Major John Cheyne Davidson
Name/Rank: Major John Cheyne Davidson, Chaplain Battalions: 93rd, 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospital Born/Current Town: Newboro, Ontario/ Peterborough, Ontario Known as in Letters: Major Davidson, Canon Davidson Files: http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B2323-S021 Major John Cheyne Davidson was the Chaplain, or as Vincent called him, the Canon for the 93rd Battalion when they first went over to England. He is mentioned in two of Vincent's letters home, on Aug
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November 27, 1917
That sig. On envelope is a work of art Dear Mother and Father,
Just a very short note with my left hand so pardon the writing and the brevity of same. I hope you are all well and know that I am all right so you are not doing any unneccesary worrying. My wound is getting okay fine. I am the luckiest person imaginable. Missed all organs and only hit my collar bone. Of course it made quite a little hole but it is gradually filling up. I am still in France as
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July 8, 1917
Dear Jack, Received your letter OK and sure am glad to hear from you. I received the tobacco and pipes all right also cigarettes and peppermints and thank you very much for them. It is awfully good of you Jack. Well how are things in Toronto? I suppose business had died down a bit as it naturally would. Do you get down home regularly? It cheers the folks up to have you with them on Sundays the longest day in the week. Agnes must have had a good time while she was home. I wish
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June 11, 1917
Dear Mother & Father, Glad to hear that you are all feeling well and fit. Received your letters of April 29th and May 6th also the big cake which was splendid and reached me in fine condition. If it is not too much bother please repeat. It certainly went fine. Just received a big tin of tobacco from Jack. I am tickled to death at getting it as I have been sucking my pipe hoping for some good tobacco while I have been smoking some of the issue tobacco. How is the hen coming al
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May 23, 1917
Dear Mother & Father, Well tomorrow is the 24th and we can have a real celebration if we want to start something but the last holiday was pretty fair. Received a box of cigars from Aunt Mary and a box from you containing maple sugar, candy and everything so am well looked after. Smoking cigars in a funk hole is rather classy. The other day I drew some artillery fire on our little home by raising too much of a smoke with my cigar. Feel somewhat like a millionaire. They certain
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May 18, 1917
Dear Mother & Father, Well today is another bright sun shiny day. Just had an inspection and the men all turned out fine after a pretty strenuous month and more. Some of the familiar faces were missing but their places were filled by some fine looking draught men. Am sending you the picture I intended to send before. It is a bit soiled from carrying around. I received your boxes this last week from you and thanks very much. Received the one that Aunt Mary put the candy in. Am
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May 12, 1917
Dear Mother & Father, This is about the fourth letter I have started to write this week but have not been able to post. Received your letters of April 15th and 23 and am glad you received my cable. I sent one about a month ago but had it returned to me after a couple of weeks in the mails. Received the box you sent me containing the white socks, marmalade, candy and maple sugar. The socks came in fine. Send some more maple sugar will you if you think of it. It comes in better
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April 18, 1917
Dear Mother & Father, Received your letters, also the apples for which I thank you. Hope you received my two cables. I also received my flannels OK and they are splendid. I hope you will excuse my long delay in writing you but as you will read by the papers things have been frightfully busy of late. The Canadians stunt at Vimy and all the rest was simply wonderful but, we lost quite a few fine fellows. Well there is very little news that I can tell you that you have not alrea
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January 2, 1917
Dear Mother and Father, Just a few lines to let you know that I am in the best of health. Hope you are receiving my letters regularly. Received yours of the 10th of December. I suppose Mother, you are back home now. I hope you had a good trip to Toronto. Agnes will be getting along fine no doubt. Grandma will be quite comfortable in that she has some heat right with her all the time. I suppose she will kind of miss poking the fire but the heat will be there just the same. You
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December 25, 1916
Dear Mother & Father, Well today is Christmas and it is fine and cold with not a terrible lot of mud, although last night rain simply came down in torrents. We had a fine Christmas dinner, having four roast chickens. So we fared pretty well. Everybody had lots of boxes. I received a dandy from you also another one containing apples which certainly did go fine. I don’t think there is anything I enjoyed better since I left Canada than some Canadian apples. My platoon had their
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November 30, 1916
