This first extract was written on 26th December 1940. It was John's first Christmas away from home, spent at Whitby where he had recently been posted to 7th Light Field Ambulance.
This is Boxing Day & I hope you are enjoying it, with so
many of your own about. I presume that Pansy & Tommy arrived on Monday
& with only Dick & myself absent, you must number a good gathering over
the Xmas. I’m sorry that I was unable to
get home, but it’s not my fault for I kept on hammering at the R.S.M. until he
must have been heartily sick of me. The
trouble lies in the fact that only a certain percentage of the unit is allowed
to be on leave, & of course all arrangements for Xmas had been made before
I came to Whitby & there was simply no room for anybody else. I have written an application to the C.O. but
haven’t been told anything. I should
know any day now. Perhaps it was just as
well that I didn’t come home, for there would have been rather an awful
congestion in the sleeping accommodation.
I don’t
know how long my wire took to reach you, but I hope that it arrived in time for
you to make your arrangements with convenience.
Yesterday was rare fun, with the officers & sergeants waiting on the
men for the Xmas dinner. They were
ragged unmercifully & took it all in the best of spirits. On any other occasion most of the fellows
would have been sentenced to `Glasshouse’ detention for breaking everyone of
the Army Acts! It was riotous not to say
highly amusing. This is the menu for the
dinner –
Roast
Pork
Roast
& Boiled Potatoes
Green
Peas
Sage
& Onion Stuffing
Apple
Sauce
Xmas
Pudding
Custard
Mince
Pie
Fruit
& Nuts
BEER
(Ahem!)
Apart from
not seeing any fruit & having Grape Fruit Crush in lieu of beer, the above
is as consumed by me. Not bad, eh? Better than most people had, I venture?
I had
intended to go to Church in the morning, but just couldn’t get out of bed until
11.30a.m., there being no parades all day.
In fact the
whole day was free so was this
afternoon, which I likewise spent in bed!
Shows you how we need much more rest!
This morning we were in fatigues & those didn’t take very long, so I
can’t say that we’re being overworked this Xmas. I was really on stand-by duty last night but
as they knew most of the fellows would ignore their duty, in pursuit of the
bottle, they didn’t have any of the usual parades. Still, I took the opportunity, with nearly
everybody out, to have a bath. I should
think twice before condemning a dog to take a bath in it, but the other two
available are only fit for pigs, so I did the best I could with the best one. Quite a Xmas delicacy!
I trust you
got my card, the rest also. I have got a
card from Ronnie, Steph & Iris E.
That parcel from the R.M. [Railway Mission, Colchester] came in as a welcome addition.
If this
letter reads rather jerkily, please understand that I’m writing lying on my bed
with my eyelids nearly closed, & what passes for my brain is functioning at
half speed.
Should
there have been any Xmas cards for me at home, don’t trouble to send them on
yet awhile until I know something definite.
I haven’t
bought a single present yet. It’s so
difficult to shop in Whitby as I believe I explained to sister Iris, so I’m
going to leave that part of the business until I get home, assuming of course
that I do get home!
Did I tell
you that last Thursday we had a Field Day?
It wasn’t very pleasant in the rain & mud to plough through forests
& fields after wounded men, though the journey to & from our area of
operations wasn’t at all bad. I understand that there’s to be another one
tomorrow, Friday.
You amuse
me when you write that I could have knocked you over with a postage stamp – on
receiving my news of the flight to Whitby.
I wonder how many postage stamps it would take to close-cover you? And remember, stamps usually take a licking,
not give one!
I knew that
there would be no oranges for Xmas for it was published in the papers to that
effect. No bananas either, I
imagine. Or if there were, there won’t
be soon.
Wasn’t it
kind of Iris to buy you that writing compendium? You won’t be able to plead scarcity of
writing papers in future should you not send me at least 20 pages !! with each
letter.
Getting on
to the subject of bunk-beds, I heard this afternoon that a Corporal from the 17th
Field Amb (at Whitby) fell out of his last night & is now in hospital. What a joke!
Now don’t be scared about me dear.
I’m a good bouncing boy!
I don’t
want one of those Balaclava helmets.
They are so frightfully ugly.
Obviously there could be no rest for anybody making the night hideous by
wearing one. It would weigh on the mind
- & more than with the weight of the wool! (crudely subtle)
Quite a
modern church, costing a good sum. Tell
you more about it later if I find anything interesting.
After the
service went to Whitby Abbey which dates back to the Saxons, about 600 odd
years A.D. Stands on the cliff edge
looking down on the North Sea & the River Esk which cuts Whitby in
two. Spanned by a bridge. The abbey, of which I enclose a photo is in a
remarkable state of preservation. A
monument (Caedmon’s Cross) not in the photo stands near the ruins &
indicates the spot near which the Father of English song fell asleep. He was a Saxon you know, a great scholar.
In the
afternoon I went for a walk, crossing the bridge which I have just mentioned
& following the river up for about 3 miles or so until I found a bridge
spanning the river higher up. And so
back to the billet having made a circular tour.
Actually I was on stand-by duty & I took a liberty in going out but
I thought it worth the risk. I couldn’t
go to Church because there are parades in the evening on this duty, & I had
to be present.
Taken all
round, this has been quite a happy Xmas, much better than I ever hoped it would
be. So don’t worry for my sake, dear
because I won’t be able to get home. I
only hope that you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. You know that my thoughts were with you, but
they weren’t morbid ones. What a lot we
have to be thankful for & Xmas time is surely the time for thanksgiving.
Now I have exceeded my time.
I close with my warmest love & hope that before long we shall meet
face to face.
Lovingly
yours
John
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