Letter to Mrs Cahir from Jim Cahir

Letter to Mrs Cahir from Jim Cahir

Airgraph from Flight Sergeant Jim Cahir to his mother and brothers. He writes about the camp’s preparations for Christmas, about four thousand parcels arriving from the Red Cross, the food they will be preparing with their saved rations and having received their parcel of books.

1944-12-19

One handwritten air letter

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ECahirFSCahirM-P-V441219-0001, ECahirFSCahirM-P-V441219-0002

[underlined] Kriegsgefangenenpost [/underlined]
[postmark]
[two ink stamps]
An Mrs. M. CAHIR.
Emfangsort: 505 BELL ST
Strasse: PRESTON MELB
Kreis: VICTORIA
Land: AUSTRALIA
[underlined] Gebührenfreil [/underlined]
Absender:
Vor- und Zuname: Francis. S. CAHIR F/sgt
Gefangenennummer: 267500
Lager-Bezeichnung: [inserted] STALAG [underlined] IV B [/underlined] “C” [/inserted]
[underlined] Deutschland (Allemagne) [/underlined]
[page break]
Dec 19th 44
Dear Mum Pat & Vincent. This day last year I was in England getting ready to go on Christmas Leave, and what a time I thought I was going to have! Instead I spent Christmas in a little cell by myself on typical prison rations – Bread & water. This year, Christmas is going to be 100% better; today four thousand parcels arrived from the Red Cross, enough to give us half a parcel each. At present we are decorating the room with coloured paper, labels from tins, and anything else with a bit of colour in it. Christmas Dinner should be something out of the Box, we have been saving a few spuds each day to add to our ration on Christmas Day; and with the Pea Flour we have accumulated we intend to bake a cake, I know the cake might not meet with the approval of a Good Housewife, but here it will be luxury (on both sides of the wire.) Each Barrack Room [deleted] wh [/deleted] will be having its’ own Hut Show, and on the whole I think it will be a Happy Christmas, and a Perfect Easter. If those Red Cross parcels had not arrived, I don’t know what we could have done for Christmas. This Week I received your Parcel of Books, I was very pleased to get them. Cobbers was a marvellous Book, and has been read by at least twenty chaps already including Canadians, Kiwis, S Africans, Englishmen, and now a Pole. Don’t worry about me Mum! I will be thinking of you all during Midnight Mass. Have a happy Christmas, and give my Greetings to all. Happy Christmas Camberwell!
Jim