Letter to David Donaldson from his mother
Title
Letter to David Donaldson from his mother
Description
Birthday letter to David from his mother. She's mismanaged the day and will have to send a telegram as well. Other family chat about birthday presents. Additional information about this item was kindly provided by the donor.
Creator
Date
1943-01-30
Temporal Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
Four 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.
Contributor
Identifier
EDonaldsonFIDonaldsonDW430130
Transcription
Jan 30
THE ELMS
42, PEAR TREE AVENUE,
BITTERNE,
SOUTHAMPTON.
Dearest David
I feel so stupid, I thought Jan 31st was Monday & that I should be in plenty of time catching the early post today (Saturday) & to my horror I realise that Monday is Feb 1st & your birthday tomorrow & that I have missed the post – so I shall have to be content with a telegram to say many happy returns of the day. I have been racking my brains to think of a present to send you
[page break]
came to the conclusion a book was the only possible one, & then tried to find one with small success, I bought Ann Bridges last. thinking it might be soothing like most of hers, but glancing idly at it I find to my horror that its all about war in Spain & I don't think you will much want to read it, if you have the energy send it back & I will send you another – I always think the loveliest birthday present I ever had was the enormous pink azalea you
[page break]
gave me on my birthday nearly 3 years ago – I never forget it or cease to feel grateful to you for giving it to me, that & the little packet of odd treasures you liked to put under Nannies & my pillows when you were a small boy & thought we deserved a treat, I've got one still – all ready to show Frances for a treat.
Papa as got a cold & a cough he's not very bad, but thank goodness had a slight temperature
[page break]
this morning so stayed at home, to his horror last time he took the temperature it had gone, & now he feels a fraud which is almost worse than having influenza he feels.
I hope your cake arrived safely, & was eatable.
Very much love, I am so glad you have got your old navigator back & that you like the place where you are – very much love from us both
Yours with love
Mummie
THE ELMS
42, PEAR TREE AVENUE,
BITTERNE,
SOUTHAMPTON.
Dearest David
I feel so stupid, I thought Jan 31st was Monday & that I should be in plenty of time catching the early post today (Saturday) & to my horror I realise that Monday is Feb 1st & your birthday tomorrow & that I have missed the post – so I shall have to be content with a telegram to say many happy returns of the day. I have been racking my brains to think of a present to send you
[page break]
came to the conclusion a book was the only possible one, & then tried to find one with small success, I bought Ann Bridges last. thinking it might be soothing like most of hers, but glancing idly at it I find to my horror that its all about war in Spain & I don't think you will much want to read it, if you have the energy send it back & I will send you another – I always think the loveliest birthday present I ever had was the enormous pink azalea you
[page break]
gave me on my birthday nearly 3 years ago – I never forget it or cease to feel grateful to you for giving it to me, that & the little packet of odd treasures you liked to put under Nannies & my pillows when you were a small boy & thought we deserved a treat, I've got one still – all ready to show Frances for a treat.
Papa as got a cold & a cough he's not very bad, but thank goodness had a slight temperature
[page break]
this morning so stayed at home, to his horror last time he took the temperature it had gone, & now he feels a fraud which is almost worse than having influenza he feels.
I hope your cake arrived safely, & was eatable.
Very much love, I am so glad you have got your old navigator back & that you like the place where you are – very much love from us both
Yours with love
Mummie
Collection
Citation
F Donaldson, “Letter to David Donaldson from his mother,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 27, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/12011.
Item Relations
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