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Nearly everyone lost some of their baggage and most of them all. I was fortunate as I only lost my hammock and blankets and some underwear which I had put in my hammock as I did not have any room in my sea-bag. I saved my sea bag and hand grip. This ship is very much over crowded as you can imagine. The food is very good and plenty of it but we have no fresh water to wash in and not a regular bunk to sleep, so we sleep on the decks in life boats, in fact any place where we can stretch ourselves. I have been sleeping in some of the ship’s crews hammocks who have been on watch, so I have fared very well.
We have left the rest of the convoy and are sailing alone but expect to meet a convoy of destroyers to-morrow. This ship is a cruiser so we have 20 guns on board and some crack gun crews. At present we are going at 20-22 knots per hour so if everything goes O.K. we will reach Brest some time Monday afternoon. Yesterday the Fourth we had a chicken dinner and it was a real good feed. We sure are a “salty” bunch now and no one gives a damn what happens now and we are hoping to meet a few subs. I think I told we were going to Base 25 which we think is on the Island of Corfu. Most of the men think the Henderson was set on fire before we left New York. She was a slow boat but had fine accommodations for the men. Tell the bunch at home about it as I cannot write everyone. I am feeling fine and did not catch a cold even.
Love to you Mother dear,
Arthur
