Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Acknowledges receipt of all numbered letters apart from three which he suspects have gone via Germany. Comments on snow and rough winter in England but says spring and warming weather on the way there. Writes of lunch, Red Cross, weather and sunbathing. Philosophises on life a little. Mentions camp newspaper and article he is writing for it. Compares England to current location and concludes with mention of latest couscous recipe.
Creator
Date
1942-03-08
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-HE420308
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052.Sgt. J.S. Hudson.
c/o. Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
8th March. 1942.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your letter No. 15 dated February 9th. The following are the letters I have received from you written this year, in this order:- 1,3,5,6,7,9,2,4,10,12,13,15. Nos. 2 & 4 came via Italy. As you will see the ones which have failed to arrive to date are Nos. 8,11 & 14. Probably these will be coming via Germany. I have acknowledged all these letters previously, except for the last one, so I don’t think there is any need for further comment. According to yours of Feb. 9th there was still plenty of snow in England, and from the news regarding the weather in many of your previous letters I gather that you have had another rough winter. However, now I suppose there will be signs of spring and I know that this will make you feel happier, with the realisation that warmer weather, longer daylight and days in the garden are ahead. today is Sunday, and I am writing this letter at 12 o’clock, after lunch. As you know the French have their first meal of the day about 11.30 am. We make our own side meals and tea whenever we feel like them provided the Red Cross “gear” is to hand. The weather here is now fast becoming warmer, and shorts are to be seen, and many half nude bodies taking the sun which is still free. I shall join them when I have written this letter. I have started P.T. again and do it from 1.30 until 2 pm. Before long it will be too hot at this hour and if we continue the time will have to be altered to early morning. The weather is just about
[page break]
right to commence sunbathing. It is not too hot (the sun is but the chill wind still persists) and there are no flies. Some people can lie in the sun nearly all day, but not me. I don’t need to anyway, I brown easily enough. The message on your birthday card from Miss Chester about “Hope” is a very true one. It means a lot these days. This life makes one think a lot, it almost appears that too much time is spent thinking. You know about the “Camp Echo” now. One of the Australians wrote an article in last issue asking other people to write about their own countries I have already typed one reply on the “England” imagined by an Officer here. Next issue I think I shall write one of my “England” which to me is represented by :- fresh air, the sea, open spaces, hills, woods and green fields, so little to be found here. Here are open spaces truly enough, but no green, just sand & more sand. The air is fresh now but what will June July & august have to say, shall we still be here? The only thing England lacks is blue sky & sun, & too much sun only breeds flies and disease so next time it is foggy or too cold this may help to cheer you up. The only way to overcome the difficulty is to live in England from May until September and spend the rest of the year in N. Africa. That would be ideal – with plenty of money & no blocade [sic]. Latest Cous-cous recipe. Boil up again for one hour with Nestles milk (when in the larder) see Red Cross – add raisins – again see Red Cross – and serve with jam, home made or Red Cross. Excellent, better than boiled rice-pudding. To quote a popular saying here “Mother if you could only see me now” but we look too sunburned to require sympathy. So Cheerio until next letter. With all my love, thoughts and best wishes. Chins up. Douglas.
c/o. Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
8th March. 1942.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your letter No. 15 dated February 9th. The following are the letters I have received from you written this year, in this order:- 1,3,5,6,7,9,2,4,10,12,13,15. Nos. 2 & 4 came via Italy. As you will see the ones which have failed to arrive to date are Nos. 8,11 & 14. Probably these will be coming via Germany. I have acknowledged all these letters previously, except for the last one, so I don’t think there is any need for further comment. According to yours of Feb. 9th there was still plenty of snow in England, and from the news regarding the weather in many of your previous letters I gather that you have had another rough winter. However, now I suppose there will be signs of spring and I know that this will make you feel happier, with the realisation that warmer weather, longer daylight and days in the garden are ahead. today is Sunday, and I am writing this letter at 12 o’clock, after lunch. As you know the French have their first meal of the day about 11.30 am. We make our own side meals and tea whenever we feel like them provided the Red Cross “gear” is to hand. The weather here is now fast becoming warmer, and shorts are to be seen, and many half nude bodies taking the sun which is still free. I shall join them when I have written this letter. I have started P.T. again and do it from 1.30 until 2 pm. Before long it will be too hot at this hour and if we continue the time will have to be altered to early morning. The weather is just about
[page break]
right to commence sunbathing. It is not too hot (the sun is but the chill wind still persists) and there are no flies. Some people can lie in the sun nearly all day, but not me. I don’t need to anyway, I brown easily enough. The message on your birthday card from Miss Chester about “Hope” is a very true one. It means a lot these days. This life makes one think a lot, it almost appears that too much time is spent thinking. You know about the “Camp Echo” now. One of the Australians wrote an article in last issue asking other people to write about their own countries I have already typed one reply on the “England” imagined by an Officer here. Next issue I think I shall write one of my “England” which to me is represented by :- fresh air, the sea, open spaces, hills, woods and green fields, so little to be found here. Here are open spaces truly enough, but no green, just sand & more sand. The air is fresh now but what will June July & august have to say, shall we still be here? The only thing England lacks is blue sky & sun, & too much sun only breeds flies and disease so next time it is foggy or too cold this may help to cheer you up. The only way to overcome the difficulty is to live in England from May until September and spend the rest of the year in N. Africa. That would be ideal – with plenty of money & no blocade [sic]. Latest Cous-cous recipe. Boil up again for one hour with Nestles milk (when in the larder) see Red Cross – add raisins – again see Red Cross – and serve with jam, home made or Red Cross. Excellent, better than boiled rice-pudding. To quote a popular saying here “Mother if you could only see me now” but we look too sunburned to require sympathy. So Cheerio until next letter. With all my love, thoughts and best wishes. Chins up. Douglas.
Collection
Citation
James Douglas Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22638.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.