Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Title
Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Description
Writes of her health and weather. Discusses problems of sending him a parcel which post office refuse. Says she will just continue to write letters even if they are dull and uninteresting. Mentions it was a year since moving to Nelson and says how much she likes it and why. mentions going to Burnley to arrange to send him a parcel of cigarettes. Also mentions going to Smiths to arrange for books to be sent to him.
Creator
Date
1942-02-17
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-HEHudsonJD420217
Transcription
[inserted] 117 [/inserted]
[underlined] 17 [/underlined]
[inserted] 12-3-42. [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs.
England.
Tuesday. 17/2/42.
My dear Douglas.
I hope you will not have noticed the long gap between this & my last letter but I haven’t been just too grand. Think I got a chill going to Manchester & I must be getting old, as these minor ailments seem to take heavier toll. But I am very much better again now. The bitter weather continues & I am always wondering how things are with you – if you have enough food & warmth. I have told you in my last letters that the censor refused permission for me to send the parcel by air mail & as we are not allowed to send any of the things in it (tea, cigarettes, chocolate, & sweets) by the Red Cross I’m afraid we cannot do anything about [inserted] it [/inserted] Your letter says, “don’t let the post office put you off” but I am powerless there as they simply refused to accept the parcel/ & it had been such a joy preparing it. There seems to be nothing much I can do except keep on writing & I fear the letters are often dull & uninteresting. These days of war bring great sadness & anxiety, no doubt, accentuated as I said in a previous letter, by less physical activity due to the advance of the man with the scythe. Dad keeps on saying he does not feel any older now than he did 20 years ago.
[page break]
It was a year yesterday since I came to live at Nelson, first in a Boarding House for a month, then in a tiny furnished house until May 9th, when we removed our treasures from Kensal. I often say I’ve never lived anywhere that I liked so well as here. The wide open view gives me endless pleasure & these last days with the pale wintry sun touching the snow-covered hills I often have an illusion of an enchanted world. Now the birds are beginning to pipe their cheery times & yesterday the thrush & blackbird were holding a competition. The bitter weather brought even crows to my little bird table I never remember feeding crows before, & I might add, that the rations for all the poor little feathered creatures are very meagre. I often wonder if you get much news of what is happening. I only wish I could write more comprehensively. On Friday I went to Burnley & arranged for a parcel for cigarettes, 200 State Express [inserted] 555 [/inserted] & 100444 (Turkish) to be sent to you. The whole business appears very casual to me but I am hoping you will receive the parcel safely. I tried to arrange for books to be sent, too, but must go to Smiths in Manchester for that. I told you about asking Sherrett & Hughes to send some for you? Did you receive the book from Mrs Clayton? I have not written to Tony’s mother yet, nor have I heard from her. I wonder if we are each waiting for the other to make the advance. Now love I am wondering all this long time how you are keeping & do hope there has been no “tummy” & voice trouble. Am eagerly awaiting letters. Latest dated Nov. 25th. All our love & thoughts & prayers from Mother & Dad.
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
[underlined] 17 [/underlined]
[inserted] 12-3-42. [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs.
England.
Tuesday. 17/2/42.
My dear Douglas.
I hope you will not have noticed the long gap between this & my last letter but I haven’t been just too grand. Think I got a chill going to Manchester & I must be getting old, as these minor ailments seem to take heavier toll. But I am very much better again now. The bitter weather continues & I am always wondering how things are with you – if you have enough food & warmth. I have told you in my last letters that the censor refused permission for me to send the parcel by air mail & as we are not allowed to send any of the things in it (tea, cigarettes, chocolate, & sweets) by the Red Cross I’m afraid we cannot do anything about [inserted] it [/inserted] Your letter says, “don’t let the post office put you off” but I am powerless there as they simply refused to accept the parcel/ & it had been such a joy preparing it. There seems to be nothing much I can do except keep on writing & I fear the letters are often dull & uninteresting. These days of war bring great sadness & anxiety, no doubt, accentuated as I said in a previous letter, by less physical activity due to the advance of the man with the scythe. Dad keeps on saying he does not feel any older now than he did 20 years ago.
[page break]
It was a year yesterday since I came to live at Nelson, first in a Boarding House for a month, then in a tiny furnished house until May 9th, when we removed our treasures from Kensal. I often say I’ve never lived anywhere that I liked so well as here. The wide open view gives me endless pleasure & these last days with the pale wintry sun touching the snow-covered hills I often have an illusion of an enchanted world. Now the birds are beginning to pipe their cheery times & yesterday the thrush & blackbird were holding a competition. The bitter weather brought even crows to my little bird table I never remember feeding crows before, & I might add, that the rations for all the poor little feathered creatures are very meagre. I often wonder if you get much news of what is happening. I only wish I could write more comprehensively. On Friday I went to Burnley & arranged for a parcel for cigarettes, 200 State Express [inserted] 555 [/inserted] & 100444 (Turkish) to be sent to you. The whole business appears very casual to me but I am hoping you will receive the parcel safely. I tried to arrange for books to be sent, too, but must go to Smiths in Manchester for that. I told you about asking Sherrett & Hughes to send some for you? Did you receive the book from Mrs Clayton? I have not written to Tony’s mother yet, nor have I heard from her. I wonder if we are each waiting for the other to make the advance. Now love I am wondering all this long time how you are keeping & do hope there has been no “tummy” & voice trouble. Am eagerly awaiting letters. Latest dated Nov. 25th. 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 April 18, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/23544.
Item Relations
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