Letters to America

Sunday, August 9th, 1942

My darling Joan,

I have just got Anne and John to sit up at the table and write you a little letter, but whether it ever gets finished is another thing. We were glad to have a letter from you last Monday, it was written from Auntie Mary’s on July 16th, but we haven’t yet had your letter written from the camp, so I suppose it has been lost. Isn’t it a pity? But never mind, we must expect to lose one now and again and it’s ages since we did lose one. I am so glad you had such a nice time at the camp and very especially pleased you can swim. You will be able to go in the sea with Daddy next time we all go for a holiday, but I’m afraid we will have to be patient for a long time yet. I expect you do have great fun with Auntie Mary in swimming with you, and I hope you all had a nice time when you went picnicking with Deborah Smith and her Mummy. You did very well to gain two pounds while you were at camp. You will be so tall and big when you come home, we’ll hardly know you dear. Do you still play the piano occasionally?

Last Wednesday evening there was a fireman’s display in the Rec(1). and Nanny and I took John and Anne. They quite enjoyed it. A fireman went up an extending ladder ever so high and then they lowered him on a rope to demonstrate how a person would be rescued from a high building. Then a big fire was lit and they played hosepipes on it. After it was over, there was dancing in an enclosure. I said to Nanny “Joan ought to be here. She would show us how to do the Rumba.” On Thursday morning there was a Punch and Judy show(2) at another Rec. in Wealdstone, and I took the twins along while Nanny cooked the dinner. There was a crowd and the gentleman made them all sing. Everybody enjoyed it. There are swings and a shoot at this Rec. too, so when the show was finished, John and Anne had to have a ‘go’ on the shoot before we came home.

Dora has a little girl living with her now(1). Her name is Jean and her Daddy is in the army in Egypt and her Mummy goes to work. She is a nice little girl and she reminds me of you because she is eight years old and about as big as you were when you went to America, but she is very dark. She and Dora came around this morning and took Anne and John for a walk, and when they came home Dora took her bunny. She has chosen the little black and white one, so now we have two grey and one white baby ones left. John means he is going to make an aeroplane, but I’m sure he’s much too tiny for that! Hope you can understand their little notes. It was quite an effort, but they loved doing it.

Well sweetheart, this is all this week. Everyone sends love. All my love and lots of kisses

Mummy
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  1. Rec. is short for Recreation Ground.
  2. Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy.
  3. It was common for people to take in lodgers. In this case it was presumably because the little girl's mother worked and childcare would not have been available.