ON ACTIVE SERVICE

PASSED BY CENSOR No. 621

Mrs Kenneth Penman
MAYCOT
12 COMMONSIDE
KESTON
KENT

No. 18

B.E.F. S.I.F.

Jan 18 1940.

My Dearest,

It is now nearly ten days since I heard from you and I am feeling rather deserted. The weather is colder than any I personally have ever experienced and I have had a slight bout of flu which has not made me any happier. As you will remember I mentioned in my last letter that the boys were going down like flies with it.

Forgive this little moan but I can’t see anything a bit funny in this bloody war at the moment, it is at times like these that I miss you more than I can bear.

We have had one thing to cheer us up during the last few days, the names of the first eleven men on the leave list were published and the dates of departure. They seem to be taking them in seniority of service. As I have not been in the army a year yet I shall probably be rather far down the list.

I find it very difficult these days to find anything interesting to write about, each day is so exactly the same as the other.

There was rather a niggly story in “Blighty” this week about an elephant who had never seen a mouse before and was amazed at its kittens, he said to the mouse “How small you are” to which the mouse replied “Well I’ve been ill”.

When I read it I knew it was a story that would appeal to you and I could imagine your nose wrinkling appreciatively.

Macdonald, one of the boys in our billets, has just come in from sick parade armed with Sodium Silicate tablets and a large cauliflower, upon the cooking of which he has just asked my advice. He apparently explained to the RAF medical orderly that in his opinion the reason for our flu was the fact that we never had green vegetables.

Well darling I do hope I hear from you soon. It makes me so lonely when I don’t have a letter from you she some time. I do hope you are both quite well.

With all my love to you both,

Yours,

Kenneth.