Letters to America

Sunday, November 14th, 1943

Darling Joan,

It has been an awfully cold and miserable weekend, and apart from a walk around the Common(1) yesterday afternoon we haven’t been out of doors. Most of my spare time this last week has been taken up trying to build John a model aeroplane that Nanny bought him for his birthday. It was a present really for a much older boy, even if a boy could make it, which I doubt. Anyway it is taking all the spare time I can manage to find, and is nothing like complete. I do hope I can manage to finish it in time for Christmas anyway. They both take a lively interest in the job, and John worries the life out of me to get it done, but as you can guess, there is so much to do over here these days, and so little spare time to do them in.

We hope that you got the books that we sent off to you all last week, books being about the only thing that it is possible to buy as presents now.

As we couldn’t get out this afternoon, John and Anne and I got around the fire this afternoon and sang all the songs we could find that we knew in a Community Song Book that we have. They had all the old favourites and joined in most of them. John particularly likes, “One Man Went to Mow”. Do you sing it in America? The next favourite was “Old MacDougal’s Farm”, with all the animal noises.

Neither of them was keen on going out to Sunday School(2) this afternoon, and they were very glad when Dora came along to say that she wouldn’t be going because the weather was so bad. It is quite a long walk for them, and John anyway hasn’t been any too well this last week. One night he had such a bad cough that he kept Mummy and I awake almost all night, but I am glad to say that he is much better now.

Well it is now very late and time that we were in bed, and I do hope the weather will be better in the morning. These cold, wet mornings are very depressing, and nasty for the children going to school.

Lots of love, Joan darling, and do keep up your writing for we love to hear from you. It is over four weeks since last we had a letter and as that had taken six weeks to get here, you can see that the latest news we have of you is ten weeks old.

Cheerio(3) love
Daddy
xxxxxxxxxxx

  1. Common land is land which everyone is allowed to use.
  2. Sunday school is a school for religious teaching usually for children and young people and usually a part of a church or parish.
  3. People sometimes say 'cheerio' as a way of saying goodbye, especially in British English.