CADET BOLTE REPORTS VARIED EXPERIENCES

AGAIN THROUGH THE COURTESY of hisfather, abstracts from recent letters ofCharles G. Bolte '41 are reprinted below.Together with classmates John F. Bristerand William P. Durkee III he is progressing toward a commission in the King'sRoyal-Rifles. Their training in England began in the summer with the rank of Riflemen, more recently Lance Corporals, andnow Cadets in Officer Training. ED.

WE HAVE A FULLER program now and a longer working day. The schedule includes a lot of revision, tests of Elementary Training on Bren and rifle, drill, etc. But we're going on with map reading, tactics and various other advanced and highly censorable topics. In fact we've been given a couple of pamphlets marked "This information must not fall into Enemy Hands." I'm delighted to see the progressiveness radicalism, judged by old Army standards of the literature and the teaching. They seem to have gained some experience from the Battle of France, and even to be putting it into effect.

To make up for the housewifery, expensiveness and isolation of this new camp we have many swell pleasures. There is hot water nearly always, even for shaving in the morning; lights in the washroom; all the toilet seats are whole, and there is usually toilet paper (unheard of at censored), the food is much better, we don't have to parade for meals, we can read the paper at breakfast, there are no plates to wash; the barracks have central heating and we don't have to scrub them every Friday; there is a cadets' reading room with a fair military library and good tables to write on, such as this one. We get leave from Saturday noon till Sunday midnight, with good trains up to town, except when we're on duty. So last (censored) we stayed in (censored). This week-end the first 15 of us alphabetically are on Passive Air Defense Duties (I'm a member of the gas decontamination squad) so we're confined to barracks for a week from tonight, and next week-end we have our monthly church parade. But everybody leaves here on a week-end, most of the boys having cars or motorbikes. I've had several invitations to various homes, and have accepted them all, for the future. We did celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday, Durk and Jack and I, by going to (censored) at the invitation of Dicky Adare's beautiful niece, for a pleasant chicken dinner and a good dance afterwards. In the afternoon we had one of those wretched rugger matches, where we lost our first, to these rugged tank men. We also had a ceremonial parade, which required endless polish and standing-in-thecold. Then we've seen a motor platoon at war strength, mounting trucks and moving off in 12 seconds; heard some interesting tales (censored) pleasant young platoon officer; and spent this afternoon in races on various Bren-gun tests, barrel changing and the like. Our platoon commander has at last explained what a motor-battalion is and what it does: our company commander has promised we'll be in action in (censored) and Durk, putting the two facts logically together, deduces we (censored) which we all agree to, with a gay laugh.

I don't (censored. .. .) can tell you much, owing to the censor, but I'll mention that the War Office has at last issued a brief pamphlet on the training and employment of a motor-battalion which is marked "Provisional" on the cover; and I'll quote two of our lieutenants' comments: "We have the most interesting time because we may be called upon to do anything at all"; "It's always a shambles." Apparently we are in a position where initiative and resourcefulness is essential, and where our role constantly changes: wonderful, the thing is so new it can't be concreted or stultified because the brass hats don't know exactly what they want us for. Consequently we storm a strong-point one day, defend a river-line against (censored) the next, patrol an armored division's harbor that night, and average 3 hours sleep almost every 24, Every man in the battalion has to know every weapon, driving, tactics; every section has to be able to work on its own; every subaltern is a Stonewall Jackson. And the armoured divisions can't do anything without us. I think I'll join the RAF and take out an annuity for my old age (but they won't let anyone transfer who's been trained in motor battalions, so I just look hungrily at the planes that are always over our heads now).

Did you hear the Dartmouth broadcast to Dartmouth, England, and us? We caught it the night we arrived here, and had the greatest thrill since we left. Jerry Tallmer and Craig Kuhn came on with warm and real messages, and Hoppy nearly broke our hearts with his 18th century eloquence, very sincere. WRUL came in nicely, and when we heard the Glee Club we missed several heart-beats. It was one of the nicest things that ever happened.

I must stop and let you get back to work. I hope everything goes well with you and ours. A very Merry Christmas to you, in case the mails jam after this: have an eggnog in my name, please, and remember that to keep me warm on my first Christaway from home I have the thought of 20 wonderful, wonderful ones you gave me before—truly, pop.