Monday, 10 May, 1943

Sergt. S. Bristow                                                                                               21.
Headquarters, 9 Corps Signals (Rear)
B.N.A.F.

Monday, May 10^th, 1943

My Very Own Darling,

You (or more correctly the Army Post Office) had me quite worried – no letters from you for 16 days! !  I began to have visions of you being carried away by Florence Nightingale once again – but all my fears (I really hadn’t any serious ones, Dear!) were banished tonight when an air letter (no. 19) and airgraph (17) arrived.

I can’t tell you how lonely I have felt this last fortnight without having any letters from you, Darling, and I have called the A.P.O. all the nasty names imaginable.  It is most exasperating when I know that you are writing regularly and the letters are being delayed.  However, I feel happier tonight than I have felt for the last week.  Even when we pushed Rommell and his gang out of Tunis a couple of days ago I couldn’t muster much enthusiasm.  All I wanted was a letter from you!

Anyhow, it was worth the waiting for to read once again how much you are missing me and how you are still dreaming of and waiting for the day when I arrive back.  The events of the last few days have been very cheering, dear, haven’t they, and they make one feel that the day we are both waiting for is at least a little nearer.  Now we have got rid of the Axis forces from Nth Africa we can turn our full attention to the question of the cleansing of Europe.  If we can be as successful in that task as we have been during the past three or four months in Africa, things will begin to take on a rosier hue!

Events of the past four or five days have been most interesting, Darling, but I won’t attempt to describe them to you – they can wait until I can actually tell you about them.  I will say, however, that the air support here has been really thrilling.  It is a most comfortable feeling I can tell you to look up into the sky and see a formation of anything up to 50 bombers, escorted by fighter planes, moving almost complacently through the blue sky towards the enemy’s lines and returning a few minutes later intact.  They were doing that about once every half an hour when our attack on Tunis began and it continued through about two days.  Never before have I felt so pleased to be working for Churchill and not for the other firm!  As you will have heard from the wireless there are masses of prisoners about here now and one thing that strikes you very forcibly is the youth of a lot of them.  I have got the cap band from a member of the Afrikakorps and I had considered sending it to you, but as there appears to be some doubt as to whether it will get through the post I will keep it until some opportune moment.

Yes, I am looking forward to this latest photograph of you arriving, Darling, and now that the more serious things have been disposed of in this part of the world there will perhaps be a chance of getting a few photographs taken of myself.  You can depend on it that I will not waste any time in sending them to you if I can manage to get some done.  Do you think you will recognise me in shorts?  I don’t really know what I look like, although every now and then when I meet a pal, he usually doubles up with laughter and says something about “Oh for a camera”, or some other rude remarks.  I don’t think it is actually as bad as all that, however.

I had a letter from my Mother at the time as yours and she mentions that she had been to the local ”bughouse” with your Mother to see “Mrs Minniver”.  She doesn’t mention how Vera is progressing, and you haven’t told me just lately.  Hope she is getting on O.K.  I hope to write her an airgraph sometime in the near future.

The weather out here is beginning to be really hot and is bringing in its trail masses of flies, which to put it mildly are a so and so pest.  They are not the usual type of fly but a blood-sucking almost man-eating type.  If we stop in this camp long there won’t be much left of me.  Still it is a good sport swatting them!  The record number of death with one sweep of a folded newspaper is nine at the moment but it is hourly expected that someone will increase that.

I’ve just been thinking of last year at this time.  May last year brought some lovely weather with it and I think we had a grand week-end together towards the end of the month.  Ah me!  I wish we could have another one this year.  I am sure we should both value it much more than we did last year.

The space is almost used up, so I had better say “Goodnight” Darling.  I am loving you more and more every day, my Dear, if that is possible, and counting every day as one nearer to our re-union and the start of the new life which we both are looking forward to so much.

Keep smiling, my Darling.  You have all my love, Angel.  Yours Stan  xxx

The photograph is of a copy of the ‘Union Jack’ newspaper, produced for the troops, dated 10 May, 1943, marking the defeat of the Nazi army in Tunisia.