Wartime Brothers 1944

I’m afraid I’ve not got much time, before the post goes, to say thank you..for the two more grand letters which were waiting for me today.

I’d hoped to have a bit of time to answer properly but I seem to have been busy since lunch time - nearly everyone else being still in bed or flying. However I’ll write again this evening and will try to make it a rather better effort.

I’m now very comfortably tucked up in bed and feeling more than somewhat sleepy and definitely prone to daydreaming, so I’m rather doubtful of my chances of making this letter much of a success.

I was rather glad to hear that your parents don’t think that you are bringing too much disgrace on the family name…

…I’m sorry about this messy writing but my pen seems to have suddenly become temperamental so I hope you can manage to read between the blots.

I went to an ENSA effort this evening in camp, a play called “The Wind and the Rain” which I enjoyed very much indeed. It was quite funny and also, for some reason or other, it made me think, although i don’t quite understand why it should. However it does show that the old brain still ticks and is not entirely stagnant.

I’ve not yet had a chance of seeing the M.G. so don’t know very much more about it than I did on leave. However, I hope to be able to get hold of it - or something, at least - before another leave rolls along. I am already looking forward quite a lot to that next leave…And I’m still keeping my fingers crossed… for the day when there will be no more separations.

I really should have written this last night but a few of us decided we’d earned a night out (well, evening anyway) so we went to a bit of a do at a local army place where we drank quite a lot of their booze, ate their food, and shot then some wizard lines in payment. In fact a very pleasant time was had by all and we returned to camp (I’m speaking for myself, at least) in a comfortable frame of mind and a nice mellow feeling to help it.

I’m writing this now in the mess after a rather nice lunch and it’s raining cats and dogs outside. The weather rather makes me feel that an ideal way to spend the afternoon would be … to share a nice comfortable chair in front of a nice comfortable fire, With you, of course… … i think I had better confess that I have not yet got around to getting that photograph taken as, apart from last night, I haven’t been out of camp since I came back from a certain very wonderful leave, I had thought of getting dressed up very prettily this afternoon and beetling off early but a two mile walk to the station isn’t an inviting prospect in this weather and, besides, I have to get this letter written if you are to get it for the weekend….I will get it done as soon as I get the chance - though heaven knows the one you have already should be enough punishment for anybody.

…By the way, Dearest, have you seen any rings that appeal to you yet or have you any ideas? I hope that you have because it’s right off my beat, despite advertisements in the Underground on the subject. If you have any ideas, let me because I’d be very pleased to hear them.

To answer your questions, Darling, in their order of appearance, i would say, firstly, not yet, secondly, not yet, thirdly, not yet and fourthly, I love you too, lass. On second thoughts, maybe I could be a bit more explicit.

The M.G. deal hasn’t yet materialised for various reasons, but may do. The photograph I hope I explained about convincingly in yesterday’s letter. As for the W.O. I have more or less given that up for now, as I don’t think there is very much chance of hearing anything about it and there is really not much I can do about it.

I have duly noted your suggestions about a possibility of an odd game of table tennis - if you’ll give me a start. As for the swimming, I’m not so sure as, apart from the weather and general warmth thereof, you are sue to take advantage of any sun to get beautifully sunburnt there putting to shame my lily white skin. Besides, I’m a pretty horrible sight in a bathing costume even when decently brown.

I think I’d better say goodnight now, my Precious, as my eyes are beginning to go on strike ( we had quite a party in the mess last night) so sweet dreams….

Sunday (7th)

Hello Darling. Today has turned out quite a nice one, with a fair amount of sunshine and a gentle breeze and once again I’ve started thinking that it is the sort of day which we should be able to spend together - as if any day isn’t.

Even the wilds of Lincolnshire have been showing some signs of spring since I came back here. The grass is much greener and the trees and hedges are coming out quite nicely although even now they are not fully out. But is shows the right spirit.

