1944 November
Postcard from LJT to Annette
Great Leighs. 21/11/44
Thanks so much for your letter which waiting for me here – I’m sure you did not enjoy our London visit more than I did!
This is to let you know that I am staying Friday night at the Royal Empire Society and intend to catch the 9.15 from Paddn. reaching Oxford at 11.12. If anything should make me late, there is a 9.45 arriving 11.30 –
I have just discovered that the book “Our Farm” which you got for Josephine was packed with mine. I’ll send it with ours, putting a suitable message from you.
A rocket has destroyed a field of beet between here and Chelmsford to-day. Only other damage is a puncture to a motor-bus tyre –
Love from us all Mother
22/11 Letter re hotel rcd
From HPV to Rosemary
(Air letter addressed to
‘Miss Rosemary Townend
c/o Ayerst McKenna and Harrison
Penicillin Division
Ville St Laurent
Near Montreal
P.Q.
Canada)
From HPV Townend
At Highways
Great Leighs
Near Chelmsford
November 18th 1944
My dear Rosemary,
It comes as a shock to me to see that not since a month ago have I written to you, though I knew that it had been some time. Harry’s criticisms of my letters have had more of a damping effect than was reasonable; for after all they were not written for him.
Since Annette’s birthday which was the date of my last letter my chief activity, as I suppose, has been the compost-pit. I had half-filled my pit just before I went to Harry’s and was much chagrined to find on my return that it had not behaved well; of course there is always some difficulty in getting a new compost heap going properly, because the right brands of fungus and bacteria are not established to begin with, but I think that here the defect was the inadequate supply of animal manure. I had cut down the mixture so as to have enough for a larger supply. So I set to work to turn over the whole heap and add more of the goats’ products; it was a much heavier job than it ought to have been, for the long stalks of things like blackberry and sunflower which had not had time to rot down at all held the whole together and forced me to tug and strain. I got it turned over and re-heaped just before I left for London; which was on Wednesday 8th. To see my dentist. He does not come up to town on Thursdays and so I had to stay over till the Friday for the second hour’s doings; at the hotel in Kensington where Annette and Joan were. Not that I saw much of them; two lunches (to Poppy Dunn and George Pilcher), one dinner and coffee afterwards at the Jenkins’ (from Calcutta), and breakfasts. The dentist insisted that he was not hurting but he did not convince me. This week when I went up again (having enlarged the compost heap to nearly double meanwhile, by stupendous efforts) the reason became apparent; for he actually touched the nerve round which he had been digging gingerly and thereby made it impossible to proceed with the fitting of the gold inlay which had been prepared with infinite skill. Strong action was indicated, as the papers say: and I insisted on his doing no more until he had given me an injection. He did so, remarking that injections did no good since their after-effects were horrid and giving instances of their futility: but he ended by advising me never to let any dentist do anything to my mouth without an injection first because I am so sensitive to them that one quarter of the usual dose does the trick and so there are no after-effects at all. Alas! I have to go up again next week.
Two nights in town last week and two this: next week it will be one. The social activities this time were Wednesday lunch to Bernard Tennant and Freddie Temple with Grace there as well, Thursday lunch with Mr. Roscoe Annette’s friend who did not turn up, having thought that it was for the previous day, and dinner to George Pilcher at the hotel. Great dismay on the part of Annette, poor child, at the fiasco; which followed another – for Joan had arranged for us to see the flying Bomb exhibition and when we got there it had closed down. It was pleasant to see Bernard again; he was at the hotel and so there were two breakfasts and one dinner at which he was present. Almost completely bald and the incomplete part quite white; but other wide unchanged, unless account is taken of increasing deafness. For this last he was obtaining a device; or toying with the idea of obtaining it; when I last saw him, which was on the Friday on his way to a theatre with Joan, he carried a parcel containing it, and was of a mind to test it in the theatre. He revealed to me when I discoursed to him about finger-puppets that some years ago he had put on a Winnie the Pooh puppel show (Pooh-sticks) which had a great success in the village.
You wonderings as to the cause of your tiredness amuse me. For to judge the matter from the evidence of your letters you had been doing enough to tire out a platoon of U.S.A. marines, acclaimed for their toughness. It had been a source of mild worry to me that you should be charging around without relaxation, though Joan asserted this to be without cause since I was judging from the standpoint of an invalid and of one who never had been able to do the normal amount of merry-making. But it is a fact that to frolic in addition to doing a job of work is a thing that no one can do for long; and if one woks one simply has to cut out a lot of meetings with friends.
The notice in the Times about your engagement was drafted by Joan and I did not worry about putting in the I.C.S. or the C.I.E. either; much to Winsome’s annoyance which was to be kept secret but was blurted out by Gavin who was reading her letter. There have been many letters from Photographers asking for sittings from you; I do not forward them.
