Letter from Douglas Hudson in Médéa to parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson in Médéa to parents
Description
Writes of successful quick exchange of cables. Has sent them many letters by various means. They now have more liberty and can walk around. They are staying in normal hotel with shared bedrooms. Weather is cold because of height at present. Cannot say much in these letters.
Creator
Date
1941-05-11
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Two page handwritten letter
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
EHudsonJDHudson(Fam)410511-010001, EHudsonJDHudson(Fam)410511-010002
Transcription
R.A.F. 755052. Sgt. Chef. J. D. Hudson.
Camp de Liberté Surveillé.
Hotel d’Orient.
Médéa. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
11-5-41
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased indeed to receive your cable of the 9th May, yesterday morning, in reply to my cable of the 7th May. This is the quickest bit of news to and from yet, & it is strange that each cable should contain a change of address. By now I expect that you will have everything moved to 191, Halifax Rd: I do hope you will find the place all right and that you will be able to settle comfortably. I have written a few letters to you from this place, all by air mail. Two via the American Consul in Algiers, & three or four independently by Air Mail. I have since learned that it is unlikely that the independent letters will get through so in future I shall send all mail by Air Mail through the Consul. Just in case my earlier letters have gone astray I will repeat that I have been here 2 1/2 weeks, & am allowed a lot more liberty. Can walk about the place, & stay in the above Hotel. It is quite an ordinary place, three of us share a bedroom, the same three as were together in Kef. Tony sent a cable a week ago & got a quick reply from England & accordingly I was prompted to do the same thing to you with equal success. Unfortunately, I cannot afford it as a regular practice, my budget is not
[page break]
at all elastic, so in future I shall have to rely on letters. However, I propose to write to you twice a week by Air Mail through the Consul & hope that letters will not take long this way. Three days ago I received four letters from you dated Feb 23rd, March 2nd, April 11th & 14th. The last two came via Air Mail & went to Kef first so you will see what a great saving the Air Mail service from England is. I strongly advise it for all future occasions. We have to stamp our own letters from here. The weather has been cold for about 2 weeks up here. We are very high, over 3000 ft, & as a result I imagine at present it is as cold, if not colder than in England, especially during the night. I am going about in a roll neck pullover, & at Kef on January 4th I was sunbathing. Amazing weather. Have played in 2 football matches since I came here, on two successive days. Must be heavier than I used to be because I dont [sic] go down quite so easily now. I cannot say very much to you in these letters, it reminds me of the old rule of “chatty conversation”. There are good opportunities here for walks. As I explained in earlier letters which you might have received, the country is hilly & wooded, rather like North Wales only much more vast. In fact an ideal place for a holiday in normal times, with plenty of money, time, & a car & one’s own folk. And in that strain I must say good-bye until next letter. As always I send you every good wish for a more successful & happier future. May you remain safe & well. All my love,
Douglas.
P.S. Thank you very much for the birthday wishes which arrived in very good time.
Camp de Liberté Surveillé.
Hotel d’Orient.
Médéa. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
11-5-41
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased indeed to receive your cable of the 9th May, yesterday morning, in reply to my cable of the 7th May. This is the quickest bit of news to and from yet, & it is strange that each cable should contain a change of address. By now I expect that you will have everything moved to 191, Halifax Rd: I do hope you will find the place all right and that you will be able to settle comfortably. I have written a few letters to you from this place, all by air mail. Two via the American Consul in Algiers, & three or four independently by Air Mail. I have since learned that it is unlikely that the independent letters will get through so in future I shall send all mail by Air Mail through the Consul. Just in case my earlier letters have gone astray I will repeat that I have been here 2 1/2 weeks, & am allowed a lot more liberty. Can walk about the place, & stay in the above Hotel. It is quite an ordinary place, three of us share a bedroom, the same three as were together in Kef. Tony sent a cable a week ago & got a quick reply from England & accordingly I was prompted to do the same thing to you with equal success. Unfortunately, I cannot afford it as a regular practice, my budget is not
[page break]
at all elastic, so in future I shall have to rely on letters. However, I propose to write to you twice a week by Air Mail through the Consul & hope that letters will not take long this way. Three days ago I received four letters from you dated Feb 23rd, March 2nd, April 11th & 14th. The last two came via Air Mail & went to Kef first so you will see what a great saving the Air Mail service from England is. I strongly advise it for all future occasions. We have to stamp our own letters from here. The weather has been cold for about 2 weeks up here. We are very high, over 3000 ft, & as a result I imagine at present it is as cold, if not colder than in England, especially during the night. I am going about in a roll neck pullover, & at Kef on January 4th I was sunbathing. Amazing weather. Have played in 2 football matches since I came here, on two successive days. Must be heavier than I used to be because I dont [sic] go down quite so easily now. I cannot say very much to you in these letters, it reminds me of the old rule of “chatty conversation”. There are good opportunities here for walks. As I explained in earlier letters which you might have received, the country is hilly & wooded, rather like North Wales only much more vast. In fact an ideal place for a holiday in normal times, with plenty of money, time, & a car & one’s own folk. And in that strain I must say good-bye until next letter. As always I send you every good wish for a more successful & happier future. May you remain safe & well. All my love,
Douglas.
P.S. Thank you very much for the birthday wishes which arrived in very good time.
Collection
Citation
James Douglas Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson in Médéa to parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed December 10, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/10882.
Item Relations
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