Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Title
Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Description
Reports arrival of latest letters which indicate he is again enjoying normal conditions. Glad to have cable announcing arrival of first next-of-kin parcel. Mentions getting hold of a sponge for next parcel and water shortage in camp. Comments on good weather in south of England but not in Lancashire. Catches up with family news. Mentions arrival with him of large calendar after ten months. Discusses sending parcels via the Red Cross and getting information from them about quarterly parcels. Concludes mentioning father's birthday.
Creator
Date
1942-09-04
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Two page handwritten letter and envelope
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-HEHudsonJD420904
Transcription
Prisoners of War Post
[inserted] 178 [/inserted]
[BY AIR MAIL stamp]
[four postage stamps]
755052 Sgt. J. D. Hudson
Interned British Airman
Camp Militaire
Laghouat
Algerie
Afrique du Nord.
[page break]
From
Mrs Hudson
191 Halifax Road
Nelson
Lancs.
England.
4/9/42
[postmark]
[inserted] 77 [/inserted]
[inserted] 8-10-42 [/inserted]
[page break]
[inserted] 178 [/inserted]
[underlined] 77 [/underlined]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson. Lancs.
England.
Friday. Sept. 4th/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just bid Dad good-night as he has set out on his fire-watching duties so thought I would write to you as you have been ever in my thoughts since the last batch of letters arrived – ten on Monday, one on Thursday dated June 17th & one last Saturday dated July 17th. It has been a great joy to me to have all these letters but they also brought a degree of sorrow & anxiety. The latter [inserted] later [/inserted] letters give the impression that you are once again enjoying ? normal conditions for which I am more than thankful. It was grand to have your cable announcing the arrival, intact, of your first next-of-kin parcel & I am glad you are able to “cultivate” the Lifebuoy habit. Today I have been delighted to get a sponge which I hope to include in your next parcel. It is not a very good one (as I told you in my last letter they are almost unobtainable) but I thought it might help you to enjoy your “dips” even more than usual. It is strange to think of the water shortage when we have had so much more than the normal supply all summer. From what I hear the wet weather has been just in the North. Holiday-makers who have been south (& there are still a few) tell of days & days of uninterrupted sunshine while here
[page break]
we have had hardly a day when rain has not fallen at some time. Today has not been too bad, bright with little gleams of sunshine & also “little drops of water” at intervals. We have a lot of wind here up on the hill, which is rather fatal to tall growing plants. One of my beautiful chrysanthemums was broken at the week-end. I was very sorry as I was very proud of my fine plants. This morning I had a post-card from Auntie Maud & Eileen who are “having a restful holiday at Blackpool” much to Dad’s disgust. Auntie asks very kindly about you. I am wondering who was the friend who shared your “chambre” & your joke about the underpants. Was it Tony, Jimmy, Eric, or someone whose name I do not know? It was funny about your large calendar arriving after ten months. Was it broken or did it arrive in good condition. I wonder where it had been all that long time. It would be good to hear that you had got some of the other parcels too. You mention sending parcels more frequently via the Red X. This does not seem to me very practicable, following a long communication from them in May giving a lot of particulars & instructions about quarterly next-of-kin parcels to internees in Vichy controlled North Africa. We feel we must try to conform to rules & regulations but you may be sure the next quarterly parcel will be sent in good time. Let me know by cable if there is anything you specially need. Now Goodnight love. I know how much your thoughts will be with us tomorrow on Dad’s birthday. Always all our love & thoughts & prayers from Mother & Dad
755052 Hudson
Camp Militaire
Laghouat Algerie.
[inserted] 178 [/inserted]
[BY AIR MAIL stamp]
[four postage stamps]
755052 Sgt. J. D. Hudson
Interned British Airman
Camp Militaire
Laghouat
Algerie
Afrique du Nord.
[page break]
From
Mrs Hudson
191 Halifax Road
Nelson
Lancs.
England.
4/9/42
[postmark]
[inserted] 77 [/inserted]
[inserted] 8-10-42 [/inserted]
[page break]
[inserted] 178 [/inserted]
[underlined] 77 [/underlined]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson. Lancs.
England.
Friday. Sept. 4th/42
My dear Douglas.
I have just bid Dad good-night as he has set out on his fire-watching duties so thought I would write to you as you have been ever in my thoughts since the last batch of letters arrived – ten on Monday, one on Thursday dated June 17th & one last Saturday dated July 17th. It has been a great joy to me to have all these letters but they also brought a degree of sorrow & anxiety. The latter [inserted] later [/inserted] letters give the impression that you are once again enjoying ? normal conditions for which I am more than thankful. It was grand to have your cable announcing the arrival, intact, of your first next-of-kin parcel & I am glad you are able to “cultivate” the Lifebuoy habit. Today I have been delighted to get a sponge which I hope to include in your next parcel. It is not a very good one (as I told you in my last letter they are almost unobtainable) but I thought it might help you to enjoy your “dips” even more than usual. It is strange to think of the water shortage when we have had so much more than the normal supply all summer. From what I hear the wet weather has been just in the North. Holiday-makers who have been south (& there are still a few) tell of days & days of uninterrupted sunshine while here
[page break]
we have had hardly a day when rain has not fallen at some time. Today has not been too bad, bright with little gleams of sunshine & also “little drops of water” at intervals. We have a lot of wind here up on the hill, which is rather fatal to tall growing plants. One of my beautiful chrysanthemums was broken at the week-end. I was very sorry as I was very proud of my fine plants. This morning I had a post-card from Auntie Maud & Eileen who are “having a restful holiday at Blackpool” much to Dad’s disgust. Auntie asks very kindly about you. I am wondering who was the friend who shared your “chambre” & your joke about the underpants. Was it Tony, Jimmy, Eric, or someone whose name I do not know? It was funny about your large calendar arriving after ten months. Was it broken or did it arrive in good condition. I wonder where it had been all that long time. It would be good to hear that you had got some of the other parcels too. You mention sending parcels more frequently via the Red X. This does not seem to me very practicable, following a long communication from them in May giving a lot of particulars & instructions about quarterly next-of-kin parcels to internees in Vichy controlled North Africa. We feel we must try to conform to rules & regulations but you may be sure the next quarterly parcel will be sent in good time. Let me know by cable if there is anything you specially need. Now Goodnight love. I know how much your thoughts will be with us tomorrow on Dad’s birthday. Always 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 25, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/23794.
Item Relations
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