France Dear Mother & Father, Received your letter of the 5th last evening and am sorry you are not receiving my letters regularly. The 1st couple of weeks over here things came along so rapidly that I didn’t get settled down to writing as often as I should, as for the cable, I was unable to get it through, but possibly could have left some body word to send it for me but my letter I thought would be sufficient as it anticipated the move by a couple of days. Dupuy has just joi
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November 12, 1916 (To Parents)
France Dear Mother and Father, This is Monday noon. I have just finished my dinner and am going to have all the afternoon to myself. Spent all morning in digging trenches so I will have to clean up considerable as it is very muddy work. I also worked all day Sunday so this afternoon will be a welcome rest. I am probably going back to my battalion tomorrow so am getting a few things together. Yesterday afternoon I had a fine bath in a Brewery, but not in beer as having it in a
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November 12, 1916 (To Grandma)
France Dear Grandma, I am sending you a couple of French postcards and a letter just to let you know, though I haven’t written, that I am still thinking of you. I hope you are feeling well and able to get around as much as ever. Your eyesight I hope is not bothering you. I am now at a training school back of the front line learning how to handle a machine gun, so you see our training never ceases. I have been here about a week and am returning to my battalion tomorrow or the
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November 8, 1916
Dear Mother & Father, You will probably be thinking that I have been neglecting writing but if I haven’t been writing I have always been thinking of you. We do not get regular times to write. We may find time to attend to these things and then it might not occur again for a week or so. However, I will try and write oftener. It takes such a long while to get an answer to a letter that one is adept to become impatient. We are getting miserable weather here now. It rains continu
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October 30, 1916
My address if you have not already got it France 18th Battalion B.E.F. 4th Brigade II Division ℅ Army Post Office London Dear Mother & Father, Well I have been expecting some word from you but I suppose my mail is being held up at the 39th battalion and they will likely forward it on when it becomes a nuisance to them. I received a very welcome letter from Jack while I was in the trenches so you can see the wonderful system they have over here. I suppose he got an opportunity
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October 17, 1916
Dear Mother and Father, Well after a pretty fast trip across I am now in France. It was a fairly good trip although some of us were showing signs of sea-sickness. As for myself, I was too tired to feel that way inclined. I slept like a log until I wakened up in port. I believe I’ve made more or less of a dash for it. My first look at a German was decidedly to my advantage. We saw quite a few on the docks when we landed, working under the guard of a French infantryman with bag
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October 11, 1916
Dear Mother & Father, Well I have had a streak of luck today. A letter from home and a letter from Agnes. Those snaps of the girls are simply great. As you know there is no more 93rd Battn. We are the 39th battalion now under Col. Preston. Everything is well organized here and everything is done properly. We are doing some real soldiering now. I was in London last week for three days which I spent in seeing London. I saw most of the most interesting places, St.Pauls, Westmins
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October 7, 1916
Dear Mother & Father, As you see I am attached to the 39th Battn. at West Sandling Camp. The battalion received its final smash yesterday and most of us are today with the 39th and are on the General list. Col. Preston as you know is in command. I have just got back from London. I was on three days leave. I got the rest of my equipment. Fixed up a few things, changed my account and was in to see the manager of the Royal. I happened to get in with a officer from the R. Eng. fr
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September 26, 1916
Otterpool Camp Dear Father, Well I received your letter of the 10th with the card which I am filling out and sending to you. I am pretty well fixed financially now so will be able to have some money in the bank. I am going up to London for certain Saturday for six days leave, part of which I will spend in the city. I am going to transfer my account from the Bank of Montreal to the Royal, also I get my clothing allowance of £7/11/0 clothing grant from the pay office. I have ne
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September 22, 1916
Dear Mother & Father, Well you will be wondering why you haven’t heard from me before. The fact of the matter is we are just out of about a week’s quarantine for Spinal meningitis. We had several cases and one death this morning. One of the Frosts. I think his first name is Thomas. He has a brother with us. The poor fellow, he had a hard time of it and his brother feels pretty bad. Eight of the subalterns left this morning for France to join various battalions over there. Ste
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