Salonica
March 5th 1919
My dear Father
I have got this far by degrees, and as there is no immediate prospect of moving on for some days I think it is worth writing to report progress.
I hope to send off a cable when I start from here to give you some idea of the time of my arrival, on the basis that it ought not to take much above a fortnight once I start.
It is a great nuisance that we have to come here at all and be kept hanging about.
I believe that there is a little delay in England, so I hope to pass through the dispersal centre rapidly, and turn up at Badsey very soon after landing in England.
One of the first things I shall want to know on arriving in the country is Mela’s address as I anticipate that she will very likely have left Bulford and been demobilized. So I shall wire to you for it if I can see my way to giving you an address for reply. If I move so fast that this is not possible I shall not have long to wait any way, so it won’t matter.
At Batum, where we were kept hanging about a long while, I managed to intercept some letters, yours and May’s of Jan 16 and George’s and Juliet’s of Jan 24th. I was tremendously glad to get news at last, and to know you were all well.
We had a good voyage here, and called at Constantinople to coal; I was able to go ashore several times and see something of the place. I hope I have the luck to do most of the remaining journey by sea as it saves a great deal of trouble, and some time too, and is much more comfortable. Military travelling by railway from all accounts is pretty bad.
Best love from
Your affectionate son
Cyril E Sladden
