Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine
Title
Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine
Description
Still waiting for a letter from him. Tells of her days activities but not much to report since last letter yesterday. Mentions her purchases and writes baby news. Writes feeling more hopeful about war news as headline rush of disaster has slowed up. Says that night fighter figures had been good but she is ambivalent as if we have something effective against night bombers perhaps the Germans have too. Comments on his health and that a letter has just arrived from him. Thanks him for his advice and she will let him know about her future.
Creator
Date
1941-05-10
Temporal 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.
Identifier
EValentineUMValentineJRM410510
Transcription
Trefilan May 10th
Darling Johnnie, I'm a lone, lone woman & everything goes contrary with me. That is to say, the postman has definitely passed me by today., & unless he brings something this afternoon, I shall have to wait until Monday for a letter from you. I went into Aber. today & duly got your “Spotters” for 3 weeks past, as they happened to be there. I went round to see Jane, arrived with her brush & the Pulvex meaning to give her a jolly good grooming, but neither she nor the Royles were in, so I'll have to save it up for our next meeting. I met that little Nurse Jones in the street, the one with her hair done up in curls on top of her head & plenty of make-up. She's apparently been away with a septic foot & boils & is now recovering. I also met P.O. Page who saluted me amiably. I think Wilson must have been posted or be on leave. He was always such a conspicuous blot on the landscape, somehow, & I've never seen him since you left.
[page break]
Perhaps he's joined the Navy now! There's not much to report since yesterday. I got a book out of the Lexicon Library & read it in 2 days – a detective yarn by GDH Cole called “Off with her head” - quite ingenious. I've now got “The Cloister & the Hearth” from the public library – the dear old boy again didn't charge me. I also bought some pale green wool to knit rompers for Frances, & some blue wool to make a little coat for Michael's birthday present – all his woollies are pathetically tight for him, & Mrs Sandford apparently doesn't knit. Yesterday she suddenly produced a present for Frances, a little egg-cup & spoon & serviette ring in pink, quite sweet. It was nice of her, I thought. Strange to say, I haven't had any other offerings for her recently. I came back in the bus with Mrs Williams – she certainly is a gusher, very kind-hearted & well meaning, but gosh! What a tongue! She used to work in the Post Office & consequently knows everyone for miles around.
I'm sitting out in the sun in the front porch writing this, with Frances asleep in the Karrikot near me. She's been
[page break]
a good girl today, tho' she still wakes at night. So I've decided to feed her nearer 10 pm. than I have been doing of late, & then at least I get an extra hour or so of sleep. I wish I knew what I could do to persuade her to sleep thro' from 10 till 6. the baby books all say “a baby should sleep from 10-6 am” but don't tell you what to do if the beastie won't. I don't know quite why but somehow I'm feeling more hopeful about the war just now. Perhaps its because the headlong rush of disasters has slowed up for a bit, tho' I don't suppose for a moment that it is finished. Also the night fighter figures have been so good recently – tho' I can't feel wholly glad about that, because if we've got something effective against the night-bombers, presumably Germany has or will have soon & that's not so cheerful when I think of you so soon being on active service – these next few months will surely go all too quickly.
I do hope you are feeling better now, darling one. The weather is so glorious that it seems a shame that you shouldn't be feeling A.1. to enjoy it. Do you remember those
[page break]
beech trees in a row above the Penpark road, lovely trees even when bare? They are like fairyland now with their bright green young leaves against the blue sky. I wish Jane were here so that I could take her a long walk, tho' actually I can't get away in the afternoons often, as Mrs S. goes out then. I go in the mornings while she looks after the babies & cooks the dinner. Your letter has just come with Mother's, Irene's & Standard's enclosed. Thank you so much, dearest one for your generosity of mind & your sound advice. I won't bother you any more now till I tell you the answer. I don't think I had better attempt to come up to you (for one thing that would set you dig-hunting again!) but wherever I go you can bet your life I'm just aching for the time when we can be together again, with our baby & our dog. How happy we could be!” Must stop or I shall miss the post. Will return your socks next time, I hope. All my love always, darling – look after yourself, Ursula
Darling Johnnie, I'm a lone, lone woman & everything goes contrary with me. That is to say, the postman has definitely passed me by today., & unless he brings something this afternoon, I shall have to wait until Monday for a letter from you. I went into Aber. today & duly got your “Spotters” for 3 weeks past, as they happened to be there. I went round to see Jane, arrived with her brush & the Pulvex meaning to give her a jolly good grooming, but neither she nor the Royles were in, so I'll have to save it up for our next meeting. I met that little Nurse Jones in the street, the one with her hair done up in curls on top of her head & plenty of make-up. She's apparently been away with a septic foot & boils & is now recovering. I also met P.O. Page who saluted me amiably. I think Wilson must have been posted or be on leave. He was always such a conspicuous blot on the landscape, somehow, & I've never seen him since you left.
[page break]
Perhaps he's joined the Navy now! There's not much to report since yesterday. I got a book out of the Lexicon Library & read it in 2 days – a detective yarn by GDH Cole called “Off with her head” - quite ingenious. I've now got “The Cloister & the Hearth” from the public library – the dear old boy again didn't charge me. I also bought some pale green wool to knit rompers for Frances, & some blue wool to make a little coat for Michael's birthday present – all his woollies are pathetically tight for him, & Mrs Sandford apparently doesn't knit. Yesterday she suddenly produced a present for Frances, a little egg-cup & spoon & serviette ring in pink, quite sweet. It was nice of her, I thought. Strange to say, I haven't had any other offerings for her recently. I came back in the bus with Mrs Williams – she certainly is a gusher, very kind-hearted & well meaning, but gosh! What a tongue! She used to work in the Post Office & consequently knows everyone for miles around.
I'm sitting out in the sun in the front porch writing this, with Frances asleep in the Karrikot near me. She's been
[page break]
a good girl today, tho' she still wakes at night. So I've decided to feed her nearer 10 pm. than I have been doing of late, & then at least I get an extra hour or so of sleep. I wish I knew what I could do to persuade her to sleep thro' from 10 till 6. the baby books all say “a baby should sleep from 10-6 am” but don't tell you what to do if the beastie won't. I don't know quite why but somehow I'm feeling more hopeful about the war just now. Perhaps its because the headlong rush of disasters has slowed up for a bit, tho' I don't suppose for a moment that it is finished. Also the night fighter figures have been so good recently – tho' I can't feel wholly glad about that, because if we've got something effective against the night-bombers, presumably Germany has or will have soon & that's not so cheerful when I think of you so soon being on active service – these next few months will surely go all too quickly.
I do hope you are feeling better now, darling one. The weather is so glorious that it seems a shame that you shouldn't be feeling A.1. to enjoy it. Do you remember those
[page break]
beech trees in a row above the Penpark road, lovely trees even when bare? They are like fairyland now with their bright green young leaves against the blue sky. I wish Jane were here so that I could take her a long walk, tho' actually I can't get away in the afternoons often, as Mrs S. goes out then. I go in the mornings while she looks after the babies & cooks the dinner. Your letter has just come with Mother's, Irene's & Standard's enclosed. Thank you so much, dearest one for your generosity of mind & your sound advice. I won't bother you any more now till I tell you the answer. I don't think I had better attempt to come up to you (for one thing that would set you dig-hunting again!) but wherever I go you can bet your life I'm just aching for the time when we can be together again, with our baby & our dog. How happy we could be!” Must stop or I shall miss the post. Will return your socks next time, I hope. All my love always, darling – look after yourself, Ursula
Collection
Citation
Ursula Valentine, “Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/19570.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.