart-ridge seemed to deafen and stun you. But now we don't take any notice of it. The different targets all have 4 different scores. There is a bull, which is 4, inner which is 3, magpie which is 2, and outer which is one. We've had rotten weather for the firing. Some days it has been raining and that cold that we couldn't feel to press the trigger. That 18th K.R.R. are doing about the best in the firing out of all the regiments round Aldershot. We usually fire near the East Surreys and West Kents, and my word you can see the difference in the scores.

Dear May, I wrote the above nearly a week ago, it is now Monday 27th, and we finished our musketry course this morning. In the 1st two parts I did splendid, but in the 3rd and final part, I did not do so well. The 2 first parts do not really count, so I have truly turned out a 2nd class shot. All those that did well in the preliminary parts, did rotten in the classification. Still there are hundreds in our battalion that haven't done as good as me. We had to do one practice in our gas helmets today. We had to put them on, and fire 5 rounds rapid in a minute. We had to run with them on too. Some of the fellows were spluttering and gasping for breath. As long as you stand still with them on there is not very much difference in your breathing, but there is a difference running. You have to keep on breathing through your nose, and blowing through your mouth. They are very simply made, most of them out of old shirts. They stink and smell horrible of chemi-cals. I think we are all going to be vaccinated tomorrow. We haven't heard anything official about going on leave at all, but you can expect me home within a week. I will let you know as soon as I hear something definite. As regards my allotment, they've no business to stop 6d a week out of the 3/6. I'm glad Aunt wrote about it. Will you tell Aunt that I should like another pair of socks, very much, as I have only 2 pair any good, I shall have to get some more handkerchiefs too. I bet Will is proud of his khaki, isn't he? He ought to be one of the leading nuts in the Wolverton C.L.B.

We all had to turn out the other night in the middle of the night, for a fire. It was got under hand within an hour. If I come home on leave, I shall very likely have to have full pack and rifle. I will write again tomorrow if I have time. Give my love to Dad, Will, George, Aunt, and Mrs. Cox, with the fondest love from

Your loving brother Albert
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P.S. You must excuse bad writing because, you know, I haven't had much practice lately