Monday, 5 & Tuesday, 6 April, 1943

Usual address

Monday, April 5^th, 1943                                                                            8.

My Very Own Darling,

I have just finished replying to your Vera’s letter & thought I would just pen a few lines to you while I have the time.  One never knows now from one minute to the other what one is doing, so one has to take every opportunity of fitting in letter writing.

In Vera’s letter I have just described my present surroundings.  Above is a beautiful blue sky with a hot sun beating down & making all the surrounding countryside shimmer in the heat.  It is making the mountains which tower around here usually most grim & wild-looking, almost pleasant.  Personally I am sitting in a spot of welcome shade provided by a couple of apple & one peach tree.  The blossom is out & permeating the air with a most delightful scent whilst in the cab of my office lorry some few yards away the wireless is playing some dreamy & most appropriate music.  I say “appropriate” for I have just been dozing & thinking how marvellous it would be if I had you by my side in such romantic surroundings.   I am sure you would not fail to appreciate it just as much as I do.

As I sit here it is difficult to realize that not so far away a war is raging, it is so beautiful & peaceful.  Every now & then, however, one sees grim reminders of the fact, which bring one back with a jerk to the grimness of the present day.

I have just been wondering what you are doing at the moment, Darling.  I suppose your stay at Selston is almost at a close & you will be going back to the civilization of Nottingham once more.  I don’t suppose you will be sorry though will you?  Despite the fact that you like the country-life, I should imagine Selston will be beginning to be rather boring, although I bet it has been livened up somewhat be the appearance of Kit.  I bet that between you, you have given the two sisters a tottering time!

Tuesday

I had to stop writing yesterday because I had a grand surprise – an air letter from you, dated 26 March 1943, number 9 to be sent.  In your ordinary letters I have reached number 4.  Of course after I had read it several times & laid in the shade of the trees thinking of what you’d written, it was time to get on with some more work.

The feeling I get on receiving a letter from you is indescribable, Darling, it is so grand to know that although so many miles divide us, our love is as strong as ever.

I am thrilled to hear that I am going to have a new photograph of you.  I have already got six that you gave me before I left England in a frame as my desk looking down at me all day, but there’s still room for some more.  You need not be afraid of sending it, for ordinary letters seem to be getting through OK, although they take about three weeks.  Parcels are the main trouble.  No one has had any yet, so whatever you do, don’t make it into a parcel, will you?

We are going to get our khaki drill uniform shortly so when I have got it & at the first opportunity I will have my photograph taken & see if for once I can get a good one & not one which makes me look as though I had all the troubles in the world on my head.

Well, my Darling, news of a kind one can write about is very scarce & so I shall have to close down now.

The more I think of the times we have spent together & consider what the future holds in store for us if all goes well, the more my love for you grows, Angel.  As you say in your letter the waiting period is apt to be most irritating.  Lets hope our patience stands the strain.  If all I have discovered about your innermost feelings during the past twelve months are correct, I know you will stand the test.

So for now, my written love will have to suffice.  A poor substitute my dear for those exotic nights in front of a certain fireside, but the meaning is still so deep & tender.

All my love, Stan  xxxxxxxxx