5 - 8 March, 1943. Stan's Letter no. 3.

Note: On 5 March, 1943, according to his service record, Stan arrived in ‘North African Theatre of Operations’.  This may have been through the port of Oran, but it certainly seems that they landed somewhere in Algeria.  Although this letter is initially undated, Stan later put in the dates of 5 and 6 February, but this is an error - he means March.

Sgt. S. Bristow                                                                                                  (3)
2364226
Headquarters
9 Corps Signals
c/o APO 4660

Undated

My Own Darling,

I have just come below deck to write to you.  We are at present sailing through a very well-known sea & the days & the evenings are delightful.  It is very warm and I have just been sitting on deck alone with my thoughts.  I suppose you can guess where my thoughts were.  Yes, they were not very many miles away from Nottingham.

I cannot describe adequately the night too you, but it was very beautiful sat up there in the cool evening air with myriads of stars reflecting their silvery glow into the dark blue of the sea.  In the distance was another ship and on the breeze snatches of community singing from men sat on its decks kept coming to my ears – songs which we had danced to and sung together & listened to on the wireless.  I must confess it made me not a little sentimental & I could not help wishing that we were living those days over again.  I thought of the days which are to come, however, & it made me quite happy again & I thought I would come down into the lounge & at least start this letter.

Coming through some famous straights this morning we saw a school of porpoises diving around in the water & everyone rushed to the rails of the ship to watch them.  Anything new nowadays is looked upon with great excitement, for it relieves the monotony which has now begun to set in.  This morning we passed close by the shores of a neutral country too.  I scanned the shores with a pair of binoculars & couldn’t help think how peaceful the villages scattered about the cliffs appeared in the bright sunlight, & I thought of & wondered how the inhabitants felt as they had almost a grandstand seat at one of the biggest clashes the world has ever known.

Well, Darling, I must close now, it is only five minutes to “Lights Out” & I must find my way to my hammock - & believe me its no easy job!!

By the way, it may interest you to know that we had a picture show on board last night.  We saw the film “The Sun Never Sets” starring Basil Rathbone & Ronald Coleman.  It was quite pleasant to go to the pictures after a break of about a fortnight.

Well, my dearest, pleasant dreams.  I shall be thinking of you for a long time when I get into “bed” before I go to sleep.  I always think of you at that time.

                                                                                                                        5 Feb.

Land at last!!  We have come ashore at a North African port & I cannot say that I am sorry, for life on board a troopship is apt to be boring after the first four or five days.  It was a pleasant voyage, talking on the whole, however, & we had but one submarine scare.  I was standing on deck about twilight having a last breath of fresh air before turning in, when I saw one of the escort drop a depth charge.  The alarm bell rang & off we all trooped to “Action Stations”.  Nothing materialised, however, & but for that incident there was little from a sailing point of view to differentiate the trip from any of more happier days.

Things have certainly changed since I started this letter.  The first few pages were penned in the comfort of the ships lounge, but now I am sitting on a packing case writing this by the wavering light of a single candle, which is making a brave show against the draught which is sweeping through the tent.  It is getting decidedly chilly, too.  This climate (it is now late winter here) is quite funny.  From about 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. it is broiling hot, but the nights are quite cold & I shall certainly be pleased to crawl between my two blankets as soon as I have finished this letter.

When we got off the boat we had a pretty hefty task.  We had to march with our complete kit to this camp, which is five miles or so out of the place we landed at & “only” 1,000 feet above the level of the sea.  From what I can see of things, you will have to be a cross between a mountain goat & a trapeze artist to be anything of a success in this part of the country.  What hills they’ve got & what a !!!!!!! awful sun, too, which beats on you relentlessly when you’re marching up them, too!  What will you say, Darling, if I am as thin as a rake when I arrive back?  You’ll have to get busy with that tin-opener of yours fattening me up again!

Well, I shall have to call another halt.  The RSM, who is sharing this tent with me has come in & wants the packing case as it is part of his bed!!! – and he is expressing himself in no uncertain terms, too (you can guess what sort of language these RSMs use).  Some more later, Darling.  Au revoir.

                                                                                                                                  6 Feb.

We have been given the afternoon off to-day to go sightseeing in the town & I have just returned after a most interesting afternoon.  I kept wishing that you were with me, you would have enjoyed it too.  There was only one thing wrong & that was that it drizzled with rain most of the time & that made the cafes & restaurants rather crowded.  It is strange to walk through streets lined with palms & orange & lemon trees.  Apparently the orange & lemon season is just about now.

I have certainly made up to-day for the lack of fresh fruit which I have experienced during the past months, I have eaten almost a kilogram of tangerines (2 lb) myself during my wander round the town.

Oranges run out at 6d per lb & tangerines at about 7d per pound.  Lemons are 2d each.  Otherwise the prices of things appear to be about on a level with ours except for sweets and cigarettes which are a terrible price.

From what I can gather food is rationed here, too, but I got a passable meal in a cafe for 16 francs (1/6d).  I was glad I could speak French (the Hemsworth Grammar School variety) for I could at least ask for what I wanted.  There were some funny dishes being served.  One French sailor sitting at the next table to me was enjoying a plateful of snails!  I certainly couldn’t have eaten those if the waitress had brought them to me.

I had a kind of vegetable soup, followed by mutton & peas (no potatoes), & then finishing up with fresh fruit (tangerines, figs & dates).  The whole was washed down with a bottle of wine, which is drunk over here almost as much as tea or water.  Have I made your mouth water?  I wish I could send you a basket of fruit.  It is simply grand.

The children out here are amusing.  They must think that the English soldier has an inexhaustible supply of cigarettes & chocolate.  Everywhere you go they follow you shouting “Chocolate please Johnny”.  Even little kids of an age when they are just beginning to talk follow you around asking for cigarettes.

I saw a very impressive parade in the town this afternoon.  A band of 100 players belonging to a French Alpine Regt. led a procession which included the French, British & American flags, detachments of French sailors, British Marines & American soldiers.  It made me very proud to have the people cheer the British flag & Marines more than the others.  They certainly marched much smarter than the rest.

                                                                                                                        March 8^th

I had a great surprise today, my Darling – a letter from you & one from home.  I did not expect to get one so soon.  They were both written on Feb 25^th so if the Army Post Office keeps that up we can’t grumble can we?  I can’t tell you how much happier it has made me, your first letter three weeks.  It seems more like three years, the time has passed so slowly.

I was wondering if you had got my two letters yet.  By the way they have started an Air Mail letter service to this part of the world from England & are going to start a return service on the 15^th.  Make some enquiries, Darling, will you?  A letter sent that way gets here in six days, I understand.

Well, my Angel, the mail is supposed to go in a few hours, so I will have to finish this.

By the way, I was speaking to the officer who censored my last letter & was asking him if he knocked much out.  He told me that the only thing he cut out was the row of kisses at the end!  Apparently it is a well-known method of letting people know where you are.  He hopes he has not endangered our relationships!!  I think now it would take much more than that to upset us now, wouldn’t it?  So to save him the trouble of cutting them out this time, I will not put them in.  The meaning is there all the same, Darling.

Remember me to all at 56.  All my love to you, my Dear.  Stan.

 Stan was able to buy postcards, which he later sent home with the caption, stating the location, cut off.  This may have been the port at which they landed.  There is certainly a mountainous landscape in the background.