Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Notes content of telegram he sent in reply to their last cable and also reports content of a telegram he sent that did not arrive. Discusses mail problems in general. Writes that they are experiencing the hottest weather of the year with sand too hot to walk on and flies being a menace. Comments on bad news from home and discusses other news. Mentions a book he has just read and writes of the lack of soap.
Creator
Date
1942-05-19
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-HE420519
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt.J.D. Hudson
c/o. Consul General dew Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
19-5-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
The last time I wrote to you I acknowledged receipt of your three letters Nos. 31, 33 & 34 which arrived on May 14th and I sent a telegram the same day reading as follows:- “Delighted cable thirteenth regret my telegram April 1st not received your latest letter number thirty four arrived yesterday writing always well all love” This was in reply to your cable of May 13th which said :- “No response cable April 29th hope you are all right parcel sent two weeks ago still await letters all love” I am sorry my cable of April 1st did not reach you because it contained a request, so I will repeat it here. “Delighted cable twenty-nine message rather indistinct await parcel via Red Cross ask relations cooperation try send footwear size seven your latest letter received dated March twenty-nine all love” I am glad you were able to despatch a parcel and I thank you very much. I only hope it will arrive intact. To-day I was pleased to receive a letter which was rather a back number, dated March 6th, No. 22. This means that only letters Nos. 11, 29, & 32 are to arrive out of the first thirty-four you have written this year up to April 11th. I keep repeating in all my letters the date of the arrival of yours because the deliveries, generally speaking, are good. I do wish something could be done at this end to speed things up and safeguard all the letters I write. I write twice a week and it seems such a shame such a large percentage should go astray. Even if
[page break]
my letters do arrive spasmodically, you must rest assured that I am doing all I can to keep in constant touch with you, & that my thoughts are with you both always. It is strange your letter written on March 6th, which arrived to-day, should say that the snow came over Dad’s wellingtons, because we are now experiencing the hottest weather of the year. Yesterday afternoon the temperature was 100 degrees in the shade – what a contrast to the weather at Medea this time last year, when it closely resembled the late English spring. It is almost too hot to walk in the sand barefoot, concrete would be impossible. The flies are a menace, so by day we have a fly “blitz” and keep all windows closed. This keeps the room cooler as well, and it aid matters we have blued the windows with “dolly blue”. As I said earlier I was terribly shocked to learn of Louis death. Three times you have tried to tell me how it occurred and each time it has been censored. Yes John told me that he had broken off his engagement with Barbara. Talking about Oxford, I have just read the book “Yank at Oxford” I saw the film in England. You say the Red X told you fountain pens were not permitted to be sent. Riddick received one in twelve days from England, last week by Registered Air Mail. Your soap ration of 4 ozs per week is a bit grim. Since I arrived at Lagouat I have been issued once with a 2 oz. bar. None has been received from the British Red Cross since Christmas, no food parcels from them either. The Argentine were the last people to send us food which arrived about six weeks ago. Well my page is nearly finished once again so I will bid you adieu until next letter. Keep your chins up & keep smiling. As ever I send you all my love & best wished. With hopes for a much happier future soon. Douglas.
c/o. Consul General dew Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
19-5-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
The last time I wrote to you I acknowledged receipt of your three letters Nos. 31, 33 & 34 which arrived on May 14th and I sent a telegram the same day reading as follows:- “Delighted cable thirteenth regret my telegram April 1st not received your latest letter number thirty four arrived yesterday writing always well all love” This was in reply to your cable of May 13th which said :- “No response cable April 29th hope you are all right parcel sent two weeks ago still await letters all love” I am sorry my cable of April 1st did not reach you because it contained a request, so I will repeat it here. “Delighted cable twenty-nine message rather indistinct await parcel via Red Cross ask relations cooperation try send footwear size seven your latest letter received dated March twenty-nine all love” I am glad you were able to despatch a parcel and I thank you very much. I only hope it will arrive intact. To-day I was pleased to receive a letter which was rather a back number, dated March 6th, No. 22. This means that only letters Nos. 11, 29, & 32 are to arrive out of the first thirty-four you have written this year up to April 11th. I keep repeating in all my letters the date of the arrival of yours because the deliveries, generally speaking, are good. I do wish something could be done at this end to speed things up and safeguard all the letters I write. I write twice a week and it seems such a shame such a large percentage should go astray. Even if
[page break]
my letters do arrive spasmodically, you must rest assured that I am doing all I can to keep in constant touch with you, & that my thoughts are with you both always. It is strange your letter written on March 6th, which arrived to-day, should say that the snow came over Dad’s wellingtons, because we are now experiencing the hottest weather of the year. Yesterday afternoon the temperature was 100 degrees in the shade – what a contrast to the weather at Medea this time last year, when it closely resembled the late English spring. It is almost too hot to walk in the sand barefoot, concrete would be impossible. The flies are a menace, so by day we have a fly “blitz” and keep all windows closed. This keeps the room cooler as well, and it aid matters we have blued the windows with “dolly blue”. As I said earlier I was terribly shocked to learn of Louis death. Three times you have tried to tell me how it occurred and each time it has been censored. Yes John told me that he had broken off his engagement with Barbara. Talking about Oxford, I have just read the book “Yank at Oxford” I saw the film in England. You say the Red X told you fountain pens were not permitted to be sent. Riddick received one in twelve days from England, last week by Registered Air Mail. Your soap ration of 4 ozs per week is a bit grim. Since I arrived at Lagouat I have been issued once with a 2 oz. bar. None has been received from the British Red Cross since Christmas, no food parcels from them either. The Argentine were the last people to send us food which arrived about six weeks ago. Well my page is nearly finished once again so I will bid you adieu until next letter. Keep your chins up & keep smiling. As ever I send you all my love & best wished. With hopes for a much happier future soon. Douglas.
Collection
Citation
James Douglas Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22677.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.