Stan and Grace

2364226                                                                    Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 8 Oct. 44 .                                                                                            216. My Own Most Precious Darling, The Army Post Office has dropped at least 200 per cent in my estimation during the last few days.   Do you know h...

2364226                                                                    Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 6 Oct. 44 .                                                                                            215. Hello, My Own Darling, The Army Post Office has let me down today.   It's our anniversary day & they haven’t sent me a letter.   Just ...

G.H.N. 5.10.4                                                              188. My Own Darling, I posted a sea-letter to you this morning but thought that I would write you this air-letter as sea letters take such an age to reach you. I hoped that there would be a letter from you this morning but there was not.   You know Dear, I am quite greedy where letters from you are concerned.   The more I get and the more I want! Yes, I do remember going into the Elephant in Doncaster with you and your Mother.   You said that you did not think that there was any harm in going into a place like that but that I would argue about that statement.   Well – no I do not.  ...

Grimethorpe 1-10-44 My Very Precious Darling, As it is Sunday evening and I have not got an air-letter left and as it is such a long time since I wrote you a sea letter and as I think that the first of the month deserves a letter as it means one month nearer our re-union – well, I thought that I would write this tonight. Mother and Dad are out at some sort of Variety show at Moorthorpe, leaving Vera and I alone.   I am sitting in the old armchair in Vera’s bedroom as I write this and a beautiful fire is burning in the grate. I have just been saying to Vera “If only Stan were sitting in this chair – “ and then my thoughts went back to nearly two years ago and the times you sat in this same chair and the times you made toast by this fire and the times we kissed in this same bedroom and oh, Darling, lots and lots of other thoughts of the little simple things we did together.   How precious those memories are to me now my Darling but when I think about them how my heart ...

2364226               Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 3 Oct. 44 .                                                                             214. Hello, My Darling I think it’s a good job I got back from Rome when I did.   Had I left it a week later I should probably have had to swim back!   As you’ll probably heard on the wireless we have been getting just a little bit more than our fair share of rain during the past few days.   Today the sun shone for the first time for about five days. Yes, Darling, I sympathise with...

G.H.N. 2.10.44                                                                     187 My Very Own Darling, How nice it was to find two letters from you awaiting my arrival back from my week-end. I am so glad that you enjoyed your leave Darling.   I suppose that by now you will have got over your tiring time in Rome.   However, if you will go gadding about! Hope that the Censor lets your sea letter come through this time, telling me all about it. As I travelled back this evening I realised that it would be the last time I should be returning to the G.H.N.   That thought though did not give me any regrets.   As I have said befo...

2364226                    Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 1 Oct. 44 .                                                                                                 213. My Most Precious Darling, The new month started well for me, for at 11 a.m. this morning the Postman brought in two letters from you.   Just the sort of thing to make me really happy. In one of them you were complaining about the approach of winter & how miserable the weather was. ...

G.H.N. 30.9.44                                                                      185 My Most Precious Darling, I tried to get five minutes yesterday in which to write to you, but no, I did not manage it. I had a hectic day, not even having time to stop for dinner and when I eventually got off duty Kit wanted me to go with her to see “Rebecca”.   It was a very good film, Joan Fontaine took the part of the second Mrs de Winter very well.   It is the only picture I have ever seen which does not deviate from the original story. We arrived back at about 9 p/m and then I decided to do some packing as I go home this afternoon for my week-end....

2364226                                                                    Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 29 Sep. 44 .                                                                                          212. My Very Own Darling, I think we’ve seen the last of the summer for its done nothing but rain and rain during the past two days and there’s a noticeable drop in the ...

G.H.N. 27.9.44                                                                                                              184 My Very Own Darling, I suppose that by now you will be back with your own unit and getting down to a spot of work again. That is the only snag about a leave, it does come to an end some time and then one comes down to earth with a bang and realises that there is work to be done. I do hope that you feel better for your few days leave and I know that you will have thoroughly enjoyed yourself. You wi...

G.H.N. 26.9.44                                                                                                    183 My Own Precious Darling, I was very thrilled to receive your letter this morning from Rome*.   In a short while now your journey back will start.   I hope that it will not take you as long to get back as it did to reach Rome.   2½ days travelling seems a heck of a long time to me.   However, I suppose that it has been worth all the trouble to see all the things and sights which you must have seen. I am so glad that you are managing to get ar...

2364226                                                                    Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 25 Sep. 44 .                                                                                         210. My Very Own Darling, I’ve just had a nice hot bath and have jumped into bed to write to you.   It’s “Naafi Day” again and so I’ve got a bottle of beer to keep m...

The following is a ‘sea letter’, sent after Stan’s trip to Rome.   The first and last pages are hand-written.  The rest of the letter is typed so that Stan could send a copy to his parents without having to write it all out again.  This copy was probably passed on to the South Yorkshire Times in the same way as 'A Football Match' (see 31 August). 2364226                                           Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 24 Sep. 44 .                                                   ...

  2364226 Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen. Med. Forces 23 Sep. 44 .                                                                                          208. My Own Most Precious Darling, Well, my holiday is all over bar the shouting – and talking!   I arrived back about a couple of hours ago feeling extremely dirty and tired.   A bath soon put the former right, but I thought I’d write to you before I went to sleep & so here I am, sitting up in bed, writing to the best girl in the whole world. It was so thrilling to get back and f...