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Extracts from Arthur’s Letters to his wife, Gladys, December 1944

7-12-44 Thanks for your letter No. 10 which I received two days ago but to which I am only now able to reply as I’ve been very busy lately.

I hope you are no longer depressed dear … It’s still possible that the war may end earlier than is now generally expected darling. Our biggest enemy at the present time is the deplorable weather. Eisenhower has said that, given 300 hours of favourable weather, we could end the war and I don’t doubt this statement because we have the men and the materials with which to encompass the absolute defeat of Germany —if only we could put the whole machine into operation. However, as the colder weather approaches and the frosts occur the ground will harden making bigger efforts possible. Therefore don’t despond sweetheart…perhaps I shall be home sooner than you imagine. As you say, we have passed through 5 years of the war and now have only months to count before the end.

You will perhaps be surprised to learn that, for the first time in 8 months, I last night slept in a real bed complete with sheets and blankets in a nicely furnished room, with electric light, controlled by a cord hanging above the bed, and central heating. It was so very comfortable that I was loth to leave it this morning. This is a civilian house where the people are still in residence and we make use of it when not on duty. I am on duty at an O.P. [Observation Post] here which is right at the top of a church above the belfry, and an airy sort of place it is round about midnight. One reaches this lofty perch by means of a series of wooden ladders which spiral upwards around the walls of the tower, each ladder terminating in a wooden platform until the summit is reached, which is a final platform situated just above the big bell. On each half hour the mechanism of the clock rattles and clamps preceding the solemn clang of the big bell: rather disconcerting when one’s thoughts are elsewhere and are rudely broken into by the brazen monster beneath one’s feet. Also disconcerting is it to have to scale this tower in complete darkness, but I managed it. This tour of duty is now ended and I only regret the loss of my comfortable bed and civvy billet. I’m now again in a civilian billet but alas no bed.

In a village where I was recently quartered we found dozens of jars of fruit, cherries, plums and so on, and so have been enjoying a welcome addition to our normal diet. The M.O. analysed the contents of the jars first of course and found them o.k.

I’m having a little difficulty in concentrating on your letter dear as I have two young children at my side, a little boy of about 3 and a girl of 10 and they are playing with my papers and my pipe and everything they can lay their hands upon. The girl has just filled and lit my pipe for me. It’s surprising how linguistic the children are: many of them, though quite young, speak three or four languages.

A lot of people have gramophones but their wireless sets have been taken from them. The people in this house have a gramophone and a few records of dance music.

9-12-44 I think I have mentioned to you that I have posted a parcel containing a doll for Marian — it left about 10 days ago so perhaps you’ll have it soon. You see, the army obtained a number of gifts for sale to troops who have no other means of obtaining them and lots were drawn for these things as there weren’t nearly sufficient for the whole of the battery personnel to receive one each. Well I managed to get a nice doll and I hope Marian will receive it safely…

We are now in what was formerly a public house but all the liquor has gone though we found some jars of fruit here which we put to good use; we have fruit every day and there are still dozens of jars left. We get plenty of food these days including fresh meat and plenty of bread. Canteen supplies arrive each week but there’s not much in them and seldom any tobacco.

12-12-44 Yes, continental leaves pale into insignificance now the statement about leaves to Britain has been made and I am, of course, as pleased and excited about it as you are. It is what I have long been hoping for but never really expected.

I delayed this letter, thinking that the draw for the sequence of leaves would take place last night but this was not the case and I now understand that it will take place tonight. My length of service over here entitles me to an early leave, i. e. in January, but there are a limited number of vacancies for that month and quite a lot of people eligible and consequently this draw has to take place.

I want to impress upon you darling that this leave can at any time be cancelled so we must not take it for granted that I shall get home though I shall be terribly disappointed if I fail to.

Since writing the above the draw has taken place and I regret to say that I haven’t drawn a place in January. However I hope to have better luck when the names for February leave are drawn.

We’ve a very comfortable C.P. with plenty of furniture and beds. I sleep on a bed now when off duty which is better than sleeping on floors. I’m certain that I shall be perfectly comfortable on our own bed in the air raid shelter when I come home on leave…

There’s a nice stove and, for the present, we have sufficient fuel. Sometimes we catch a rabbit or two and boil them to supplement our normal fare, though we have plenty of food without extras…

Recently I have been doing guards and it’s a dreary job as there always seems to be a gale blowing at night and all the doors and shutters in this deserted little village begin banging and create a terrific noise. It’s generally raining into the bargain and it needs a great effort to rise from a warm bed but there’s no option — even our officers have been doing these guards.

15-12-44 The weather has improved slightly today and it’s been fairly bright but we need a lot more dry weather before the ground dries up as everywhere it’s in a terrible condition. One can’t walk any distance outside the C.P. without getting deep into the mud which is churned up by the passing vehicles.

However we are comfortably settled in our present C.P., which is well warmed and lighted — this place was formerly a public house. The trouble is that as soon as we become comfortably settled down in a C.P., we have to move on to a new position. Our longest occupations of positions occurred at Conde-sur-Seulles before the break through in Normandy and at Nijmegen.

18-12-44 Yes dearest wife I also think of nothing but the coming leave and I am hoping for the intervening period to pass quickly… Sometimes now the thought of leave to England is in the air I cannot accept my lot so philosophically as when we were under the impression that we should not see our homes again until after the war — I am impatient and unsettled whereas previously one’s sole aim and purpose was the successful conclusion of the war. This is, I think, the general impression out here.

The preceding part of my letter was written two days ago and I haven’t had much time for writing until now. I was then in Stalag 4.B. but you need not be anxious on this account because it is in our possession and hasn’t been used by the German for a long time. Formerly Russian prisoners of war were housed therein and there are some cleverly executed drawings of Stalin and Lenin and others on the walls of the wooden hut we occupy.

I am now in a civilian billet and am fairly comfortable. One room in the house is at our disposal for sleeping and four of us occupy it. When we are in we sit in the living room with the family and it’s there that I am writing this letter to my darling wife. The family consists of the man and his wife and a son of about 18 who is going to England to train for the army; also four little children of various ages and a man and a girl, evacuees from Germany. The son was going to be sent to Germany under the forced labour scheme but the underground organisation supplied him with a forged document which gave him exemption and this interesting document he has shown me.

They have electricity here but every evening it’s turned off at a certain hour as a means of economising.

I’m very sorry about this letter darling but it’s now Friday and I am again continuing … What happened was that when I got to the last but one paragraph the electricity was turned off. On the following morning, Thursday, we had to be up at 5 a.m. and on the road — I had no opportunity to finish my letter until now.

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