Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Notes his new address in Aumale, Algeria and reports on letters received. Catches up on family gossip and contrasts it with his idle life, though this is not what he would wish for. Mentions a little of his activities, routine and weather. Writes of pets they have collected and how he is not getting on with local French language. Says he is sorry they left previous camp and advises them to write to him via the American consul in Algiers.
Creator
Date
1941-06-06
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Two 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.
Contributor
Identifier
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE410606
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. Chef. J. D. Hudson.
Camp de Séjour Surveillé
AUMALE.
Algérie. Afrique du Nord
6-6-41
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Since I wrote my last letter to you from this my latest address, about 4 days ago, I received your letter dated May 2nd & sent by Air Mail. It was written on Dad’s night out & Mother said she was getting brave staying in alone. I hope Dad will not find this duty (I do not know what it is) too tiring & talking about tiring things, I also hope that Mother did not do anything stupid regarding the cleaning of the new home. She said she was going to manage without any help. Here am I getting fat by leading a life of idleness. Believe me it is the worst kind of life I have ever lead, or wished to lead, it requires the patience of ten men. I’d rather do anything than this. It is getting hot now, and this afternoon we are undergoing a thunder storm. At 1 pm. today I washed some clothes for myself & collected them dry at 2.30 pm. Shall do the training when I get home to England. We have an organisation going in this camp. At 8.15 am until 8.45 am we do Physical Training. From 9.30 am until 11 am organised walk. 5 pm to 6 pm football. Next week on account of the hot weather the times will be amended, ie, earlier in the morning & later in the evening for football. The average clothing now is a pair of shorts & a sun helmet, but it is getting dangerous to stay out too
[page break]
long in the sun. There is terrific rain falling now, but when it stops it will be dry in an hour or so. I don’t know if I told you from Kef. that we got a small terrier pup at Christmas. He is still here, & sleeps with us. Yesterday he got a pal, a baby jackal rescued from an Arab (during our walk. The jackal is smaller that the dog but they go everywhere together. I don’t know what will happen when the former grows up. I finished reading my French novel the other day. I have no patience to learn French here when we cannot mix with people. I cannot understand the French Radio or Talkies (basing on my 5 weeks respite in Médéa) although I can read it & write it, talk it passably. I am sorry we left Médéa, by far the fairest spot I have struck in North Africa. On account of the possible uncertainty of our addresses (this is my third address in 6 weeks) I advise you in future to address your letters to me as follows:- J. D. Hudson. AU[deleted]E[/deleted] BONS SOINS DU; CONSUL GÉNÉRAL DES ETATS UNIS; RUE MICHELET 119; ALGÉR; AFRIQUE DU NORD. The first bit means literally “in the good care of the Consul General of the U.S.A.” Continue sending them Air Mail by all means. I do hope that the letters I sent to you from Médéa by Air Mail will get through. I must have sent about 12 in the five weeks. I am continuing to send them by Air Mail, through the Consul, so heres [sic] hoping. Well I must say good-bye again now, with as before & ever, all my best wishes & love to you both. In my last letter I acknowledged receipt of your cable, received on May 30th, my last day in Médéa. Thank you so much for these cables. Again all love, my thoughts are always with you both. Douglas
Camp de Séjour Surveillé
AUMALE.
Algérie. Afrique du Nord
6-6-41
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Since I wrote my last letter to you from this my latest address, about 4 days ago, I received your letter dated May 2nd & sent by Air Mail. It was written on Dad’s night out & Mother said she was getting brave staying in alone. I hope Dad will not find this duty (I do not know what it is) too tiring & talking about tiring things, I also hope that Mother did not do anything stupid regarding the cleaning of the new home. She said she was going to manage without any help. Here am I getting fat by leading a life of idleness. Believe me it is the worst kind of life I have ever lead, or wished to lead, it requires the patience of ten men. I’d rather do anything than this. It is getting hot now, and this afternoon we are undergoing a thunder storm. At 1 pm. today I washed some clothes for myself & collected them dry at 2.30 pm. Shall do the training when I get home to England. We have an organisation going in this camp. At 8.15 am until 8.45 am we do Physical Training. From 9.30 am until 11 am organised walk. 5 pm to 6 pm football. Next week on account of the hot weather the times will be amended, ie, earlier in the morning & later in the evening for football. The average clothing now is a pair of shorts & a sun helmet, but it is getting dangerous to stay out too
[page break]
long in the sun. There is terrific rain falling now, but when it stops it will be dry in an hour or so. I don’t know if I told you from Kef. that we got a small terrier pup at Christmas. He is still here, & sleeps with us. Yesterday he got a pal, a baby jackal rescued from an Arab (during our walk. The jackal is smaller that the dog but they go everywhere together. I don’t know what will happen when the former grows up. I finished reading my French novel the other day. I have no patience to learn French here when we cannot mix with people. I cannot understand the French Radio or Talkies (basing on my 5 weeks respite in Médéa) although I can read it & write it, talk it passably. I am sorry we left Médéa, by far the fairest spot I have struck in North Africa. On account of the possible uncertainty of our addresses (this is my third address in 6 weeks) I advise you in future to address your letters to me as follows:- J. D. Hudson. AU[deleted]E[/deleted] BONS SOINS DU; CONSUL GÉNÉRAL DES ETATS UNIS; RUE MICHELET 119; ALGÉR; AFRIQUE DU NORD. The first bit means literally “in the good care of the Consul General of the U.S.A.” Continue sending them Air Mail by all means. I do hope that the letters I sent to you from Médéa by Air Mail will get through. I must have sent about 12 in the five weeks. I am continuing to send them by Air Mail, through the Consul, so heres [sic] hoping. Well I must say good-bye again now, with as before & ever, all my best wishes & love to you both. In my last letter I acknowledged receipt of your cable, received on May 30th, my last day in Médéa. Thank you so much for these cables. Again all love, my thoughts are always with you both. Douglas
Collection
Citation
James Douglas Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22530.
Item Relations
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