1 Nov. 30th My p r Delighted to get a nice long letter, tho' for some reason
the mail was very late, & we got letters 16 hours later
instead of 2 hours earlier as we had expected ! I see your difficulties, & think that they are rather
due to lack of work to do with so many helpers. Another idea
has struck me but it will need very careful working out
to be a success:- It seems to me that now is the time to inculcate
a little thrift, & of course the right & obvious way to do so
is through the War Loan. My scheme is that your committee
should do this for the men, & that just as they might (in
my opinion) act as Agents for purchasing stores, so might
they for the purchase of War loan bonds. I can see all manner of difficulties but none that are
insurmountable :- first of all the men have got to have some-
one whom they absolutely trust; this means the signature of
the D or of Lady C (in additon to that of the Hony Secy
probably) but excluding at all costs that of some of the others. A pamphlet will be clearrequired making it absolutely
clear a)what you are prepared to do for the man ,& b) what he must
do himself i e remit you certain sums announce the person to whom 2 it should be delivered if he is killed etc 3)the terms of interest etc. My suggestion practically is that you open a branch of the
Post office for the sale of Govtloans & that you act as trustees
for the men until their return. It may be too complicated. We had an appaling day for our move yesterday & every-
thing looked intensely gloomy. Today however there has been breeze &
sunshine —such a day as we have spent on some of our picnics
together, & oh.....when shall we again?. A useful fright. I leftlost this scrawl & your last letter
& could not think where they could be but found them on the
General's desk ! I reread them with much interest but think
on the whole it might have done him good to have read them. The books have come, but something has gone wrong with
the mail as we have no papers & no one else any papers. Clever
p r to get hers through. Perhaps the Censor thought it was extra nice.
I haven't had the chance of opening the books but best thanks. Now I have to read other peoples' letters before the mail
goes & when I would much rather be doing "something" else. Tell Mater to go very cautious in regard to Mrs Stewart & the D
as the former is very nice but "sketchy" & I would as soon
give her the management of your show as I would put M' Glll in
charge of the bank of England. I haven't the least idea whether 24 or 29 is your address. Your letters are certainly safest in your custody. We have taken action already in telling COs to indent for
Socks etc etc & not to write to you for eqessentials, which are a
military issue Love Wilfrid BS.