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These letters were submitted to the People's War site by Michelle Bullivant on behalf of Joan Punter and have been added to the site with the owner and family permission. The owner fully undersatand the terms and conditions.

These letters belong to my auant Joan Punter ( nee Toller ) and were given to me to copy onto this site. These contain interesting home front information and political views of the war. They were written by my Great Aunt Marie to her husband George Cruden. ( both now deceased. )

In several of these letter Marie refers to George as Peter Precious- as she was a Catholic from Ireland and didn't want to introduce him to her family as George ( the English kings name ) she called him Peter.

Boxing Day [ Cambridge ]

My Own Dearest & Best x
Well, here we are 鈥� another Xmas passed & we have had a most happy day but one & all were sorry that you were not with us- & of course theres no need to add what I felt & for you to say what you felt- but the fact was that we all had our drinks at 1.30 sharp- in the middle of cutting up the turkey & we one & all drank to you first & we hope that you were able to get a quite minute to do the same with us. We had plenty of drink & the turkey was just lovely. 15lbs. & the plum pudding mum was delighted with the rum you sent. Thanks were so for your Xmas card darling, it was lovely. By the way we had a large size egg flip & guzzled the lot in 2 sittings you boy.
Con [ Georges sister ] had her Xmas tree & it was larger that she has had other years, but the trouble was to get stuff to put on it anyway we didn鈥檛 do so bad. Your number was 6 & mine 10. I got a little old parcel tied up with a bootlace, no bigger than a finger nail- & caused some shrieks by its very size anyway, I opened it & what? A blinkin鈥� penny & two back studs!! Well I couldn鈥檛 resist seeing what you had & found three toffees & 2 cigs. Bill [ George鈥檚 brother] got a beautiful pink cushion cover, Ivy a brooch, Con some stocking mending silk, others got some bars of chocolate. Con had some candles on the tree & we outed the light & lit it up & Val [ Con鈥檚 daughter ] gave us the prizes she was terribly thrilled with that while we all sat round eyes & mouths wide open in anticipation we then played Newmarket & Brown Anchor& Con won 10/- after 2 hrs play. Then we had some music & my heavens what a row!! We just took it out of the piano me- but old Ivy & Russ had a few drinks & were a proper couple of coons- I laughed ( with the rest of course )- till I felt really sappy but you鈥檇 have laughed 鈥渇it to kill鈥� if you鈥檇 have heard 鈥榚m anyway, we turned in at 2o/c am. I got that song called 鈥淵ours鈥� so we have had our bobsworth out of that already. Well, darling x have just had a Guiness & wished you everything of the best & only wishing with all my heart you were with us. X Have you been busy helping the other blokes to drinks? Did you have a party after all? Its bitterly cold today but we are warm & comfortable & my word thanks to mother, you wouldn鈥檛 think there was a war on. But theres simply no drink to be brought. Well sweetheart, its now dinnertime, good old roast beef of old England & horseradish! Lovely! Well cheerio sweetheart this is just to let you see I鈥檓 thinking of you in spite of all this pleasure & noise. Russel [George鈥檚 brother] is not going back until Sunday, so if you get this in time you will know he is not about until then. I shall D.V. be going back on that 5.15鈥�. Russel didn鈥檛 get in until 9.30 when he left you, so you see how late trains are. Well, cheerio sweetheart all love xxxx love & always xxx Marie xxx

At 95: [ Oxford Road Cambridge ]

