Letters to America

Sunday, November 1st, 1942

My darling Joan,

The months are slipping away so quickly that you see we are in November before I’d realised it. We had a lovely happy letter from you this week, and as you said it does seem unnecessary for Miss Nichols(1) to call on you, but it is a routine call she has to make, as I expect she has to make a report. I am very glad it is that way, it makes me very happy.

I was very pleased to know that you had joined the girl scouts. It’s a fine thing and you learn quite a lot of useful subjects – that is if you want to win the badges. I used to belong to them when I was young and loved it, but I’m afraid I didn’t get many badges. Janet Kemp is a scout, but I think would be in a different group to you. What colour is your uniform? Ours was a dark blue with a pale blue tie. I hope you sell a lot of war bonds and stamps(2). The twins have put all the money they had for their birthday on their savings card. I still put a little on your card every week too.

What a very lucky girl you are to have all those beautiful clothes given you – they are all very kind people. There are not many girls who have so many lovely dresses and coats these days. You must feel very proud, and I hope you are grateful too dear for all the nice things you have. How kind of Auntie May to send you to dancing lessons again, especially when everything is so expensive. It is jolly too when so many of your friends are going with you. You and Teddy can practise together between lessons, can’t you. I do hope we get the snapshots safely.

Teddy and Sandy’s birthday card arrived Friday, but the twins haven’t had yours yet and I know you’d send one too. Maybe it will come later, but please thank the boys for theirs, will you. Joan and Anne have written them a little note and put it in Daddy’s to you.

So you are still getting tall and putting on weight. That’s good. When we were walking along the road yesterday, we all held hands. Me first, then Anne and then John. They said if you were here, where would you walk, and I said I thought it would be me, Joan, Anne and John but it might be Joan first if she had grown taller than her Mummy. Looks as if I might be right, doesn’t it dear? Poor Anne got all dressed up in her macintosh cape ready for Sunday school(3) today, then couldn’t go because it rained so hard. She was disappointed, but John didn’t mind because he didn’t want to go anyway. He doesn’t like going out in the rain.

I hope that Carl had a nice birthday party – he certainly had a posh dinner. You are getting quite clever to iron your dresses and a good help for Auntie Mary. Bravo Joan for having a good report card.

My best love darling
Mummy
xxxxxxxxxx

  1. Miss Nichols must have been a social worker of some kind who sent reports to the children's parents to reassure them that the evacuees were being well cared for.
  2. The US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr., introduced a voluntary loan system and planned a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The intention was to link the attractiveness of the baby bonds that had been implemented in the interwar period with the patriotic element of the Liberty Bonds from the First World War. This would raise money to finance the war. In the United Kingdom, the National Savings Movement helped raise funds for the war effort.
  3. Sunday school is a school for religious teaching usually for children and young people and usually a part of a church or parish.