Stan and Grace

2364226 Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 6 Sep. 44 .                                                                                                200. My Very Own Precious Darling, Quite a day today!   Our anniversary and my 200 th letter to you.   The APO commemorated it suitably by delivering a letter from you so I am quite happy considering the circumstances; at least as happy as I ever will be until the day when we are together again. There’s the usual complaint, lack of news, about the only thing I’...

G.H.N. 4.9.44 My Very Own Darling, A letter arrived from you this morning dated Aug:27 th .   Your letters mean everything to me Darling – they are the brightest spots of my existence whilst you are away. As you say in your letter August was certainly a month of events.   Let us hope that September is even more eventful – if the happenings of these first few days are anything to go by. All I want my Darling is to get this war over quickly and have you home again.   I never thought that I could miss anybody as much as I have missed you. Once again I have been to see the Appointments Officer for the Ministry of Labour.   I told her that I was not going to Belper.   Kit came with me as we had both decided that we would go to Hull – we had been told that the Fever Hospital there was a good training school.   However, she had not any vacancies at Hull and asked us if we would go to Grimsby as there were vacancies there, so we said that we would. ...

2364226 Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 3 Sep. 44 .                                                                                                 197. My Very Own Precious Darling, During past weeks my Sunday letter to you has usually been written on the beach, but to-day “rain stopped play” has far as swimming was concerned, a terrific thunderstorm broke after lunch & is still raging as I sit on my bed scribbling this. The Army Post Office performed according to schedule today & I’ve just had your letter ...

2364226 Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 1 Sep. 44 .                                                                            197. My Very Own Sweet Darling, The start of another month!   How the time passes, doesn’t it, very slowly, but none the less surely. Let’s hope that the war continues with the same speed as it has done during this past month. I had a letter from you this morning Darling and was very thrilled to read your admission that you were ready for marriage & that it could not come too quickly.   What a happy change from your outlook on life two ...

  Stan often wrote quite long descriptive letters to his parents which they passed on to their friend Arthur Moseley, who ran the South Elmsall office of the 'South Yorkshire Times' where Stan had trained as a journalist.  In this way his experiences found their way into the newspaper a couple of weeks later. You may remember from an earlier letter that Stan was telling Grace about an Italian football match.  Below is the full description written for the South Yorkshire Times, date unknown: FOOTBALL IN ITALY Former "Times" Reporter's Impressions The humour and excitement of football in Italy are described in an amusing letter from Sergt. Stanley Bristow, a former "South Yorkshire Times" junior reporter at South Elmsall. Mentioning that football matches have become quite an integral part of his Sunday evenings, he continues:  "During the nine months we have been in this township quite a number of the lads have become keen supporters of th...

G.H.N. 29.8.44                                                                      171 My Own Precious Darling, An air letter arrived from you yesterday dated 20 th Aug. In your letter Darling you remark upon how well the war was going.   It certainly is, and now that Bulgaria has followed Rumania out of it all – well – it makes one very optimistic does it not? Oh Darling, as I have told you dozens of times before, it cannot end too quickly for me.   I long so much to have you home again. You certainly seem to have enjoyed yourself at the football match.   I only hope Dear that you never want to drag me to a football match a...