Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Catches up with mail cables received and comments on photographs enclosed. Wonders if they have received the photographs he sent yet. Comments that he has now been in Africa a year and that his existence feels futile and that patience and inactivity do not go well together. Notes that life was difficult at first with lack of news from home but that it was better now. Writes that they read much and play a lot of bridge. Mentions that summer is nearly through and comments on hairstyles adopted by other internees.
Creator
Date
1941-08-28
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-HE410828
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet. Algér.
Algerie. Afrique du Nord.
28-8-41.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
This letter is to say how delighted I was to receive your cable yesterday dated August 26th reading:- “Delighted cable Aug 19th three letters today Aumale July 16th. 24th 29th not air mail remembering today anniversary all love” to which I replied this morning:- “Delighted cable August twentysix eight snapshots received best wishes Dad’s birthday all love well.” I will also repeat here what I mentioned in my last letter regarding receipt of mail from home. On Aug. 18th I received your letters dated July 14th & 29th & one from E.W.7. dated July 7th. On Aug. 21st one from Ted Hole dated July 27th, & on Aug. 22nd & 23rd yours dated July 18th & 27th in that order, each enclosing two snapshots bringing the total I have been so very pleased to receive to eight. These photos are very good indeed and I am surprised to notice so little change in either of you. Perhaps Mother looks greyer (it may be camera) but that is all I can detect from the snaps. Dad looks just the same & the pipe really suits him. I wonder if you will receive the two photos I sent of myself about two weeks ago. They are not clear & I explained the reason, but they show that I am still here. Well it is a great relief to get the cables from you & to know that you are receiving mine; and how glad I was to know that on Aug. 26th you received three recent letters from Aumale. The speed which they arrived (you say not Air Mail) is surprising, considering the previous ones
[page break]
took eight weeks, or so. Let us hope this will continue. The cable definitely says July 16th 24th & 29th. I have completed one year in Africa and wonder every day just how much longer I am to stay here. Existence never felt to be so futile as it does these days. Inactivity & patience do not necessarily go towards making an ideal life. The former requires very much of the latter & you know my temperament. Thanks to many small things I think we shall emerge sane enough. The first four months proved very unbalancing without any news of you at all, but the present [inserted] exchange of [/inserted] correspondence is encouraging. As I have said before we have books, & we play bridge a lot & some of the company is interesting. The time has arrived when we have practically completed the sorting of the companionable & others. Summer is nearly through & we shall expect a gradual decrease in temperature. August has been a very oppressive month, the worst of the year. I have been pushing the old whiskers again for ten days & cannot decide whether to continue, having existed clean shaven for about ten months it is rather uncomfortable. Several chaps have had their hair cropped to the scalp. A stupid craze to promote a bigger & better growth in later years. I prefer to court premature baldness & enjoy my locks while I have them, & especially now when my front wave is better than ever. Unless I resort to lying in the sun I shall lose my highly treasured sunburn. Normal, or natural taking of the sun now being denied. And so I must say good bye until next letter. My thoughts will be with you on Dad’s birthday which draws near, & as ever I send all my love to you both. Douglas.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet. Algér.
Algerie. Afrique du Nord.
28-8-41.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
This letter is to say how delighted I was to receive your cable yesterday dated August 26th reading:- “Delighted cable Aug 19th three letters today Aumale July 16th. 24th 29th not air mail remembering today anniversary all love” to which I replied this morning:- “Delighted cable August twentysix eight snapshots received best wishes Dad’s birthday all love well.” I will also repeat here what I mentioned in my last letter regarding receipt of mail from home. On Aug. 18th I received your letters dated July 14th & 29th & one from E.W.7. dated July 7th. On Aug. 21st one from Ted Hole dated July 27th, & on Aug. 22nd & 23rd yours dated July 18th & 27th in that order, each enclosing two snapshots bringing the total I have been so very pleased to receive to eight. These photos are very good indeed and I am surprised to notice so little change in either of you. Perhaps Mother looks greyer (it may be camera) but that is all I can detect from the snaps. Dad looks just the same & the pipe really suits him. I wonder if you will receive the two photos I sent of myself about two weeks ago. They are not clear & I explained the reason, but they show that I am still here. Well it is a great relief to get the cables from you & to know that you are receiving mine; and how glad I was to know that on Aug. 26th you received three recent letters from Aumale. The speed which they arrived (you say not Air Mail) is surprising, considering the previous ones
[page break]
took eight weeks, or so. Let us hope this will continue. The cable definitely says July 16th 24th & 29th. I have completed one year in Africa and wonder every day just how much longer I am to stay here. Existence never felt to be so futile as it does these days. Inactivity & patience do not necessarily go towards making an ideal life. The former requires very much of the latter & you know my temperament. Thanks to many small things I think we shall emerge sane enough. The first four months proved very unbalancing without any news of you at all, but the present [inserted] exchange of [/inserted] correspondence is encouraging. As I have said before we have books, & we play bridge a lot & some of the company is interesting. The time has arrived when we have practically completed the sorting of the companionable & others. Summer is nearly through & we shall expect a gradual decrease in temperature. August has been a very oppressive month, the worst of the year. I have been pushing the old whiskers again for ten days & cannot decide whether to continue, having existed clean shaven for about ten months it is rather uncomfortable. Several chaps have had their hair cropped to the scalp. A stupid craze to promote a bigger & better growth in later years. I prefer to court premature baldness & enjoy my locks while I have them, & especially now when my front wave is better than ever. Unless I resort to lying in the sun I shall lose my highly treasured sunburn. Normal, or natural taking of the sun now being denied. And so I must say good bye until next letter. My thoughts will be with you on Dad’s birthday which draws near, & as ever I send all my love to 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/22553.
Item Relations
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