No 27

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

Feb 11th 1940

Darling Pixie heart,

Firstly I am a chump. I have of course received No. 18. I must have acknowledged it is my No. 25, the filing system was at fault.

I use a four inch nail for the purpose, jabbing each one as I answer it. Yesterday when I jabbed Nos 19 & 20 the preceding one was 17 simply because I still had No 18 next to my heart.

I’ve, in fact I should say we’ve, heard a perfectly wonderful rumor about leave. It’s pretty first hand so I can’t tell you how I got to know it case it got someone into trouble, but it is to effect that the pace is going to be greatly accelerated, unbelievably so in fact.

Oh whoopee, you should have seen the billet. Everyone doing somersaults and things. Everybody’s going about singing and it’s almost impossible to concentrate there’s such a row going on.

Oh dearest heart I do so want to see you and hold you and kiss you and love you. I think I shall eat you darling. I shan’t be able to help it. Gosh how I’ve missed you.

If as I hope and expect it’s next month (early), six months…

…after that makes it August for our second set of leave, I think I shall meet you in Jersey crossing from St. Malo, wouldn’t it be lovely?

Oh my sweet I shall go crackers in a minute, the bloke from whom I’ve borrowed this writing pad has just come back from B.H.Q. with conformation of my rumors. I shall have to tell you else I shall burst, it’s this.

As you know three men leave here on the 15th making eleven that have left by then, there then being 42 still to go. These 42 (this is the news, tonights news I mean) will all leave here between the 16th and March 15th!! It’s unbelievable yet it must be right. I’m so excited.

You must write and tell me immediately you receive this letter Mrs Lawford’s phone number if you haven’t already done so, and also darling, I don’t know whether we shall be able to control our time of leaving at all, whether one of us can swop dates with another, but I should like to know. I shall never forget about your first words when I came home for Arborfield and how we laughed.

I do love you so very much. Ever since Christmas when I missed you unbearably I’ve seemed to need you more and more each day. Now when it seems that I shall be with you so shortly I’m so happy I can hardly bear it.

I feel so elated inside I shall really have to listen now to the terrific buzz of conversation going on all around.

I love you, I love you; I love you.

Good night,

Your own Petalinda.