Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Comments that it was grandfather's birthday which reminded him of the coming of spring. Writes he was pleased to receive latest cable but did not quite understand some parts and sought clarification. Returns to matter of them sending him essential items via Red Cross including footwear as leather was unobtainable. Apologises for repeating but several parcels with similar content had arrived for other internees and he wanted them to try while this seems possible. Talks of the weather and that they were keeping occupied producing the camp newspaper.
Creator
Date
1942-04-30
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-HE420430
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
April 30th 1942.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I am beginning this letter to you tonight, but I shall probably have to finish it in the morning as it is getting rather late. Tomorrow, I remember would be Grandma’s birthday, and looking back I can remember many a first of May, probably because we associated the arrival of real Spring with this month, and to us in those days the Spring suggested the many outings that lay before us until winter came along again. This evening I was very pleased to receive your cable of the 29th April reading as follows:- “Delighted message received 22 April letter parcel soap socks towel via Red Cross regret deferred delivery Grandad away all love” This was not very clear so I cabled in reply:- “Delighted cable twentynine message rather indistinct await parcel via Red Cross ask relations cooperation try send footwear size seven your latest letter received dated March twentynine all love” I could not quite understand what you meant by “regret deferred delivery Grandad away” I presume you mean that a parcel has been sent but that it will have to wait some time before the Red Cross can despatch it. The “Grandad away” puzzles me and I am not quite sure whether you mean he has died, or has just gone away after spending a holiday with you. I sincerely hope, and feel sure that it must be the latter because your last cable said
[page break]
that he was going to stay with you. In my cable today I suggest that you ask for relations help in getting a parcel together because I realise the present difficulty in obtaining many articles, and as in the past they have volunteered to send anything I may require, that together now it may be easier to form a united front. I ask for footwear. Leather is unobtainable here and boots or shoes (secondhand but in good repair) would be especially welcome, size 7. I am sorry to devote so much space of my letter to requests, but as thirty parcels were received here two days ago containing all manner of clothing, I thought it advisable to strike whilst the iron was hot. All the parcels left London via the Red Cross on December 12th. For a week or tendays the weather has been considerably cooler with occasional terrific winds & sand storms. When the wind abates it is very pleasant. We (the small[?] four) have been well occupied lately with “Camp Echo” and Orderly[?] room duties since the latest augmentation of personnel. I told you we share a small room which acts as living quarters and office, and for this haven of reasonable privacy we are more than thankful, under present rather crowded conditions. As I have said so many times there is so little I can really talk to you about in these letters. As to our visiting the places I have been in during the war – do you refer to N. Africa as well? Although I have said that this shall be a closed book when all is peace again, maybe I shall change my [deleted] tune] [/deleted] [inserted] mind [/inserted]. Perhaps, it would be a pleasant interlude to explore all these places together under favourable conditions and really appreciate the glamour[?] of the East. Wait and see.
With all my love & thoughts as ever. Douglas.
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
April 30th 1942.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I am beginning this letter to you tonight, but I shall probably have to finish it in the morning as it is getting rather late. Tomorrow, I remember would be Grandma’s birthday, and looking back I can remember many a first of May, probably because we associated the arrival of real Spring with this month, and to us in those days the Spring suggested the many outings that lay before us until winter came along again. This evening I was very pleased to receive your cable of the 29th April reading as follows:- “Delighted message received 22 April letter parcel soap socks towel via Red Cross regret deferred delivery Grandad away all love” This was not very clear so I cabled in reply:- “Delighted cable twentynine message rather indistinct await parcel via Red Cross ask relations cooperation try send footwear size seven your latest letter received dated March twentynine all love” I could not quite understand what you meant by “regret deferred delivery Grandad away” I presume you mean that a parcel has been sent but that it will have to wait some time before the Red Cross can despatch it. The “Grandad away” puzzles me and I am not quite sure whether you mean he has died, or has just gone away after spending a holiday with you. I sincerely hope, and feel sure that it must be the latter because your last cable said
[page break]
that he was going to stay with you. In my cable today I suggest that you ask for relations help in getting a parcel together because I realise the present difficulty in obtaining many articles, and as in the past they have volunteered to send anything I may require, that together now it may be easier to form a united front. I ask for footwear. Leather is unobtainable here and boots or shoes (secondhand but in good repair) would be especially welcome, size 7. I am sorry to devote so much space of my letter to requests, but as thirty parcels were received here two days ago containing all manner of clothing, I thought it advisable to strike whilst the iron was hot. All the parcels left London via the Red Cross on December 12th. For a week or tendays the weather has been considerably cooler with occasional terrific winds & sand storms. When the wind abates it is very pleasant. We (the small[?] four) have been well occupied lately with “Camp Echo” and Orderly[?] room duties since the latest augmentation of personnel. I told you we share a small room which acts as living quarters and office, and for this haven of reasonable privacy we are more than thankful, under present rather crowded conditions. As I have said so many times there is so little I can really talk to you about in these letters. As to our visiting the places I have been in during the war – do you refer to N. Africa as well? Although I have said that this shall be a closed book when all is peace again, maybe I shall change my [deleted] tune] [/deleted] [inserted] mind [/inserted]. Perhaps, it would be a pleasant interlude to explore all these places together under favourable conditions and really appreciate the glamour[?] of the East. Wait and see.
With all my love & thoughts as ever. Douglas.
Collection
Citation
James Douglas Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 20, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22672.
Item Relations
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