Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Title
Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Description
Reports arrival of sixteen letters and a postcard over last two weeks. Discusses picture on postcard. Still no news of friend missing in Malaya despite lists of Japanese prisoners published. Catches up with other correspondence and passes on news. Discusses sending various items by airmail but just luck that some arrive and states that fountain pens were specifically forbidden. Discusses sending shoes and asks his opinion by cable. Worries how long parcel will take to arrive. Concludes with comment on weather.
Creator
Date
1942-07-23
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-HEHudsonJD420723
Transcription
[inserted] 165 [/inserted]
[underlined] 64 [/underlined]
[inserted] 13-8-42 [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs.
England.
Thursday. a.m. July 23rd/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just received your letter dated May 15th & am very delighted to have it. I am wondering if it belongs the last batch, or is the beginning of a new one. Since July 11th we have had 16 letters & a postcard picture of Laghouat. The picture seems very familiar & I cannot remember whether it was reproduced in the book “In Lightest Africa”, or is it my vivid imagination which has presented an accurate picture of the town. Will get the book again & make sure. Now I am hoping that the letter of May 15th is the first of a new series. I am always looking for my precious letters & read & read them again & again. There is still no news of Ted Hole though this is the week when the list of prisoners is expected from Japan & I am keeping a sharp look out in the papers. Did I tell you in my last letter that Mrs Clayton’s letter of Saturday brought John’s new address complete, at last, with title. I wrote for his birthday but he would not get the letter, unless [inserted] it [/inserted] was forwarded, as he had left the address which his Mother gave me on the Wed. I am dreading the news of his next move but Dad thinks the training will take some time & keep him here, which surmise, I hope with all my heart, is correct. I sent your cable to Calverley last week but so far no response
[page break]
whatsoever. As I have mentioned so many times there is very little we can send. You mention in this last letter that fountain pens & wristlet watches have arrived by air mail. I must repeat again that it must just be luck that they get through. The small parcel which I tried to get to you is still here & as I told you they would not accept it at Nelson nor could I get a permit (as I requested) from Liverpool. I should have sent you a fountain pen long ago but on all the literature referring to parcels to Laghouat (or Vichy controlled North Africa) fountain pens are specially forbidden. I have come across a pair of very nice shoes in your [deleted] wad [/deleted] [inserted] ward-robe [/inserted] size 6 1/2 &, at first, thought of sending them but as you specially mention size 7 will try to get a pair just like them to send in my parcel. If you would like the 6 1/2 shoes sending in the next parcel you must just say so by cable. Also I am thinking of sending a thick service pullover from your trunk. I wonder if it will reach you in time for the winter. Your light under-wear won’t be very suitable for winter use & I’m wondering if I should have got it thicker in view of the approaching winter. It is like winter or late October here at present. Rain began to fall on Tuesday night & has kept on almost incessantly & it is now 9-30 a.m. Thursday & a wind blows which howls like a gale. I wonder if you are sweltering in tropical heat. Goodbye again now love & always our love & thoughts & prayers are with you from
Mother & Dad.
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
[underlined] 64 [/underlined]
[inserted] 13-8-42 [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson Lancs.
England.
Thursday. a.m. July 23rd/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just received your letter dated May 15th & am very delighted to have it. I am wondering if it belongs the last batch, or is the beginning of a new one. Since July 11th we have had 16 letters & a postcard picture of Laghouat. The picture seems very familiar & I cannot remember whether it was reproduced in the book “In Lightest Africa”, or is it my vivid imagination which has presented an accurate picture of the town. Will get the book again & make sure. Now I am hoping that the letter of May 15th is the first of a new series. I am always looking for my precious letters & read & read them again & again. There is still no news of Ted Hole though this is the week when the list of prisoners is expected from Japan & I am keeping a sharp look out in the papers. Did I tell you in my last letter that Mrs Clayton’s letter of Saturday brought John’s new address complete, at last, with title. I wrote for his birthday but he would not get the letter, unless [inserted] it [/inserted] was forwarded, as he had left the address which his Mother gave me on the Wed. I am dreading the news of his next move but Dad thinks the training will take some time & keep him here, which surmise, I hope with all my heart, is correct. I sent your cable to Calverley last week but so far no response
[page break]
whatsoever. As I have mentioned so many times there is very little we can send. You mention in this last letter that fountain pens & wristlet watches have arrived by air mail. I must repeat again that it must just be luck that they get through. The small parcel which I tried to get to you is still here & as I told you they would not accept it at Nelson nor could I get a permit (as I requested) from Liverpool. I should have sent you a fountain pen long ago but on all the literature referring to parcels to Laghouat (or Vichy controlled North Africa) fountain pens are specially forbidden. I have come across a pair of very nice shoes in your [deleted] wad [/deleted] [inserted] ward-robe [/inserted] size 6 1/2 &, at first, thought of sending them but as you specially mention size 7 will try to get a pair just like them to send in my parcel. If you would like the 6 1/2 shoes sending in the next parcel you must just say so by cable. Also I am thinking of sending a thick service pullover from your trunk. I wonder if it will reach you in time for the winter. Your light under-wear won’t be very suitable for winter use & I’m wondering if I should have got it thicker in view of the approaching winter. It is like winter or late October here at present. Rain began to fall on Tuesday night & has kept on almost incessantly & it is now 9-30 a.m. Thursday & a wind blows which howls like a gale. I wonder if you are sweltering in tropical heat. Goodbye again now love & always our love & thoughts & prayers are with you from
Mother & Dad.
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
Collection
Citation
P Hudson, “Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/23731.
Item Relations
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