By the way the party I mentioned earlier on was quite an affair. Actually it was a dance as well and everybody seemed to have a lot of fun - and as beer was free (more or less) they had quite a spot of that as well. As a matter of fact, I don’t think Ive seen quite such an assortment of drinks (or drunks?) for a long time. I must confess that I only went there because there wasn’t much else to do, but I’m glad I did although … I would have given quite a lot if you could have been there as well. In case you should grow suspicious, I was quite sober - though perhaps I should be more accurate if I said that I wasn’t drunk.

I wonder what you are doing now. It’s three o’clock, after a rather nice lunch, so I like to imagine you sunning yourself very lazily in the garden or perhaps running around energetically at tennis…

I’ll start off by thanking you very much for what you described as being a “short note’” and a “snappy effort”. Maybe I’m prejudiced…but I think it was an awful nice effort and did a very good job of cheering me up… I’ve been feeling rather more cheesed (off) than usual for the last two or three days - probably not enough work - but that letter seemed to snap me out of it.

…Talking about the time I take to make up my mind, I suppose I am a pretty dense sort of specimen but I just can’t seem to do anything about it. Sometimes I want to get married and let everybody and everything just go hang, and at others it just seems rather pointless with the world in the state that it is. Taking a chance, if one s that way inclined, is alright if one has some reasonable prospect of a reasonable future - and the “it can’t happen to me” idea is all washed up these days. Quite apart from that aspect, however, I hate thinking about prospects after the war, whenever that “after the war” maybe. You see, Darling, little Tommy here is not one the brightest lads … at the best of times, he has no particular training and - what’s worse - no idea of what he wants to do.

Thursday (11th) Hello, Darling, it’s a beautiful sunny afternoon here now - definitely a day for lounging around the side of a swimming pool or watching somebody run around playing tennis.

I guess there must be a sort of spring feeling in the air with all this gadding about although I don’t think a one can exactly call it that dashing. After all, two evenings in over a fortnight isn’t really hitting the highspots so very hard.

This letter should really have been written last night, but somehow I never got around to doing anything at all - although i guess that’s not so very unusual for me. Now I’m sitting in the flight office endeavouring to write sensibly between interruptions and keeping my fingers crossed so that not too many people will bother me for a while.

From the letter which you wrote on Sunday, it rather sounds as though I wasn’t very far out when I imagined you lazing out in the garden. As a matter of fact, I also imagined or hoped ( or something) that you might conceivably be in the throes of writing a letter, but the old ego wasn’t quite strong enough to write that down - after all you might have been flirting outrageously at the tennis club or something! And I would hate to embarrasses you - or me.

I hope the charwoman didn’t have too bad a fit after your industry in washing - and ironing your curtains - and cleaning the windows. I’ve been trying to think of something over which I can blow my trumpet lass, but I guess there just isn’t anything. Unless of course, you count a bath I had yesterday!

I’m afraid I’m a horrible rat, Darling, because after promising myself that I would spend yesterday evening in a beautiful daze answering your letters - and trying to answer them in the way they deserve - I allowed myself to be inveigled out to a party. So I’m afraid I shall once more have to put off answering them properly until they give me a bit more time. I don’t think I’ll ask you to forgive me because I’ve quite a strong feeling that I don’t particularly deserve forgiveness, but I will hope that you don’t mind too much.

..I’m sorry that the letter I wrote last Friday didn’t reach you until Monday but I gave it so some one else to post and they must have forgotten it until it was too late. Incidentally, the letter you wrote on Monday took an extra day on the journey, having apparently travelled via Sheffield, so arriving yesterday with the other one.

I received Cyril’s commiseration with thanks but somehow feel that he must have said that he was sorry for me before he was introduced to that photograph otherwise I feel quite sure that I should have been congratulated and you would have had the pity. Tell him I’m sorry I didn’t “get organised” (what on earth can he mean by that?) any quicker but will remember his advice in the future. Maybe. Sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble finding a ring ... I’m glad you weren’t too tempted by the solitaire at £95 - that might have shaken me a bit! I hope you do manage to find something that you like, though, otherwise I can see my next leave, when it does eventually come along, spent on a walking tour of all the jewellers shops in greater London.