Letters to America

Wednesday, October 8th, 1941

My dear Joan,

This morning we had a picture postcard of Radio City(1) which you posted on July 29th. What a dreadful long time it has taken to reach us – but better late than never. It does look a very grand place and I do think you were lucky children to be taken there. So good of Nana Anne, wasn’t it? You haven’t told us what you thought of the tall buildings in New York, but of course there might still be a letter on the way.

I do hope you are quite well and very happy, dear, and helping Auntie Mary all you can now she has no maid. You could keep your room tidy and make your own bed, and also lay the table if Auntie will let you, and I am sure you would like to after all the good times and loving care she has given you. When you get Daddy’s letter that I posted last Monday, you will find two weeks Ruperts(2) because I forgot to put them in the week before. Do you still like him? Tell me when you get tired of him or when you think you are too big to read him.

John and Anne love riding their new tricycles and play garages and those sort of games. When I don’t have to go right down to Wealdstone I let them take them out with me. Have you ridden your bicycle much lately?

Last Friday Mrs Kemp and I went to the cinema and I quite enjoyed it, it made a nice change. I haven’t been for months. There was a lovely moon to light our way home otherwise I shouldn’t have gone as I hate being out in the black-out(3). I expect you have forgotten all about that and how we have to black out our windows.

This afternoon the twins and I went on the allotment(4) and did some weeding for Daddy. It really is astonishing how they grow and they do make the gardens look untidy.

Please Joan, give Auntie Mary my love and I hope all are quite well, as we are this end. My best respects to Uncle Carl and love to Teddy and Sandy.

Lots of love and kisses from John, Anne and Mummy
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  1. Radio City is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.
  2. Rupert Bear is an English children's comic strip character. It first appeared in the Daily Express newspaper in 1920.
  3. Blackout regulations were imposed on 1 September 1939, before the declaration of war. These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft. External lights such as street lights were switched off, or dimmed.
  4. An allotment is a small area of land in a town which a person rents to grow plants and vegetables on.