Letter to John Valentine from Barbara Griffin

Letter to John Valentine from Barbara Griffin

Thanks him for his letter. Provides some comment about her sister Ursula. Continues with request that he help with distributing her possessions to family members if anything should happen to her. Continues with gossip about his rank (Leading Aircraftsman) and future possibilities for posting. Concludes with more gossip.

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.

SValentineJRM1251404v20028-03

67 Blenheim Terrace N.W. 8
Friday (One week after the 11th April)
Dear John
It was lovely to have a real letter from you all to myself. Ursula has not written to me yet, so I was avid to here about the red hair and things. I’m glad Ursula has her “own beautiful colouring” back again so soon. It speaks pretty well for her physique & general state of health after such a tough two days.
There is our little matter I thought I’d mention to you if you don’t mind, rather than to her. I was reminded once more the night before last that my job, while not dangerous or heroic one like yours, is at times mildly risky, in fact I missed things so often & so closely that I didn’t really anticipate that I might have the opportunity to write to write to you today. I haven’t made a will because my possessions are so much ridiculously few that nobody is likely to dispute overmuch about it; but if it should come to dividing out the spoils, would you see that the guns have my Tibetan land horn, Peter my photographic apparatus & stuff, you my books, because they are chiefly about mountains, Frances my money (there must be quite thirty pounds in the P.O. & Savings Certifs, so tell her not to eat it all at once!!!) and Ursula everything else. Ask Ursula to send my tortoiseshell bracelet to Mum, because it’s the only bit of “jewellery” I ever wear much is really loved & I’d like Miss Henry & her sister to have my crocodile handbag. Thank you.
Fancy you having new letters in front of your name. Ursula never tells me anything of real importance. How does poor Jane fair without her mistress to take on ball chasing expeditions? You know, don’t you, that if ever she becomes too much of a nuisance temporarily, and nobody could take her for walks & so on you could always ship her up here top me because the Gunns would have her even if I couldn’t.
I know April 26th is, far, far too near at hand for both of you, but what a difference it must have made to you both, that you were able to be with her so long! I should laugh if you got posted to Hendon; what would do then? Does LAC mean Leading Air Craftman? I’ve a good mind to send this to Aber something, only I want it to reach you!
I forgot to tell Ursula, that ant any argument as to what [?] do or not do next as to finding a more active job in the battle has been settled for us by a Service Order issued two days ago that [?] women were allowed to leave the Service now, same as the men. So we were dead right as to our fuss. Why this took so much trouble for us to get transferred somewhere to our satisfaction – only we didn’t give them credit for so much guile as to be able to make this thing law without the public knowing it. Of course (if Wednesday nights incident is to be repeated there is no time to say – nothing on earth would persuade us to leave. It’s this business of sitting about utterly idle after being always busy, responsible practically for running the show, raids or no raids that got us down. Sez? [?] learn to knit, that’s all. All my love ,pop, yours Barbara