Up about 8 o’clock. Down to headquarters. Long argument at night with Sergeant Cooper and the rest on the subject of red lamps¹.

Received letter from Ernie to say that he will probably be going on leave about this time.

1. “Red lamps”, if a correct transcription, almost certainly refers to the widespread use of licensed brothels by troops in France during WW1. According to this piece on WW1 brothels at the BBC, brothels displayed blue lamps if they were for officers and red lamps for other ranks.

   Given ALL’s strong religious principles and his well documented position on a related moral issue, alcohol, there can be little doubt that ALL was against while Sergeant Cooper and the rest were for red lamps, hence the argument noted here, although the exact nature of the argument can only be guessed at. ↩