Letter to Dennis Raettig from his father
Title
Letter to Dennis Raettig from his father
Description
Written from Singapore. Noted that he missed ship Scalaria by few hours and laments difficulty in finding a 'homeship'. Mentions that another captain thinks every homeship coming through is his but Dennis's father is senior. Talks about Dennis's new dog and relates stories about a tiger being shot after taking refuge under a table in Raffles Hotel Singapore. Relates shipping news and that he has nothing to do and describes some of his activities.
Creator
Spatial Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
Two page handwritten document
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.
Identifier
ERaettigMERaettigDWXX0629
Transcription
Singapore
29th June
Dear Den,
Thanks for your very nice letter. I am trying to boil my wrecked thumb in hot salt water & write to you at the same time but dont [sic] think I shall stick it long. I was annoyed to miss the Sealania by just a few hours. Since I cant [sic] find a homeship I may as well have her back again. Capt Goodrick thinks that every homeship that passes through here should be his but he forgets I am a good piece senior to him. Grandpa seems to be very proud of your pup & says if it turns out to be anywhere near as good as its father, it will be a nice dog. I dont [sic] think that feeding it will break the bank but be careful & follow what Spratts book says, nearly all pets get ill & die through over eating. I dont [sic] think they should have let Mr Roos lecture to you as he did, he should have definately [sic] called his tigers by their proper names. There are [underlined] NO [/underlined] tigers in Africa not the striped variety of Asia anyhow. Years ago they shot a tiger who had taken refuge under one of the billiard tables in Raffles Hotel here.
[page break]
Singapore isn’t as wild as that story would lead you to believe. There was a circus in town & the tiger escaped during the night & was found next morning under the billiard table asleep. I have never seen the well with the coloured bubbles in it. There must be oil under it. I have to wait here for about 6 weeks. Ill [sic] be very fed up long before that. The Sealania is coming to Balikpapam from Sydney & then heading for Auckland & Lyttelton – (N. Zealand) I shall not see Mrs Cook as we are not going to Wellington. Theres [sic] nothing for me to do here except play billiards & listen to the wireless. We have the finest swimming pool in the world here, but altho [sic] I can be a visiting member for a few shillings I wont join as it would cost me 7/6 in taxis everytime [sic] I wanted to swim, & I dont [sic] want to swim as bad as 7/6 worth. I hope you soon get a job as it will make you feel grown up when you earn money yourself. There is a Malay school opposite here & all the boys are dressed in is a pair of short pants. The swanky ones have a shirt on. Well Ill [sic] close as writing isnt [sic] easy with one hand.
Best of luck. [underlined] Father [/underlined]
29th June
Dear Den,
Thanks for your very nice letter. I am trying to boil my wrecked thumb in hot salt water & write to you at the same time but dont [sic] think I shall stick it long. I was annoyed to miss the Sealania by just a few hours. Since I cant [sic] find a homeship I may as well have her back again. Capt Goodrick thinks that every homeship that passes through here should be his but he forgets I am a good piece senior to him. Grandpa seems to be very proud of your pup & says if it turns out to be anywhere near as good as its father, it will be a nice dog. I dont [sic] think that feeding it will break the bank but be careful & follow what Spratts book says, nearly all pets get ill & die through over eating. I dont [sic] think they should have let Mr Roos lecture to you as he did, he should have definately [sic] called his tigers by their proper names. There are [underlined] NO [/underlined] tigers in Africa not the striped variety of Asia anyhow. Years ago they shot a tiger who had taken refuge under one of the billiard tables in Raffles Hotel here.
[page break]
Singapore isn’t as wild as that story would lead you to believe. There was a circus in town & the tiger escaped during the night & was found next morning under the billiard table asleep. I have never seen the well with the coloured bubbles in it. There must be oil under it. I have to wait here for about 6 weeks. Ill [sic] be very fed up long before that. The Sealania is coming to Balikpapam from Sydney & then heading for Auckland & Lyttelton – (N. Zealand) I shall not see Mrs Cook as we are not going to Wellington. Theres [sic] nothing for me to do here except play billiards & listen to the wireless. We have the finest swimming pool in the world here, but altho [sic] I can be a visiting member for a few shillings I wont join as it would cost me 7/6 in taxis everytime [sic] I wanted to swim, & I dont [sic] want to swim as bad as 7/6 worth. I hope you soon get a job as it will make you feel grown up when you earn money yourself. There is a Malay school opposite here & all the boys are dressed in is a pair of short pants. The swanky ones have a shirt on. Well Ill [sic] close as writing isnt [sic] easy with one hand.
Best of luck. [underlined] Father [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
Mr Raettig, “Letter to Dennis Raettig from his father,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 24, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/8276.
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