Monday, 29 March, 1943

Sergt. S. Bristow                                                                                               7.
2364226
Headquarters
9 Corps Signals (Rear)
B.N.A.F.

Monday 29 March 1943

My Own Darling Grace,

I feel twice the man to-day as I felt a few days ago, my dear!  The reason?  Why, I received three letters from you yesterday!  You don’t realise what a thrill it gave me to read how you were & what you were doing.  I think the three weeks that have passed without a letter from you were about the longest I have ever experienced.

It was really a red letter day for me yesterday, for besides receiving your letters I got three from home, one from each of my Grandmothers & one from the office at Doncaster.

I devoured every word you wrote, Darling & have read & re-read all your letters two or three times to-day.

Thanks for the lovely birthday greetings; they were “super”!  They were a little late, of course, but I knew you would be thinking of me on the 22^nd.  Yes, the first 22 March we are together, you, Eric, Bessie and myself we must go out somewhere & have a real celebration.

It was nice of you to send the card.  I especially liked the line about the thoughts speeding “across both time & space & with soft cords they interlace, two hearts until they beat as one joined in love’s sweet reunion”.  That has become No. 2 in my collection.  Remember sending me the other one, my dear, after that marvellous week together?

You have certainly aroused my interest about the present.  Are you going to tell me what it is, or is it going to remain a secret?  Is it something we shall both be able to use in our future life?  I was telling the Sergeant Major about it & he says I have to tell you that whatever you have bought, swap it for a bath chair!  But I don’t think that I shall be away all that time, so don’t take his advice, will you?

It is nice to hear that you often think of the times we have spent together.  It is my most favourite pastime.  They were certainly happy times & if those that are to come are half as happy we shall have nothing to worry about.  What I would give now to be sat in front of the fire at No. 56 with you nestling up to me & the warm flames of the fire adding to the already mischievous light in your eyes!  You are right when you say that those times were only a taste of “things to come”.  I am sure you are right.  As long as we can get over all our difficult & disappointing spells as well as we got over that last day we had in Leeds, we shall be O.K!  Our tempers were tried that day weren’t they?

It’s thrilling too, to hear that the “bottom drawer” is filling up.  What treasures you will have to show me on my return to England.

In your last letter (dated 8 Mar 43) you refer to the high ambitions we both hold about our future home.  Ambitions never hurt anyone, Darling, & as long as we are agreed on what we want it will be all the more interesting & thrilling working to reach those heights.

Of one thing I am certain.  If it is at all within my power, you & I will not put up with the dreary life such as goes on in & around Grimethorpe.  I am determined that if I can do it you shall have all the comforts that you & I have talked & dreamed about.  But as far as that is concerned, we shall have to wait & see what the future brings.  All our ambitions may not be realised, but as long as the main one comes true (and you know what that is) I shall be quite satisfied & I am sure you will be too.   

In one of your letters you refer to the hope of receiving a dozen letters.  I hope because you have not received that number you don’t think that I am neglecting you.  That’s far from the case.  I am writing at every opportunity!  It is not always convenient to write as often as one would like to.  That accounts for the gap of eight days between this & the last letter.  We have been getting around a bit of late & as there has not been much clerical work to do I have been amusing myself by driving a 3 ton lorry & trailer.  Quite thrilling it has been too, for some of these so-called roads out here have some amazing bends, with anything like 500 feet drops over the sides of mountains into the chasms below!  One doesn’t take the wrong turning twice!  Still its another trade to my hands.  If the Evening News doesn’t want me back I can always go & work for Masons at Cudworth!!

All joking at one side, however.  I have certainly seen some marvellous scenery in the past week.  I have been across a mountain range which was almost frightening in the wildness of its beauty & it was a grand feeling to go across it &, although feeling very warm yourself, look up to the heights & see snow  & ice glistening in the sun & set against a deep blue of a cloudless sky.  My one wish was that you had been there to share the grandeur of the scene with me.  You would certainly have appreciated it.

The surroundings in which I write now are not quite as comfortable as they were on the last occasion I wrote to you.  I am now camping out on some land not unlike Brierley Common but for the fact that there is not so much grass & a hell of a lot more dust about.

And of course this dump has not the same happy memories connected with it as the Common has.  Another thing in its disfavour is that the nearest point of civilisation is about 30-40 miles away.

It’s a good point in one way, however, for I have saved £10 since I landed here.  If I keep that up we shall be able to do lots of things when I get home shan’t we?

So you’ve been going out on the razzle have you?  You certainly make me feel jealous.  I should have loved to have gone into “The Flying Horse” for a meal that time I came to Nottingham, but I daren’t suggest it!  Knowing that you didn’t like going into licenced houses too much.

We had a party the other night too.  I’ll tell you about it but I don’t suppose it will make you jealous.  My pal was promoted Sergeant the other day, so we decided to have a celebration.

I had half a bottle of whiskey (8s per bottle!!!) left & he managed to scrounge a tin of bully beef & some biscuits so we had the necessaries for a “do” i.e. food & drink.

We started off the proceedings with a hot bath (actually it was a wash down in about three inches of water in the bottom of an biscuit tin left out in the sun for a couple of hours!)  We then dressed (changed our underclothes) & went in to the dining room (that is scrambled into our tent).

The celebration dinner consisted of two courses bully & biscuits & then biscuits & bully (actually we had had it twice that day but we tried not to think about that).  This sumptuous repast was then washed down with a tin mug of whiskey & water!

Not quite as good as the extremely pleasant meals we have eaten together, but imagination has to play a big part in occasions like these!

Thank Kit for her note will you?  It was nice of her to write to me.  Tell her, though, that I don’t think she is finding being your Guardian a very trying job.  I have sufficient faith in you to know that, Darling.  I agree with you.  It is time she managed to hook some poor unsuspecting male & lure him to his doom!!!  You must give her a few lessons!!!! (Yes I know its a good job a few thousand miles separate us or I should have my ears boxed)  Anyway she could do lots worse things I am sure than find some nice lad to look after like you are looking after me.

I suppose you will be pleased she is with you once more.  There will be more fun out in the country with her around, I suppose.

Well, my Darling, it has come to the point where we have to say “Goodbye” again, until the next mail delivery.

I shall be getting an air letter form sometime this week, so when I get that I’ll write again.

Keep my love Angel as the days roll slowly by.

Yours as always, love Stan  xxxx

P.S: Don’t forget to remember me to all at 56!  Stan

This is the birthday card that Grace sent and Stan refers to in this letter.  The cellophane wrap is original to the card.  It is quite small - actual size is 4.25" x 3.25".