Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Title
Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Description
Writes of reading one of his latest letters and glad he has better circumstances and able to have walks. Mentions autumn and winter weather they have had. Writes of their activities and hope that he can have a fire. Comments on content of other of his letters and lists those that have arrived. Says they have not done anything about a parcel yet. Catches up with other correspondence and passes on news.
Creator
Date
1942-01-28
Spatial 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
EHudsonP-HEHudsonJD420128
Transcription
[inserted] 111 [/inserted]
[inserted] Delighted just received another letter from you 8-45 dated 8/11/41. Glad the marmalade is a success. Truly necessity is the Mother of invention but neither dates nor oranges are available here Shall look forward to having photo. [/inserted]
[inserted] 26-2-42 [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs
England.
Wed 8 am 28/1/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just been reading again your letter dated 22/10/41 which is the first of the batch of seven which came on Saturday afternoon. It is good to learn that you are now in pleasanter conditions & that you are able to have your walks again. You write of warmth & sunshine & at that time here we were having snow. It seemed to come out of turn really because generally speaking the Autumn was wonderfully open & the winter weather came with the turn of the year & has stopped all through this month. Yesterday was remarkable, a shower of rain, then a freezing wind which turned road & pavements into sheets of glass. I had to set out wearing a pair of Dad’s socks over my shoes when I went on my shopping expedition. To revert to your letter I learn with interest that you are again cultivating a beard. It doesn’t sound very attractive – dirty things, beards, I always think - & I sincerely hope that the beard is the only reason for Tony’s new name for you. You mention a fireplace in Tony’s small room. I hope you will be allowed to use it in this wintry season & wonder what fuel will be
[page break]
available on the fringe of the desert. The letter of October 22nd contains the first news of “Jimmy”. Evidently you have mentioned him in previous letters which have failed to arrive. In my last letter I told you that there is a period without any letters from you Sept 17th until Oct 22nd. Strangely enough all your letters telling of your new domain have arrived safely Oct 22nd 26th 30th. Nov 4th, then [deleted] 11 [/deleted] 7th 11th gap 21st. The letter of Nov. 21st bears stamps to the value of 4 francs 25 cents & is marked “par avion”. Now love I’ve not done anything about a parcel yet. Its not just so easy but I will try to let you have something soon. I would gladly send my rations if I thought you would get them. Here’s hoping. Had a letter from Mrs Clayton yesterday. She seems very anxious about many things, but, as you used to say, you never know what to make of them. Cousin Fanny is still staying with her, & John, still at the same place, had been home for a few hours. Also a letter from Mrs Banks telling that Walter & Vincent had both 7 days leave at the same time & they had a happy gathering. Today is Andrew Kenneth Ian’s first birthday but you & Auntie Una have got the relationship wrong. Mollie being your cousin makes baby Andrew only your half-cousin so your responsibility in regard to the child is not a very heavy one – I wrote to Ted Hole yesterday & am sending it along in a letter to his mother & asking her to forward. I told you how troubled she was when she wrote for New Year. Goodbye now with all our love & thoughts & prayers from Mother & Dad.
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
[inserted] Delighted just received another letter from you 8-45 dated 8/11/41. Glad the marmalade is a success. Truly necessity is the Mother of invention but neither dates nor oranges are available here Shall look forward to having photo. [/inserted]
[inserted] 26-2-42 [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs
England.
Wed 8 am 28/1/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just been reading again your letter dated 22/10/41 which is the first of the batch of seven which came on Saturday afternoon. It is good to learn that you are now in pleasanter conditions & that you are able to have your walks again. You write of warmth & sunshine & at that time here we were having snow. It seemed to come out of turn really because generally speaking the Autumn was wonderfully open & the winter weather came with the turn of the year & has stopped all through this month. Yesterday was remarkable, a shower of rain, then a freezing wind which turned road & pavements into sheets of glass. I had to set out wearing a pair of Dad’s socks over my shoes when I went on my shopping expedition. To revert to your letter I learn with interest that you are again cultivating a beard. It doesn’t sound very attractive – dirty things, beards, I always think - & I sincerely hope that the beard is the only reason for Tony’s new name for you. You mention a fireplace in Tony’s small room. I hope you will be allowed to use it in this wintry season & wonder what fuel will be
[page break]
available on the fringe of the desert. The letter of October 22nd contains the first news of “Jimmy”. Evidently you have mentioned him in previous letters which have failed to arrive. In my last letter I told you that there is a period without any letters from you Sept 17th until Oct 22nd. Strangely enough all your letters telling of your new domain have arrived safely Oct 22nd 26th 30th. Nov 4th, then [deleted] 11 [/deleted] 7th 11th gap 21st. The letter of Nov. 21st bears stamps to the value of 4 francs 25 cents & is marked “par avion”. Now love I’ve not done anything about a parcel yet. Its not just so easy but I will try to let you have something soon. I would gladly send my rations if I thought you would get them. Here’s hoping. Had a letter from Mrs Clayton yesterday. She seems very anxious about many things, but, as you used to say, you never know what to make of them. Cousin Fanny is still staying with her, & John, still at the same place, had been home for a few hours. Also a letter from Mrs Banks telling that Walter & Vincent had both 7 days leave at the same time & they had a happy gathering. Today is Andrew Kenneth Ian’s first birthday but you & Auntie Una have got the relationship wrong. Mollie being your cousin makes baby Andrew only your half-cousin so your responsibility in regard to the child is not a very heavy one – I wrote to Ted Hole yesterday & am sending it along in a letter to his mother & asking her to forward. I told you how troubled she was when she wrote for New Year. Goodbye now with all our love & thoughts & prayers from Mother & Dad.
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
Collection
Citation
P Hudson, “Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 22, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/23536.
Item Relations
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