Letter from Donald Baker to his mother

Letter from Donald Baker to his mother

Lets her know he fit and he had received no further mail. Mail from England was regular with some taking as little as ten days. Says there is not much in his letters as not much to write about. Mentions concert and that famous fighter pilots Tuck and Bader were there. Writes about possible future study and that he was currently doing maths, German and English. Mentions forming a farming society and giving talk on tobacco. Asks for journals on Rhodesian agriculture.

1942-07-18

Handwritten prisoner of war letter form

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SBakerDA19210428v20083

[six ink stamps]
[two postmarks]
[underlined] Kriegsgefangenenpost [/underlined]
[underlined] MIT LUFTPOST AB KAIRO. [/underlined]
MRS. C. BAKER.
CHARLTON
INYAZURA
S. RHODESIA
SOUTH AFRICA
Absender:
Vor und Zuname: DONALD ARTHUR BAKER
Gefangenennummer: 665.
Lager-Bezeichnung: M.-Stammlager Luft [deleted] 1 [/deleted] [inserted] 3 [/inserted]
[page break]
18:7:42
My Dearest Mother, A few more lines to let you know that I am perfectly fit and hope very much that you are as well. No mail from you since last I wrote but expect it will come through fairly soon. Mail from England still very regular. Some letters come through in as little as 10 days. 6 weeks is about the longest. Yours of course are anything from 2 to 4 months old. You have never mentioned receiving more than one letter from me but I suppose there is so little in them that you can refer to. Our band gave us a very good concert last night – hot jazz & light classical. There is some excellent talent – in particular a marvellous violinist. You will have heard of Wing Commanders Tuck & Bader – very famous fighter aces – were here but the latter has recently been removed to another camp. He was the fellow without legs. Am thinking of writing the London matric exam but dont [sic] know if its possible here. However if we have to spend another year in Germany it might be arranged. There is all the time to study and am sure I can do it. At the moment am attending Maths German & English lectures. The German am not doing seriously – only to understand the papers & the other lectures are just very elementary to keep our minds occupied. Chaps here are very interested in farming so there is a society formed I gave a very short talk on Tobacco. Can you arrange for a few journals or something on Rhodesian Agriculture to be sent as fellows show an awful lot of interest in that as well as myself. Well space is finished again. Rec’d 4 Egyptian food parcels so far. Thanks! Love & best wishes to you all
from Donald.