Mrs. Kenneth Penman
Maycot
Commonside
Keston
Kent

Postmark: 15 SEP 1940

No 1440280 Gnr Kenneth Penman
194^th HAA Bty, RA,
c/o The GPO,
Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire

Monday

My Darling,

I hope you haven’t been worrying. Our move was no move at all, just another of those adjectival exercises. We got back this morning. Luckily the weather was only wet in parts. I feel very fit, though a trifle fed up at coming back here.

Thank you so much for yours of the eighth, dear. I am so sorry about the long gap between this and my last letter. I know you will understand, though.

I am beginning to feel that our proposed offensive in Europe will not, after all, come off this year. After all, our main object is to relieve Russia, and very soon the snow will do that for us. (It seems to me that in another…

…month from now, if we attempt a landing then, we shall have to contend with very much greater German forces than we should have done earlier as very large numbers of troops now can be spared, once the snow starts, from the Eastern front.)

It seems probable, though, that something will have to be done, after all. Churchill did say “this year.” The Dieppe raid will soon have lost its point if we don’t follow it up.

Meanwhile, darling, leave goes on, and my name is steadily getting nearer to the top of the list. According to my calculations, I should leave here on Friday afternoon, 2^nd October. That is a little over a fortnight from now. I’m very thrilled, darling, at the prospect.

I was amused, dear, at the hair-dressing. And what do you mean by saying your hair didn’t look lovely in S’on? Dolores’ friend Winifred sounds quite nice, if a little obvious!

I was so glad to hear about Jill’s progress at school. I remember when I was small, they thought I was outgrowing my strength. I think it’s very important that she should not stay up too late and perhaps it’s a mistake to let her walk as far as she sometimes seems able.

I’m so glad you liked the telegram. Didn’t you love Winter’s choice of a pseudonym—“Mrs. Bullfinch”? I think he is one of the select army of nigglers.

I went to an army…

…film show in Kirkcowan last week just before we went on our exercise! It was Sonia Henie (that’s spelt wrongly) in “Everything Happens at Night.” It wasn’t bad, though I’ve never thought much of S.H.

Afterwards, we went to the manse to supper, and we mentioned that we were to get a film in Kirkcowan (this, by the way, is our nearest village—1 ½ m.) each week. The minister’s wife is fifty-ish and bristles; she talks rather like a chuffy sparrow. Her comment was, “How nice, how very very nice, and perhaps now there will not be quite so many dances. The soldiers are quite wearying our girls out. My little maid is quite worn out when she comes in the morning.” I gurgled inwardly.

By the way, you didn’t mention, darling, how your hand is in your last letter. A bulletin every time you wrote was the order, please.

There is not much domestic news here, I am afraid. Bryan Wigley (CPL) became the father of a son yesterday, and Keith Davis (CPL again) is to be married on Saturday to a London girl coming up here for the ceremony. I have been asked almost daily for advice by Keith, as his family has been doing their best to stop things—even to the extent of going to his family and telling them all sorts of things to his detriment. I said that, from my slight knowledge of him, in the psychology, I thought his fiancée’s reaction would be – “Nasty things, if they think that of him, it’s up to me to show…

…‘em that at least I have faith in him and intend to stand by him.”

I still find it difficult, darling, to put down on paper how much I love you. I think you too, darling, feel a little bit inarticulate upon this subject when writing to me. I’d like you to remember, darling, that I shall always love you, that I think you are very beautiful, and that there is no one else in the wide world like you, even though in my letters I just chat about ordinary everyday things.

We’re such wonderful friends, aren’t we, dear. It’s our compatibility that I value so.

So cheerios, my sweetest one.
A big hug for Jill.

Yours,
Kenneth
XXX