Letter from Donald Baker to his mother

Letter from Donald Baker to his mother

Reports letters arrived and transit time. Agrees with suggestion it would be better to wait until the end of the war to make decisions on farming. Describes weather and local trees. Inside compound is like a desert after 700 of them have trampled it for a year. Mentions efforts at cultivation and comments on recent health problem. Describes his daily activities as room stooge preparing breakfast. Mentions friend who is OK.

Handwritten prisoner of war letter form

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SBakerDA19210428v20117

[date stamp]
[underlined] Kreigsgefangenenpost [/underlined]
[inserted] [underlined] MIT LUFTPOST AB KAIRO [/underlined] [/inserted]
[four ink stamps]
[date stamp]
[censorship stamp]
An MRS. C. BAKER.
CHARLTON.
Empfangsort: INYAZURA
Strasse: SOUTHERN
Kreis: RHODESIA
Land: S. AFRICA
[underlined] Gebührenfrei! [/underlined]
Absender:
Vor- und Zuname: P/O DONALD A. BAKER
Gefangenennummer: 665
Lager-Bezeichnung: M.-Stammlager Luft 3
[underlined] Deutschland (Germany) [/underlined]
[page break]
9:5:1943
My Dearest Mother,
In the last week have received three letters from you Feb 23rd, March 1ST & 7TH. So they took about two months & are all per air mail. As you say it will be by far the best if I wait until after the war before making definite arrangements about going farming but am very glad to hear that you think there would be plenty of work for me on Charlton. Today is Sunday & it’s a beautiful one, & the few trees that aren’t pines around here look lovely. Inside the wire its more like desert now after 700 of us have trampled it down for a year. We have made an effort to cultivate a piece of ground about the size of a kitchen table but the soil is so poor that we don’t expect any returns. By we I mean the roommates. One of the more depressing fellows said that we should fertilize it for next year. But he was howled down. Am not on my usual good form as Ive [sic] had a mild dose of [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] diarrhoea but am otherwise quite fit, & able to carry out my duties as room “stooge” which means keeping the room clean, cooking & washing up. It works at quite a lot as I had to get up earlier than usual to prepare the Sunday morning treat of porridge for breakfast. Breakfast usually consists of a couple of slices of bread & a cup of tea. Can’t think why some people limit themselves to that of their own free will. Anthony is fairly fit. He has a few more snaps of the “society wedding.” Cheerhio [sic] for now. Am bearing up. Much love to you all Donald