Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Reports that he has now received 49 letters from them that year and the latest two have also arrived. Mentions weather had been extremely hot and it does not get cool until the early hours of the morning. Comments on perspiring and that evaporation leaves his body cold and clammy which is dangerous as it is easy to get chills. Reports recent severe sandstorms in the afternoon and mentions making tea and outside stoves. Praises Red Cross and mention playing bridge. Comments on daily routine and sunsets and sunrises. Philosophises about life as internee.
Creator
Date
1942-07-14
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-HE420714
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord
14-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad
My pile of letters received from you, written this year, now contains 49. The latest one to arrive was No. 50 on July 11th and if it was not for letter No. 11 I should have the complete sequence. This is the only one which has gone astray. I have very little to write to you about to-day. I often say I would give ten pounds readily to be allowed to write ten pages completely uncensored. The weather has been extremely hot during the past few days, hotter than before. The sun rays are probably not quite as strong but the earth is now very well heated and until the early hours of the morning it does not get really cool. The shade temperature has been about 115F at the hottest times. I perspire terrifically, & this is the most unpleasant part because as the moisture evaporates the cooling leaves one’s body clamy[sic] & cold. This is the dangerous part as [inserted] well [/inserted] and chills on the stomach are easily contracted. Recently we have experienced quite severe sandstorms in the afternoon. The wind which blows up from the desert is like a draught out of an oven. It generally coincides with our tea making which we have to do outside during the summer. There are no stoves[?] at this period of the year. We have built ourselves a fireplace in the courtyard from bricks and sand, a marvellous piece of ingenuity, complete with chimney, and as a result we get our afternoon 2 or 3 cups.
[page break]
Thanks to the Red Cross, to host[?] our[?] organisation! I am continuing my letter in the evening which is much cooler than it has been for some time. We are to play our last hands of Bridge tonight in a competition against the officers. There are eight men in each team making four tables altogether. The first three nights we played selected hands and as a result some idea could be gained as to the quality of bidding. To-night, the last night, we are playing dealt hands. Our position is very interesting and the game should be good. The days appear to be very long at present. We get up at 5.30 and it is not much use attempting to sleep before mid-night. The sunrises & sunsets do not hold the glory of the ones I saw during the winter months. As you say the moments of natural beauty bring us near together. In this place those[?] beauties are so often spoiled by the [indecipherable word] immediate “goings on”. I often think of the people who put coal in their baths and threw litter into their gardens. One often feels the necessity of holding one’s nose whilst swallowing the bitter medicine which I classify as the everyday dose of living. Sometimes I think there is far too much [indecipherable word] and it seems a long hike to the freshness beyond. But the fear[?] of internment? will pass one day and the period of convalescence will be compensation enough. The literal sun still shines and our bodies are tanned well and truly, therefore we look fit physically. I feel we shall benefit in due course by our forced[?] mental homework so let us look forward to those days of good things. Until then my thoughts will be ever with you. As always, all my love, and best wishes.
Douglas
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord
14-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad
My pile of letters received from you, written this year, now contains 49. The latest one to arrive was No. 50 on July 11th and if it was not for letter No. 11 I should have the complete sequence. This is the only one which has gone astray. I have very little to write to you about to-day. I often say I would give ten pounds readily to be allowed to write ten pages completely uncensored. The weather has been extremely hot during the past few days, hotter than before. The sun rays are probably not quite as strong but the earth is now very well heated and until the early hours of the morning it does not get really cool. The shade temperature has been about 115F at the hottest times. I perspire terrifically, & this is the most unpleasant part because as the moisture evaporates the cooling leaves one’s body clamy[sic] & cold. This is the dangerous part as [inserted] well [/inserted] and chills on the stomach are easily contracted. Recently we have experienced quite severe sandstorms in the afternoon. The wind which blows up from the desert is like a draught out of an oven. It generally coincides with our tea making which we have to do outside during the summer. There are no stoves[?] at this period of the year. We have built ourselves a fireplace in the courtyard from bricks and sand, a marvellous piece of ingenuity, complete with chimney, and as a result we get our afternoon 2 or 3 cups.
[page break]
Thanks to the Red Cross, to host[?] our[?] organisation! I am continuing my letter in the evening which is much cooler than it has been for some time. We are to play our last hands of Bridge tonight in a competition against the officers. There are eight men in each team making four tables altogether. The first three nights we played selected hands and as a result some idea could be gained as to the quality of bidding. To-night, the last night, we are playing dealt hands. Our position is very interesting and the game should be good. The days appear to be very long at present. We get up at 5.30 and it is not much use attempting to sleep before mid-night. The sunrises & sunsets do not hold the glory of the ones I saw during the winter months. As you say the moments of natural beauty bring us near together. In this place those[?] beauties are so often spoiled by the [indecipherable word] immediate “goings on”. I often think of the people who put coal in their baths and threw litter into their gardens. One often feels the necessity of holding one’s nose whilst swallowing the bitter medicine which I classify as the everyday dose of living. Sometimes I think there is far too much [indecipherable word] and it seems a long hike to the freshness beyond. But the fear[?] of internment? will pass one day and the period of convalescence will be compensation enough. The literal sun still shines and our bodies are tanned well and truly, therefore we look fit physically. I feel we shall benefit in due course by our forced[?] mental homework so let us look forward to those days of good things. Until then my thoughts will be ever with you. As always, all my love, and best wishes.
Douglas
Collection
Citation
J D Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22733.
Item Relations
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