Letter Mother from Sailors' and Soldiers' Sleeping Quarters, Aberdeen, Scotland

Sailors' and Soldiers' Sleeping Quarters
82 College Street
Aberdeen
22-10-18

Dear Mother:–

This is a nice day a little insipid sunshine, rain and cloudy, but on the hole rather nice for fall.

This city proves to be clean and tidy nice wide streets and a fine tram system about fourteen years old, the Edinburgh tram system was the cable system and the poorest I ever saw.

Here no soldier in blue is charged a cent to ride as far as he wants to go. The people are more awake to the soldiers needs here, than any place I have been.

The churches are fine and a lot of them, every thing is built of Granit here as far as the modern Aberdeen goes, but some of the older buildings in the suburbs are built of brick.

They call Aberdeen the granit city.

I ran across two boys this A.M. that never saw a railroad or street car untill they enlisted the came from the Shetland Islands there is only 3000 people there in all.

24th

Well Mother I sent you a letter last night that may reach you before this one but it does you will have to read them over again to get them in there proper sequence.

I had a long walk this A.M, I suppose about two and a half miles. I got my hand dressed and then came uptown and crossed the river then walked away around and came in another way.

The old men do a lot of herding sheep here, they have very good dogs drive small bunches. but most of the time while on the city streets there is two of them with each flock.

I was at the big sheep auction Mart yesterday and watching the auctioneer carry on the sale and the men by bunch after bunch, It is just like every thing else, there is a few rich men sit back and watch for a few bunch that have to be sold after the smaller buyers money runs out, and they pick them up at half price and dubble there money again. the same the world over.

I do not know whether to stop at Perth today or go on to Glasgow, I want to get back to Buxton Sat. night if I can. but still I want to see the country between here and there.

Dinner is not on in this Y untill 1 O.K. I am getting in to bad habits I did not get up untill about 8 today, and I find my self generally interested in some story up till about eleven. I will have to get over that at the hospital lights are out at Buxton at ten 30 and in London they were out at 8. so one had to go to sleep, it is funny the changes all in less that two months that I have had from sleeping on an oil sheet under a stretcher among falling shells to hosp then Y.M.C.A.'s and then a nice home and back to the big boat soon I hope.

Bye bye Mother dear as ever your loving son
Laurie