Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

Letter from John Valentine to his wife Ursula

No 60-117. Writes about receiving letters (number censored) and how they and photographs cheer him. Thanks her for parcels and discusses future clothing requirements. Speaks of her problems over housing and promises to increase financial allotment. Agrees that she should live with her parents, He is still plugging away with violin.

1943-08-05

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.

EValentineJRMValentineUM430805

Start of transcription
5th August 1943
My Beloved Ursula: Just after I had gloomily posted my last card to you, along came your [missing word] followed today by [missing word]. You cannot imagine how your letters cheer me – each one is a very real mental tonic & as for the photo of my darling wife in [missing word], words fail me. It is beautiful, so like you – I am charmed & thrilled beyond measure – my deepest thanks to you & Ba. Sorry I can’t have the coloured snaps of Frances & hope that the one enclosed with 65 was not lost. I hear that my 4th parcel (clothing) has arrived. I shall get it next week. Many thanks for the 5th one the contents of which will be greatly appreciated. I admire your resourcefulness in procuring the [indecipherable word] for me please give MRS Turner my thanks. I deeply sympathise with her. In fact I often wonder why I have been spared when so many better fellows have not (eg George Y & Norman B.) The rug will be truly welcome for conditions here are not so good as at Luft III. For parcel No 6 please don’t send a shirt I have ample, but I would like 2 summer vests (singlet type) & 2 prs summer pants for next year. There is nothing else that I require apart from the usual toilet articles. Don’t bother about attache cases. I sincerely sympathise with you over your housing problems & admire your tremendous energy in tackling it. I wish I could help but I’m so distressingly impotent here. I shall take immediate steps to increase my allotment to you to the maximum possible, just in case you need. [inserted] it [/inserted] I’m somewhat relieved to hear of the negative replies from the Agriculture people & of course am all for your getting a house as soon as poss since I agree with you that difficult as the matter may be now it will be more so after the war. At the same time I realise that it would be more pleasant for you to live with your people until I come back & if you decide to do so I won’t object. Anything you do has my wholehearted approval. My tasting mechanism returns intermittently & I appreciate it greatly. I plug away at the fiddle whenever I can get room to work but its terribly difficult. I’m very short of strings. The banjo string I was using has gone & I haven’t an “A” left, I am using an “E” which is not unsatisfactory – thin & reedy. Please send me a few “A”s if you haven’t done so recently. Thanks for everything dearest
Fondest love for ever
John
[page break]
60 – 117
Kriegsgefangenenpost
[stamp]
An MRS U. M. VALENTINE
[deleted] LIDO [/deleted] [inserted] Little close
Devon Rd
Salcombe
Emfangsort: [deleted] TENTERDEN GROVE [/deleted]
Strasse: [deleted] HENDON [/deleted] [inserted] Devon [/inserted]
Kreis: [deleted] LONDON N.W.4 [/deleted]
Land: ENGLAND
[stamp]
Absender:
Vor- und Zuname: Sgt John Valentine
Gefangenennummer: 460
Lager-Bezeichnung: Kriegsgefangenenlager Nr. 6 der Luftwaffe
Deutschland (Allemagne)