Letters to America

Saturday, January 9th, 1943

Darling Joan,

It has been a lovely day today, bright and sunny, but very cold and frosty. So it being frosty we haven’t been on to allotment(1) today, but Mummy took John and Anne for a walk to Hatch End to see the trains.

I have just finished playing a few games with them and now they are off, to bed. We played at Ludo and Anne won that. Then we played at Snakes and Ladders and John won. So then I played Anne at Draughts and I did manage to win that.

We all had a good laugh last night listening in to a Jack Benny programme from America. It is getting quite a favourite programme with us, now that we can follow the jokes a little better.

Now Anne insists on playing another game of Snakes and Ladders before she goes to bed so she is playing Nanny. I expect she will win because she is doing all the moving, and when she does that she has a habit of winning.

I am sending you another snap that I took of them in the back bedroom one sunny day. It’s rather dark on one side but is quite good of them really, although they both look a little serious, don’t you think?

I know you will be glad to hear that your Daddy has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire(2). It is quite a high distinction and Mummy and I may have to go to London, perhaps to Buckingham Palace to see the King, to receive it. If I do, I will certainly have a lot to tell you that week.

Anne had a dolly for Christmas that she thinks the world of. She has called her Mary because she was a Christmas present from Santa Claus. She has taken more care of it so far than she has of any other dolly she has had before.

She also had some clothes for it, and loves dressing Mary in her outdoor clothes and she takes her to bed with her every night. Which reminds me, how is Olive(3)?

Well I must finish off this letter because Mummy is getting them off to bed and afterwards we are going to Auntie Kemps to play bridge with them for an hour or two. Nanny will be with the twins, so they won’t mind and it will be a nice break for Mummy.

We haven’t had any air-raids for such a long time now, that we almost forget what they were like. It is lovely to go to bed almost certain that you won’t be disturbed. But we have to be always ready and keep up all our duties, just in case.

Well, cheerio(4) for this week, Joan darling, and take good care of yourself.

Give my love to your two “brother-friends” and I hope you are all well again, especially Teddy.

Lots of love from your

Daddy
xxxx
xxxxx

  1. An allotment is a small area of land in a town which a person rents to grow plants and vegetables on.
  2. The M.B.E. was awarded to Joan's father for his work developing a camera used for aerial photography during the war.
  3. Baby Olive was Joan's doll.
  4. People sometimes say 'cheerio' as a way of saying goodbye, especially in British English.