- Contributed by听
- eveline shore
- People in story:听
- ALBERT AND EVELINE SHORE
- Location of story:听
- MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE
- Article ID:听
- A8492015
- Contributed on:听
- 13 January 2006
September 13 1941. Sat 1.30 pm. MEF.
My Darling Eve,
I鈥檓 pushed for time again. I鈥檓 off out again at 2.0, still every little helps. I鈥檝e a lot of news for you this time, duck. Last night I wrote an airgraph to the father of one of my missing mates. It was very brief, but I got to the point and promised to send this Mr Jackson an air mail letter with more details. I鈥檒l have to write it very soon because they will be in suspense until it arrives.
I see on our notice board that the following mail has Been lost. All air mail posted around the 12th to 17th June, and all sea mail and parcels posted around the 19th April. It鈥檚 very good of the APO to notify us like this. I can only think of one similar notice, it was in early June. .
I was openly complimented yesterday by our Squadron Leader, Captain Gregg. It was on pay parade and you can imagine what a crowd there was. That鈥檚 the one parade where no-one is absent. Capt Gregg said to me 鈥淪hore, I鈥檝e been told that you rank among our finest and most efficient drivers, and that the maintenance and condition of your vehicle is of the highest standard. Keep it up. I鈥檓 exceptionally pleased.鈥 鈥淭h . , thank you, Sir. I will,鈥 says I. Honestly Ev, you could have knocked me down with a feather, and if he wants to promote me, I shan鈥檛 stoop under a pip or star on the shoulder. It certainly bucked me up. I felt like going up the desert and starting a little war on my own, just to blow off steam and let my chest down a bit.
Ev, I must ask you once again to excuse my writing. It鈥檚 getting pretty bad these days. I keep on missing words out etc. Trouble is I鈥檓 working under rotten conditions, in tents, on the floor, on my knee, a terrible wind blowing and my pad鈥檚 all loose pages. Is that enough excuses. Well, I鈥檒l pass on to the other news when I come in tonight.. I love you.
Well, Ev, I鈥檓 writing by the light of a candle in a broken bottle. Sounds pretty grim doesn鈥檛 it? It鈥檚 not too bad. I鈥檓 comfortable. The reason I have to do this is because I shan鈥檛 have a chance to write until Monday afternoon or Tuesday. I had an order to go on a long journey tomorrow. Fancy, my day off tomorrow and I鈥檝e just been down to the guard room for an early call at 5.0 am. I shall start at 6.0 and I may be out all day. I don鈥檛 mind, I like work, and as long as I have time to write to you, that鈥檚 all that matters.
Now, I鈥檝e related my little praise-worthy speech by Capt Gregg, I鈥檒l tell you of something else that blew the buttons off my shirt. I showed the snap you sent me to my mate, the newsagent, and he shouted for all the Transport drivers to come and see it. You should have heard the remarks that followed. 鈥淏y, she鈥檚 beautiful.鈥 鈥淚s she your wife?鈥 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a lucky son of a gun.鈥 鈥淰ery nice.鈥 And scores of similar remarks. I almost blushed, Eve. Gee, didn鈥檛 I feel proud. I could have knocked Jo Louis out with one hit and held up Jerry鈥檚 army with my other hand.It鈥檚 too bad I have to stop here, Eve. I am tired, and a big day tomorrow. Bye-bye, Sug, goodnight and God bless.
Sept. 14th. I鈥檓 back early. I鈥檝e just had tea and a lovely surprise. Two letters off Mother, July 3rd and August 8th. I鈥檝e had a fair amount of mail recently. I tell you every time I have a letter so you will have to look up my back letters to know how many I鈥檝e had this week I think it鈥檚 5.
I should have gone to the hospital to visit my mate today, but you see I didn鈥檛 have time. I will try to go tomorrow, and I heard at tea-time that another of my Tidworth mates is in the same hospital with tonsillitis. He is Dickie Bryan from Brum in B Squadron. So I will have to take 2 bunches of flowers and 2 bunches of grapes when I go.
