Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

Number 33. Talks of tracking his letters and some might be missing. Asks that she comply with his requests about the proportion of his letter ration which goes to her. Writes that they are likely to be removed to a new camp five miles away. Mentions that with violin practice, his duties and some sport that he has little spare time. Catches up with family/friends.

1943-05-08

Two page handwritten letter

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EValentineJRMValentineUM430508

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33
[deleted] 24th APRIL [/deleted] [inserted] 8th May [/inserted] 1943.
My Darling Ursula: No further letters from you but one from Ann dated 21st March – would you thank her please. She says that you told her over the phone that you had 6 letters from me in 1 post. In one of my letters, which might have gone astray, I asked you not to mention to Barnet how many letters you had from me, nor to comment on the number when writing yourself. I should be grateful if you could comply with these requests & be the soul of discretion on the subject Things aren’t easy here in that respect & I don’t want to spoil a certain arrangement. You see, mail so strictly rationed that I am not keen that others should know the high proportion of my monthly allowance which goes to you. You probably don’t quite understand but [underlined] please [/underlined] do as I ask otherwise I might have to write even fewer letters to you. When writing to me, your best way would be to say “I now have your letters 1 -50 & so except Nos …”. I have a little more “gen” about the possibility of our moving. We are likely (but only likely) to be shifted to a camp about 5 miles away & the date may be about August. On the other hand I shouldn’t be surprised if it were months later. We are told that this [inserted] new [/inserted] camp stands on a slight hill & is not surrounded by trees so we might be able to see something of the great big world outside – Which has ceased to exist as far as we are concerned. You & everyone else might be on another planet for all the difference it would make to us. I put in a lot of time at the fiddle nowadays – sometimes nearly 4 hours a day – so that everything else is more or less dropped. I hope & pray that at the new camp I shall be able to get somewhere to practice even if it is again an adjunct to the latrine. I wish I could see progress in proportion to the amount of work. However I really am dead keen & it passes the days wonderfully. With my official duties & domestic chores, meals & a little reading plus an odd game of football now & again I find myself always pushed for time – [underlined] never [/underlined] do I have it on my hands. Ann told me that Frances spoke to her over the phone – how much can she say now & what is her voice like? A little sparrow chirping I expect. I wish I could see you both. I long for more from you – have had only 1 letter in the last 5 weeks. PLEASE do as I ask above, darling, that is if you value letters from me. All my fondest love – for always
John
[page break]
91
[underlined] Kriegsgefangenenpost [/underlined]
[stamp]
An MRS U.M. VALENTINE
LIDO
Emfangsort: TENTERDEN GROVE
Strasse: HENDON
Kreis: LONDON NW4
Land: ENGLAND
Absencder:
Vor- und Zuname: Sgt John Valentine
Gefangenennummer: 450
Lager-Bezeichnung: M.-Stammlager Luft 3
Deutschland (Germany)