Friday, 21 May, 1943

 

2364226
Sergt S. Bristow                                                                                      (25)
Unit Headquarters
9 Corps Signals
B.N.A.F.

May 21^st 1943   

My Very Own Darling,

The last three days have been very good ones for they’ve each brought a letter from you.  There is nothing more cheering Darling than to receive a letter from you.

I was, however, sorry to hear that your Mother was not well.  I hope she has completely recovered by the time you receive this, my Dear.  I have always told you that she works too hard, your stay at home will have been no picnic as far as you are concerned, but as you say, it is good practice for the time when, on completion of this ruddy war, you will be taking on a similar job for good! – and that day cannot dawn too quickly, can it, dear?  Sometimes I get very impatient when I think of the time we have to wait before we can really start living – just you and I.  Still, I suppose it is futile getting impatient, for as I believe I once told a certain person, one can’t alter the course of life.  Do you remember?

The cessation of hostilities here has, I suppose meant a big step in the right direction, but there is still a lot more to do before the job is finished.  Still, Darling, I would gladly wait a lifetime just to experience for a few minutes the exquisite thrill of holding you in my arms & to feel the touch of your lips against my own.  Those happy days & nights we spent together are constantly in my thoughts, Angel, & it fills me with happiness when I realise that what we have experience is but a foretaste of what lies before us.  Is there any wonder, therefore, that I sometimes get impatient & think the war’s not going as quickly as it ought to?

Besides the thrill of getting your letters, I had another thrill yesterday.  I was allowed to go into Tunis to see the Victory March.  It was most impressive to see the thousands of troops marching down the broad boulevards with high waving palms in the middle & at the same time a couple of hundred planes swoop from the sky & sweep over the route of the procession just skimming the house tops.  As usual our men stood out head & shoulders above the Yanks & French as far as smartness was concerned.  When you see things in that perspective there is something to be said for the discipline which we grumble about so much.

After the parade was over I had a stroll round the city just to see if there was anything I could buy you, but there were few shops open & the prices being charged in the shops were so exorbitant that I decided to keep my money in my pocket until a more opportune moment.  There was plenty of jewellery of a type kicking about, but they wanted about three times what it was actually worth (in my opinion).  Apparently the Germans had ransacked the city of all the silk stockings etc during their six months stay there.

This morning I went down to the beach at a nearby place which before the war was a recognised holiday resort for the rich of this country.  The sea was absolutely grand.  I always thought the picture postcards showing the Mediterranean as a deep blue were an exaggeration, but they are not.  After a dip in the briny I lay on the beach basking in the sun, with a warm breeze blowing over my body & I just thought how complete my world would have been if you had have been by my side & there was no war to think of.

More wishful thinking!  I seem to be spending more & more time in this direction nowadays.

So you dare not let your Father write to Matron, eh?  I wish the bloke who filled the bill last time could have done it again this time.

Ah me!  A delightfully happy week that was, wasn’t it, & most exciting when you rang up the Matron & told her you couldn’t go back to time.  But that's only one of many happy memories we managed to cram into the year ending Feb 1943 isn’t it?

Well Darling that all for this time.  Keep loving me as much as I am loving you.

Forever yours, Angel.  Stan xxxxxxxxx

 

This leaflet explains the meaning of the First Army sign - the shield with crusaders' cross and sword, and appears to have been given out at the same time as the order of service for the Thanksgiving following the Victory Parade.  The Thanksgiving service was held "in the ruins of the ancient amphitheatre in Carthage" according to the reporter for the Sunday Express, which seated 3,000 troops from the American and British armies.  The British Army, of course, included troops from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and other parts of what was then still the British Empire.

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