Well, duck, I鈥檝e just been talking to my newsagent mate about buying the contents of the parcel we鈥檙e each going to send to our respective homes. We鈥檙e at a deadlock. You see, Ev, almost everything we can send is liable to a tax and excise duty, so I think that I will send you those cushion covers, a crepe-de-chine scarf affair (don鈥檛 laugh), some cigs, a paper or two, some tea (about 1 lb), a wee bit of sugar, and maybe something else to make up. I have a nice strong box all ready. Now, Ev, it looks very queer, me sending a parcel home and requesting you all at home not to send anything. This little request still holds good. I don鈥檛 want you to send anything at all. I鈥檒l explain. First you cannot get at any price what things are most useful to me. Second I can get absolutely everything out here, fags, soap, choc, writing material and nearly all English newspapers. They must send stacks of them by boat. Mind you, they鈥檙e perhaps two months old, but even if you send them they will be two months old when I get them. There鈥檚 Everybody鈥檚, J Bull, Tit-bits, People, News of the World, Empire, News Review, Times, and, as I say, every one of them. So, Ev, from what you can gather from the above, you have only one thing you can possibly send. Money, duck. Come back now, I haven鈥檛 finished. I saw you dashing off to fetch a postal order. That鈥檚 better. Now let me explain. What鈥檚 the use of you sending me money? For one thing I have enough in credit to meet any eventuality, not much, mind you, I think about 拢6 or 拢7. All I have to do is give a week鈥檚 notice if I want an advance of pay, so that settles that, do with it whatever you wish. Mother says that a lot of my mates and friends are out or coming out here. I haven鈥檛 seen any yet, and I鈥檓 always keeping my eyes open except when I go to sleep. (Joke). I think it鈥檚 a rumour about 9RTR being out here. I鈥檝e asked dozens of Tank chaps and the answer鈥檚 always No. That鈥檚 Bob Bill鈥檚 Battalion, you know.
Well, Ev, I鈥檝e done well with this letter, it鈥檚 dusk now and I鈥檓 going to close. I鈥檒l pack and purchase this parcel before the week鈥檚 out and send it with a small list of who the meagre contents are for. Cheerio, Yours for ever, Albert Erf. xxx?xxx.
January 29 1942.
Dear Mother and Dad,
Today has been my lucky day. I almost went down town for the evening, but at dinner time I was presented with seven letters, 3 off Eve, 3 off you and one off Uncle Levi. I鈥檝e had stacks and stacks of letters since I came down from Libya. I鈥檓 doing my best to answer them all as you will no doubt see. There will be one mail-bag from me to Stoke-on-Trent, one of these days.
I鈥檝e just sent you and Auntie Ethel an airgraph and written Eve a letter. Those airgraphs are very nice for a speedy message, but one cannot tell much news on them.
I shall have to write more often and to more people in future. Trouble is I can only get at it at night, and some days I鈥檓 out until 7.0 or 8.0 at night. No, not every day, perhaps one or two a week, then a guard occasionally, very occasionally, I may add. I鈥檝e learned the art of dodging a wee bit, and of course I go down town once a week. That鈥檚 plenty though.
Tons of excuses aren鈥檛 there. Well, it鈥檚 not as bad as it reads. I鈥檓 afraid I may be conveying a wrong impression. Life鈥檚 never been so cushy for me as it is now. I do more work - did I say work? - I mean hours, but I rarely go on a parade, only pay parade. The Serg. Major used to call my name out at the first parade every day. That鈥檚 when they call the roll, you know. Well, a few weeks ago, he stopped calling it; knew it was a waste of time.
I鈥檝e certainly learnt a lot since Blighty days. I see you ask if I want any socks. To tell you the truth I could send you some. I have a mate in the Quartemaster鈥檚 store. Compre? There鈥檚 not a single thing I鈥檓 short of. If I want a shirt or socks, well just pay a visit to the Qs.
It must be hard for you to imagine that I don鈥檛 want anything. Perhaps you hear of other soldiers sending home for this and that, and think I鈥檓 putting you off because of expense or trouble. No, it isn鈥檛! Either the other lads are telling a tale or spending their cash on beer and women. I feel I would like to broadcast home and just tell people how life is here. Everything is just as easy to obtain as in England before the war. What things are more expensive, there鈥檚 others which are cheaper. If you could have seen a parcel my mate had the other, you would have wept. It鈥檚 no joke what I鈥檓 going to tell you. The contents, upon despatch, must have been cake, 100 Players, soap, toothpaste, brush, blades, etc. Well, when he opened it, he didn鈥檛 know whether to eat the soap and wash his hands with the cake, or smoke the paste and chew fags; it was a filthy mess. He threw 90% of it away. A few fags he thought he had salvaged, turned out to be awful; he was blowing bubbles the rest of the day. I tried one and decided it would be better to have a shampoo. The same happened to another youth in the same tent. His parcel was useless. Of course, some get through OK, quite a lot I should say, but what鈥檚 the use? Stuff out here is just the same, English and American, cheaper than home by along way.
