Letter to Harry Brooks' wife Winnie from his father
Title
Letter to Harry Brooks' wife Winnie from his father
Description
Letter from Harry Brooks' father ('Pop') to his daughter-in-law Winnie. His wife has written to Winnie asking that her daughter Pamela be sent to stay with them but without inviting Winnie herself. He does not agree with his wife's attitude towards Winnie. Writes that they have both been in contact with his sister and he has arranged for her to pass on his letters which he will send her under cover. Mentions he 'got into hot water' for writing to her frequently around the time of Harry's funeral. Encourages Winnie to write to both of them separately (being careful to put letters in the correct envelopes) and mentions that Fred is 'getting on all right now' apart from being 'hen-pecked' by Marjorie.
Creator
Date
1944-03-21
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
Four page handwritten letter and explanatory note
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
EBrooksWBrooksP440321
Transcription
The Corner Shop
Lindfield
21st March 1944
My dearest Winnie
I believe mother has written to ask you to bring Pamela to stay with us but you yourself have not been asked to stay.
I think you know that it was always my wish ever since the day when we lost our darling that you should come & live with us. This was made impossible by the attitude taken by mother, & I guess you realise that you would not have been very happy here with us. It is a great pity, but I just can’t do anything about it.
I believe you have confided in my sister at times & I have spoken
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
to her about having letters from you to me enclosed in an envelope addressed to her at Myrtle Cottage, Denmans Close, Lindfield, Haywards Heath. She knows how difficult mother is at times and she sympathises with you very much & will gladly pass on to me any letter you may address to her. You see, mother seems so jealous if I receive a letter from you so, to avoid a scene, it would be best to send letters to my sister who will pass them on to me without mother knowing you have written.
You can confide in me absolutely, dear Winnie, as I would so gladly do anything I can for you. I can’t understand mother’s attitude to you, & it distresses me very much. I know she will do all she can to make little lovey happy as she is very fond of little children & you know that if Pamela comes to us I will look after her all right.
[page break]
[underlined] 3 [/underlined]
It is a very unhappy business having to write like this but I got into hot water for writing to you day after day just before dear Harry’s funeral & then on the day of the funeral I was taken to task for making such a fuss of you and calling you darling Winnie on the way to the Cemetery. If you don’t answer mother’s letters to you immediately, I hear about it. To avoid trouble I refrain from speaking about you.
It is mother’s own suggestion having Pamela here & I know she will look after her well. The pity of it is that she is not so kindly disposed towards you. She says that in my eyes you can do no wrong & I guess she is about right when she says that.
I never had five minutes dispute with Harry’s own dear mother all our married life together & I just can’t make out how it is things are not harmonious
[page break]
[underlined] 4 [/underlined]
with me nowadays.
Do write to me dear Winnie and tell [deleted] you [/deleted] me anything you would like me to know, but, if you write to mother at the same time, make sure that the right letter goes in the right envelope as the fat would properly be in the fire if we got the wrong letters.
Fred is getting on all right now I am glad to say. Poor chap, I am afraid he gets rather hen pecked by Marjorie. I shall have to persuade him to stand up to her a bit more.
Now, dear Winnie, God bless you. It is nice to know that our darling comes to you so often.
Much love to you & Pamela
Your ever loving
[underlined] Pop [/underlined]
Lindfield
21st March 1944
My dearest Winnie
I believe mother has written to ask you to bring Pamela to stay with us but you yourself have not been asked to stay.
I think you know that it was always my wish ever since the day when we lost our darling that you should come & live with us. This was made impossible by the attitude taken by mother, & I guess you realise that you would not have been very happy here with us. It is a great pity, but I just can’t do anything about it.
I believe you have confided in my sister at times & I have spoken
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
to her about having letters from you to me enclosed in an envelope addressed to her at Myrtle Cottage, Denmans Close, Lindfield, Haywards Heath. She knows how difficult mother is at times and she sympathises with you very much & will gladly pass on to me any letter you may address to her. You see, mother seems so jealous if I receive a letter from you so, to avoid a scene, it would be best to send letters to my sister who will pass them on to me without mother knowing you have written.
You can confide in me absolutely, dear Winnie, as I would so gladly do anything I can for you. I can’t understand mother’s attitude to you, & it distresses me very much. I know she will do all she can to make little lovey happy as she is very fond of little children & you know that if Pamela comes to us I will look after her all right.
[page break]
[underlined] 3 [/underlined]
It is a very unhappy business having to write like this but I got into hot water for writing to you day after day just before dear Harry’s funeral & then on the day of the funeral I was taken to task for making such a fuss of you and calling you darling Winnie on the way to the Cemetery. If you don’t answer mother’s letters to you immediately, I hear about it. To avoid trouble I refrain from speaking about you.
It is mother’s own suggestion having Pamela here & I know she will look after her well. The pity of it is that she is not so kindly disposed towards you. She says that in my eyes you can do no wrong & I guess she is about right when she says that.
I never had five minutes dispute with Harry’s own dear mother all our married life together & I just can’t make out how it is things are not harmonious
[page break]
[underlined] 4 [/underlined]
with me nowadays.
Do write to me dear Winnie and tell [deleted] you [/deleted] me anything you would like me to know, but, if you write to mother at the same time, make sure that the right letter goes in the right envelope as the fat would properly be in the fire if we got the wrong letters.
Fred is getting on all right now I am glad to say. Poor chap, I am afraid he gets rather hen pecked by Marjorie. I shall have to persuade him to stand up to her a bit more.
Now, dear Winnie, God bless you. It is nice to know that our darling comes to you so often.
Much love to you & Pamela
Your ever loving
[underlined] Pop [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
E Brooks, “Letter to Harry Brooks' wife Winnie from his father,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/11317.
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