One thing in reading these letters is the contrast that can sometimes be made between the messages the brothers are sending home. This is particularly marked here, where we have two letters in consecutive days from John and Billie while they are stationed very close to each other. So John is telling Thompson:
"We all expect the war will finish this Summer but from what we have seen of it I don't see how that can happen..."
while the next day, Billie is more confidently writing to his mother that:
"from all accounts the war will not last much longer."
Whether this what Billie believed or simply a wish to give an upbeat message to his mother I cannot say.
As best I can tell, the "football match flag" capture that John relates is not the same as the capture that Billie writes about, unless the story has become garbled in the retelling (the numbers involved do not match, and the details of interest such as the football flag and the patent revolver are not shared), so it's an interesting coincidence that both letters detail a capture, mention the shelling to the left, describe the rations in the trenches, and respond to enquiries about laundry.
This letter, like several, is undated. I have settled on the date of 22nd April with a degree of confidence, however, as a few of the letters (including this one) have the date received marked on them. John's letters either side of this one have both postage and receipt dates, and each took 3 days to reach their recipient, so since this one was received on the 25th April, 22nd April is the most likely date of postage - possibly a day either side.
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