Do you know the three most plentiful brands of cigs, there鈥檚 five actually - Craven A, State Express, Players, De Reske and Woods, and about a thousand others.
I don鈥檛 know what to do about you. You all want to send me anything I ever want. I can quite understand. I would be the same if I was at home and someone we knew was out here. To be honest about it I would say he was kidding, and send something like Uncle Levi did, but you must believe me when I say I don鈥檛 want anything at all, and don鈥檛 worry; if I was short, I would be down Marconi House filling a cable form in right away.
Cheerio. Alb. Xxx.
Jan 29 1942. MEF
(Eveline checked - he did write two letters on Jan 29.)
Dear Mother and Dad,
I鈥檓 in a fix. I feel I could write you dozens of letters, but being as I couldn鈥檛 bear them to be censored by our own officers, I am compelled to use a green envelope. I鈥檝e got these envelopes off chaps who never write home, or at least never use them.
I know you鈥檙e all working hard in Blighty. That鈥檚 why I hate to be at base camp too long. It seems such a shocking waste of time. I wish we could all go in in one big mad dash and simply sweep Jerry off the map, same as we鈥檝e just done in Libya. 600 or 700 miles in about 7 weeks. Old Jerry didn鈥檛 know whether he was coming or going. The old prisoners kept trailing past, looking real sorry for themselves, especially when passing their own wrecked tanks and guns and planes. I guess we did a good job up there, but the papers don鈥檛 seem so good now. Whether it鈥檚 a pre-arranged plan to lure him out or not, I don鈥檛 know. I hope things are going according to plan for all that. Pint of water a day, and he says 鈥淵ou can do what you like with it, either bath every day or every other day. It鈥檚 all yours.鈥 I shouldn鈥檛 relish the thought of all that again, and bully and biscuits too. Yes, as much as you like. You can have two packets of biscuits if you like. Must have thought we were going to do a bit of road making or building a pill-box. It鈥檚 a funny war. I could laugh my head off when I look back a few months. The old Serg. Major 鈥淐ome on, Albert, the Stukas will be here at such-and-such a time鈥. (They came at regular hours you know) 鈥淥h, go to blazes and go asleep.鈥 Those were the days, when everyone was a man. A crown on his arm didn鈥檛 say he would be the last to get a packet. I鈥檓 getting bloodthirsty, aren鈥檛 I. Well, I guess it鈥檚 time for bed. I鈥檒l write more tomorrow.
Friday 30 Jan.
I went down to the Army Post Office this afternoon for some Airgraph forms. The latest is this. We can鈥檛 have a form, unless we buy a stamp, and more than that, the stamp will be stuck on the form by the clerk himself, so a dozen forms cost me 15 piastres (3/1陆), although I showed the clerk all the stamps I had had sent to me, about 3 dozen altogether. He would not let me have the forms without stamps. I said 鈥淲ell, the stamps are useless to me now鈥. He said 鈥淭oo bad.鈥 So, Mother, you鈥檇 better stop sending me stamps. I don鈥檛 know what to do with them.
You see the trouble has been this. For every 300,000 forms printed, only 100,000 have been through the post. Chaps have evidently been using them for other purposes. So another good scheme goes west.
. There鈥檚 only one thing you can send and that鈥檚 POs, and I have over 拢6 so I don鈥檛 want any cash for a while.
I鈥檓 afraid I shall never be able to get the paper with our pictures of going to Greece. It鈥檚 months and months ago. As a matter of fact I had a struggle to recall what you meant. Very strange,you should mention that. Only last weekend (and don鈥檛 laugh), we were at our camp cinema, what should come on the news? 鈥淐hurchill sends troops to Greece.鈥 Eight months ago that film was taken, and we鈥檙e only just seeing it. know the films were made before my time. Of course this is only the camp cinema. Down town are all the latest films and newsreels.
Well, when this Greek news comes on the screen, you should have heard the roar. It blew the roof off. I was glad to see it though. I wonder if you ever saw it. It showed us embarking at Alex, being given life-belts, disembarking at Piraeus (Athens), unloading our kit and some wonderful scenes of us going up to the Yugoslav border. Maybe you did see it but have forgotten by now.
I was disappointed when I saw Egypt for the first time. The people on the whole,are filthy, dress in long night-shirts, always asking for buckshees, always pestering us for shoes black, razor blades and a million other commodities. There鈥檚 no countryside. When you go out of Cairo, it鈥檚 sand until you get to Alex or Port Said, then sand again to the next place. I鈥檒l try to give you an insight on life out here in my next letter. I鈥檝e promised before but not had time as yet.
Remember me to everyone. love to you all, Alb.
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