Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

Number 8. Writes he is feeling much better. He is trying to arrange that any friends or acquaintances who live outside the empire send him food parcels because any that are sent from inside are pooled. He describes his appearance after being shot down and how upsetting it is to not possess the items he needs to look after his appearance.

1942-07-03

Two page handwritten letter

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.

EValentineJRMValentineUM420703

[underlined] NUMBER. 8 [/underlined]
[underlined] 3-7-42 [/underlined]
My Dearest Ursula: Am glad to say that I am at last feeling much more like myself since my constitution is slowly adjusting itself to the new conditions. [one sentence censored] This can only be done from places outside the Empire since all Empire food parcels are pooled and communally distributed. would you ask (1) Les Zwanenberg if any of his friends in Holland, America etc (2) Grinfeld if his connections in Sweden, Turkey etc (3) My parents if friends in Argentine or America could help us - & anyone else you know. We want regular parcels. not merely one. Please also arrange for a regular flow of tobacco & cigarettes which, duty free, are not costly. Get all the support you can for the Red Cross for their magnificent work. [one sentence censored] Sorry always to be asking for things – here another request – for a pair of walking shoes at the first available opportunity I’m deeply ashamed of my personal appearance. Having no razor or shaving brush. I now possess a five weeks beard. When our plane was hit I was drenched TO THE SKIN in oil & had to wash every article of clothing. My uniform shrank several sizes & was still very discoloured & being my only costume I look like a scarecrow. Everyone is the same, the camp population closely resembling a crowd of beggars clothed in every conceivable type of tattered garment. What an age it seems since I last saw phoned or had a letter from you. You are always in my thoughts, my darling.
Ever Yours
John.
[page break]
[underlined] Kriegsgefangenenpost [/underlined]
MRS U.M VALENTINE
“LIDO” TENTERDEN GROVE,
Emfangsort: HENDON
Strasse: London. N.W.4
Land: ENGLAND
[page break]
Absender:
Vor - und Zuname: Sgt. JOHN R.M. VALENTINE
Gefangenennummer: NOT YET KNOWN.
Lager – Bezeichnung: M. - Slammlager Luft 3