MRS KENNETH PENMAN
MAYCOT
12 COMMONSIDE
KESTON
KENT

No. 15

S.I.F.

Dec. 23rd 1939.

Darling,

I received your letter No. 8 this evening. I am so sorry you have not heard for so long. I am ashamed of myself but I promise you it shall never happen again. I know how I adore getting letters from you. We always get our letters when we arrive back from the Gun Position in the evening. It is just dark and we trudge blithely in, muffled up to the eyes, for by now with us the weather is extremely cold with heavy ground frosts at night, and claim our mail in a room on the ground floor. Then if there is a letter from you I race up the stairs, light the light, and lie full length on my bed and read. If there isn’t one I just walk up sedately and get ready for tea.

It is…

…extraordinary how cold the weather is now, it seems much colder than it does at home. I suppose it is the fact of our being an island with the influence of the Gulf Stream. One of the things that influences the successful firing of a shell is the warmth, or coolth, of the charge, and so each morning it is necessary to take the temperature of the charge with a thermometer. This morning it was F 22º, a very cold but delightfully crisp morning with brilliant sunshine and hain’t the cold its confirmation.

There isn’t any mud any more and darling, we can’t dig. Do you know just before the frost Mr Hore-Belisha sent us for Christmas, 3600 sand bags; the dirty dog. We don’t know what they are for so we are going to hang up a couple each tomorrow night just to see want Santa Claus will do about it.

You should not have even considered sending out anything for Christmas. It is very sweet…

…of you to even think of it, considering how things are actually. When I come home I am going to take you up to town and we will buy each other some little thing together.

Very few of the boys have sent home any Christmas present as Downing St. has decreed that all parcels home are liable to duty and there are very few things that can go into Great Britain duty free.

Talking of leave, rumors say–I’m sorry darling it’s always rumors–that perhaps we shall not have to wait until April before we start. Shall we say that a month from the date of this letter you may begin to expect to see me very soon. When there is anything concrete to tell I shall be able to tell you that my leave is fixed, but it isn’t considered policy to ever divulge the exact date.

You will have read and seen pictures in the paper of the arrival of the first contingent of troops on leave, they were allowed,…

…I believe, to say that that they would be home for Christmas but not to mention the actual date.

I was talking last night to an RAF Sergeant Observer, they are a fine lot of fellows, he was going home for Christmas, as he put it, the long way round. He meant he was going on a long distance reconnaissance flight over a country and thence to an aerodrome in blighty and Christmas. It is impossible to be envious of such chaps, they so thoroughly deserve their early leave.

I was very touched to hear that you were spending Christmas with Jack and Joan, they will not, I’m sure, let you feel lonely. I do hope Jill’s cold is better in time and that you both have as good a time as possible.

I was glad to hear that Vic had now received his mail but very sorry to hear that he has to stay in hospital until the end of January. Military…

…hospitals, you know, are pretty grim affairs. You know they work on the principle that the less attractive they are the less likely the soldiers is to go sick.

I was very amused to hear Mrs Ascolie remark, via Sergeant Ascolie, about our beds and chest of drawers. Actually when we arrived at these billets we discovered that previous sections had been sleeping without straw. One night the five others in my room went out, I didn’t want to go I think I was broke or something, and whilst they were out I went across the road and brought two bales of straw. At least I hocked my washing for it.

Firstly in my halting French I asked Madame if she would do my washing, she said yes, where upon I address Monsieur asking him if I might buy two bales of straw and how much. He said…

…“rien, pour les soldats, c’est la guerre” etc. But I wouldn’t have that so with 25 centimes dans le poche I insisted on paying. Eventually he said 10 francs with which I concurred, it being exactly 1/3 of the correct price. When I asked him if I might pay him when I collected “ma lounge”, he seemed to think it was quite in order.

When I got back to billets I arranged a pile of straw for the six of us, with wood round the sides to prevent it spreading all over the floor, which makes the room look rather like a stable. When the boys came back I pretended to be asleep and listened to their complimentary remarks. When they’s finished I “woke up” and enjoyed a repeat performance.

I was not surprised at further proof of the Hines’ flare for gossip. I think most of it’s probably Pat, but Edie should…

…be able to control her. Can you imagine? Darling, my feeling differently from you about anything that matters.

Edie I think is capable of divulging any secret when she wants to be interesting, to anyone who happens to be there, but she has many saving graces.

For instance it is very kind of her to send me parcels, although I should appreciate it more if I knew she was giving you and Jill her attention and company. Of course I realize that now it would be very difficult for you to accept it, seeing how the whole family have neglected you ever since I’ve been away.

You will not of course receive this letter until after you have returned from Jack and Joan’s, I hope darling you had as good a time without me as possible.

With every bit of my love,

Yours adoringly,

Kenneth.