Letter to Les Pickford's Mother from Mrs EW Pepper

Letter to Les Pickford's Mother from Mrs EW Pepper

She has become even more distressed since she found out her son had died. She writes about her family who are away on war service.

1941-12-07

Two double sided handwritten sheets

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EPepperEWPickfordA411207-0001, EPepperEWPickfordA411207-0002, EPepperEWPickfordA411207-0003, EPepperEWPickfordA411207-0004

Roslyn
King Henrys Road
Lewes
7th. December 1941

Dear Mrs. Pickford

Thank you so much for your letter received some weeks ago. I have been very ill again, & unable to attend to any letters.

I am very upset & grieved to hear the very sad news about my darling boy. I did so hope & pray that he may have been saved too. He was such a wonderful son. I miss him more than I can ever say. It’s so very

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hard to understand why such good fine men are taken.

I am very much alone here as my elder son is in the Army & my daughter a driver in the A.T.S. I expect you, have seen the girls going through Manchester driving the lorries in convoy, my daughter often goes through. I hope you have good news from your dear son, what a joy it must be to get his letters. He wrote very nicely about my dear boy to the Red Cross. Please thank him for the nice things he said. I should like to have his address that I may write to him & send him a parcel for my darling boys sake.

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I don’t know if the prisoners are allowed to write & give any particulars, if not, I shall live in hopes of meeting your son when the war is over & he returns home, to hear all about how my son lost his life – I feel no one else knows the full particulars but your son. I feel very much for dear Mrs. Hyde too, having lost her son, it was very sad for her after having heard that he had been picked up.

This Christmas is going to be a very sad one for many hundreds of mothers. I just cant bear to think about it – my other son and daughter

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are not getting leave this month so we shall all be separated like so many others. Thank you again for your very kind letter – I hope this will find you well, & that you will let me have your son’s address sometime.

Yours sincerely,

Ethel W. Pepper