Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Lists recent letters arrived and pleased that they had dispatch another parcel to him via the Red Cross. Discusses content of their letters praising their faith and courage. Provides considerable discussion about books in general. Mentions running a small French class and describes pupils. Says he is learning commercial French but cannot get any practice speaking. Mentions funny story about himself involving party.
Creator
Date
1942-08-09
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-HE420809
Transcription
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o. Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algérie
9-8-42. Afrique du Nord.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your letter No. 59. This came nine days after No. 60. Nos. 57 & 58 have not yet arrived. I was very pleased to learn that you had despatched on July 28th another parcel via the Red Cross. Thank you for all the trouble you are taking in this respect, & perhaps you would also extend my appreciation to relatives for this kind cooperation. Yes, dear Mother & Dad, when I read the remarks in your letter No 59 about their kindness & consideration, & learned of the hardships they were undergoing through shortage of luxuries , my wrath was truly invoked. Never mind we can pull together. We have succeeded in the past. I have a strong feeling that before much longer we are going to reap a very fine harvest, the results of seeds of faith & courage sown by you both in the days are hardship & worry. Wait and see! It is sometimes the waiting game that is the successful one. Don’t you think that applies in general today? I cannot quite understand the outlook of the girl at Smiths who suggested sending a small selection of cheap edition “thrillers & wild west stories” to prisoners. I suppose one can hardly expect her to appreciate the prisoners’ outlook, but believe you me thrillers & wild west stories are not our diet. The days of that type of fiction are over.
[page break]
I could write a better book myself of true experiences, than the average story that come under that category. You can see, you must, that people like ourselves have experienced so much that has been conflicting, so much reality not wrapped up in cellophane that we are bound to be changed, & having skimmed the superficialities the truth revealed is presented undiluted. It is that truth which breeds the cynics of W. when it comes to people proposing sending Wild West Stories & Thrillers to Ps of W. Forgive my outburst, but sometimes the safety valve blows. You might misunderstand me in my letters, but you won’t when I get home. Yes I shall write to Mr. Allen – thank you for the tip & for giving me the style of my own from. You must think my memory is weak forgetting that. I am running a little French class – my pupils include an ex bank cashier, a Metalurgical [sic] Research Chemist, & two Accountants. I think I learn more by trying to teach [inserted] than my pupils, [/inserted] & when we get into difficulties we pool our brains & try to thrash the problem out together. It’s good fun and passes the time. On my own I am studying Commercial French. I cannot get any practice speaking so I am devoting energy to try & write it for business use. The more I try the less I realise I know & become aware that there is such a lot more to learn. A funny little story which is not to my credit but maybe you will forbear to criticise. We had a party the night before last. Got a bit mixed up afterwards & I woke fully dressed in Jimmy’s bed outside, he was in my bed inside. This is but a phase, and will pass. My heart is still in England & with you both at home, all my love & thoughts. Douglas.
c/o. Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algérie
9-8-42. Afrique du Nord.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your letter No. 59. This came nine days after No. 60. Nos. 57 & 58 have not yet arrived. I was very pleased to learn that you had despatched on July 28th another parcel via the Red Cross. Thank you for all the trouble you are taking in this respect, & perhaps you would also extend my appreciation to relatives for this kind cooperation. Yes, dear Mother & Dad, when I read the remarks in your letter No 59 about their kindness & consideration, & learned of the hardships they were undergoing through shortage of luxuries , my wrath was truly invoked. Never mind we can pull together. We have succeeded in the past. I have a strong feeling that before much longer we are going to reap a very fine harvest, the results of seeds of faith & courage sown by you both in the days are hardship & worry. Wait and see! It is sometimes the waiting game that is the successful one. Don’t you think that applies in general today? I cannot quite understand the outlook of the girl at Smiths who suggested sending a small selection of cheap edition “thrillers & wild west stories” to prisoners. I suppose one can hardly expect her to appreciate the prisoners’ outlook, but believe you me thrillers & wild west stories are not our diet. The days of that type of fiction are over.
[page break]
I could write a better book myself of true experiences, than the average story that come under that category. You can see, you must, that people like ourselves have experienced so much that has been conflicting, so much reality not wrapped up in cellophane that we are bound to be changed, & having skimmed the superficialities the truth revealed is presented undiluted. It is that truth which breeds the cynics of W. when it comes to people proposing sending Wild West Stories & Thrillers to Ps of W. Forgive my outburst, but sometimes the safety valve blows. You might misunderstand me in my letters, but you won’t when I get home. Yes I shall write to Mr. Allen – thank you for the tip & for giving me the style of my own from. You must think my memory is weak forgetting that. I am running a little French class – my pupils include an ex bank cashier, a Metalurgical [sic] Research Chemist, & two Accountants. I think I learn more by trying to teach [inserted] than my pupils, [/inserted] & when we get into difficulties we pool our brains & try to thrash the problem out together. It’s good fun and passes the time. On my own I am studying Commercial French. I cannot get any practice speaking so I am devoting energy to try & write it for business use. The more I try the less I realise I know & become aware that there is such a lot more to learn. A funny little story which is not to my credit but maybe you will forbear to criticise. We had a party the night before last. Got a bit mixed up afterwards & I woke fully dressed in Jimmy’s bed outside, he was in my bed inside. This is but a phase, and will pass. My heart is still in England & with you both at home, all my love & thoughts. Douglas.
Collection
Citation
J D Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 27, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22826.
Item Relations
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