My Dearest x
Thanks for your letter, & it was certainly a gruelling journey- pity they don鈥檛 put more corridors on- what a life at London Road- that鈥檚 some billet- guess the sooner they decide about some other places the better for all concerned- as the a.m. people must be getting fed up with it too. They say on the wireless that they鈥檝e got so many airforce personnel they are drafting them into the other two forces- particularly the army- as that is where they are wanted, seems such a daft arrangement, although they add they are continuing to take recruits. Do you think bringing up the matter of remuster has brought about the recent change about for you & those other chaps? Went to the pictures by myself on Monday night- mother dosen鈥檛 care for pictures she says- Monday 6 p.m. I did the front garden by cutting the grass, clearing the beds of toffee papers, rags & other odds & ends, & mowed the back lawn- but I鈥檓 scratched to bits for overlooking the rose trees, & plonking into the taller ones. The weather keeps nice, that鈥檚 one thing in it all. Yesterday we went to the Botanical gardens. Con & the children. They enjoyed it鈥an鈥檛 seem to think of anywhere nice to go except to Frenches & Brittans..It would have been nice by the sea this weather, wouldn鈥檛 it? Uncle Harry turned up at teatime last night- he does look so thin & ill- but he says he couldn鈥檛 stand life in that Linton institution any longer & has come back to the lodging house here- I got that tea tin open & passed it on to mother- its best to do that think, don鈥檛 you- Well dear, did your washing yesterday ( what a pile ) & hung it out, if she doesn鈥檛 do it on me , I鈥檒l iron it. Well cheerio, love. Hope you are feeling better & looking forward to seeing you x Your own loving Marie xxxx p.s. Had a warning Monday night.

Nov 12/1944 138 Harrow Road Wallaton Park

My Dearest & Best x
Oh, what an awful day! I hope you had a good journey yesterday & will have a better one than last on your way home tonight. Its bitterly cold today & raining hard. Well. I haven鈥檛 filed in any of the cards I have but will leave you to take your choice of cards for myself & Gidd & Bert, also for mother, & the family & I will send to my own ones. Don鈥檛 bother about dolls, you boy- I鈥檝e got a couple 鈥� Haby Dept had a delivery of a dozen ( a prize delivery they call it ) so I was just lucky in getting one 鈥�10/= but its got a china face; not too badly dressed as things go today, so that鈥檚 that- but honestly they have had some lovely toys in their few years as children鈥�. Kids little picture books are a price too. By the way, I went to the best bookshop here yesterday for 鈥楾he Wind in the Willows鈥� by Kenneth Graham; they told me it is out of issue, no further publications are promised, so our luck is out there, as you say, she is so advanced in her reading that a small girls book wouldn鈥檛 seem to fit her. Still it is possible there may be an odd copy somewhere about, so you could perhaps enquire at one or two of the big bookshops your way. Here is list of my collection- 3 fancy boxes, stationary ( not super, but still paper & envelopes in a fancy box, 5 writing pens- 2 this size paper & three the small popular size. Hairnets & Grips & I鈥檒l see about some combs- but are there those nice black ones about that you used to get? I know combs are awfully scarce, anyway- some face powder- & by the way that Lexicon game would be appreciated by Russ & Ivy I reckons. What about some Brilliantine? Brycream you could pass to one of them. They look as if they will have to be wartime parcel of bits & pieces- but the value wont exactly be cheap.
I鈥檒l send the pencil box to Val for her birthday- with some nice color crayons to fill it up. What about you sending a 2/6 Postal Order- to buy something it will cost you more & she will do well from us all. Wish the Blinkin鈥� coupons system wasn鈥檛 so megre- theres quite a lot I鈥檇 like to do!!! By the way I shouldn鈥檛 tell your chaps how often you get home now, otherwise the luck of the draw will not come your way; when have your passes to go through? Went to see 鈥楽ong of Bernadette鈥� again yesterday- & enjoyed it- Ger?y was quite impressed too. In a letter from Gerald? Last week she asked me to pass on all my old gloves, they would still do her for cleaning the grate & coal carrying. She little knows the fuss I鈥檝e got to make of my gloves these days, let alone pass 鈥榚m on for stoves!! Them days are over aren鈥檛 they? Gosh talk about gloves, I came across a list which you had made out quite seven or eight years ago- & the geol..ding always had gloves & chocolates- Oh! Wouldn鈥檛 it be lovely to have a 2lb box of Lafontes now!!! Well, theres one thought- we appreciated them when we got them- what about the box I kept one year- until my birthday they would last that long now. Never mind dear the good times together again are not far distant we hope, & I hope hard times will never come back- we neeent work at all, & I still get paid for doing that sounds alright on paper- but in practice I bet they鈥檒l be some shocks. Well, cheerio love, hope you had a nice weekend. Don鈥檛 leave that bedroom untidy will you? Cheerio for now xxx All my love & thoughts your own loving wife x Marie x

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