Incidentally I was much pleased to gather from your letters that you were happier or, let us say, more serene than you had been for some time before. Cease to nourish ideas of repaying us the money spent on you in Canada; why should you feel that there is any occasion? It is a nuisance that I cannot send you out any to meet the expenses and to help after you are married; but if it had not been for the war which involves this disability you would not have met Ogden at all.
You ask about the pets. Perkins who is truly a splendid cat is a bit lost just now. The kitten Wilberforce has been taken by Mrs Warren who now lives in the Mrs Jenkins’ house and renamed W. Waldegrave Warren; he has not caught any mice yet but the mice have moved out in honour of his arrival – none of their “lollies” to be seen about now as she (quaintly) says. She detests cats but is coming to like this one. Perkins meanwhile wanders seeking for Wilberforce and consoles herself by lying for hours beside that Pim and washing him for hours while he sleeps. All the animals compete for the privilege of lying in the box in which the kindling-wood is dried under the stove; and when it is too full for any cat to crowd in on top of it, Pim sleeps with nothing but his head inside it in a most ridiculous posture. – I pursue my Malay; spasmodically. And I found much pleasure in the thought that in this absurd language the saying “Baby, baby bunting” means the pigs are pregnant: what by the way does it mean in English? Grace took as much delight in the discovery (of a very different kind) that in the Lyons cafeterias tea is poured out into two cups simultaneously from a teapot with two spouts; before the war it used to be three spouted but such glories are not now to be purchased anywhere. Irrelevantly I remember the patent Russian (?) teapot owned by A.J.Galpin, headmaster of Canterbury, which worked on the principle of a pump by pressing down the lid; one did not have to lift and pour from it.
Told by Mary Upton “Look before you jeep, girl, or you may be yanked into maternity.” As for the ghost witch, every word has been invented by Sykes; a hoax on the press.
Much love Dad
From LJT to Romey (air letter)
Highways
Great Leighs
Nr Chelmsford
Essex
Nov 23rd 1944
No 4 (I think!) My darling Romey: You have been so splendid about letters, that I have almost lost count. When I arrived home last Monday, your family No 28, & a long letter with a good deal about Og & about your plans in it, were waiting for me. An A-G to Dad had come a few days before, & the one of 12.11 came the following day, Nov 21st. Its really grand that they now come through in 9 days. This morning came an A-G from Helen, telling us what they were planning to do on & for your birthday. I do hope they, including Og, got through to you on the phone. Dad, Uncle Bernard & I, who were all in London together thought many times during the day of you. The exactitude of our imaginings was somewhat impeded by the fact that I do not know how your time runs in relation to ours. We are do glad to have some description of Og. Dad read it out to Polly & Aunt at breakfast, & we were all surprised to hear that he has a moustache. I am sure I dont know why! It will be most exciting when his portrait arrives. We are a bit startled to hear that his salery is so small, even with this recent rise. Unless you get free quarters & some “board” we cant help wondering how you are going to manage, for it seems that the same salery did not do much more than meet your personal expenses, so how is it going to do for two, with always the possibility of a family in the background. No doubt you have gone into all this, and its stupid of me to worry, especially as last Christmas, when the subject first came up, Susie said that Og had enough to marry on, but that you would not be at all well off. I have no way of telling how living expenses run in Canada, but had an idea it was a more expensive country than England. Perhaps I ought not to be talking like this, for it may worry you & hurt Og, but one always does have to consider income before plunging into matrimony. Is Og hoping some day to get into University work, & is that better paid than school teaching? By the way, what bee have you got in your bonnet about paying back money to us? Had you gone to an English University we should have been supporting you & paying fees for much longer. No! Any money that you have saved on what has been provided for you since you went to Canada is yours. You have been wonderfully economical, almost too much so at times. Aunt cant find your savings bank book, & says she thinks you used the money you had to buy a bicycle. I have not had time to make a further search or enquiries. Aunt has your war bonds book. I will make a complete list of the jewellery from the Aunts, & let you have it as soon as I have time. Your engagement rind sounds charming. I am fond of a solitaire stone. I hope you got over the feeling that you could not bear to buy things with the 25% tax added. I have that feeling myself, & try to struggle against it, remembering that the extra profit does not go to the shop but helps towards paying for the war, & that if we had lost the war, nothing would have been any use to us. Its awfully good of you to take so much trouble over Xmas present. Believe me, we do all appreciate the care you take. Aunt has mentioned it a number of times. The h-w bottle you sent her last year is evidently the greatest joy to her. I’ll certainly do the separating ???? & final despatching on your behalf. Whether Frank, Joey & Josephine come ????? depends on whether the V Is & V 2s have ceased or not, as also does Peg’s return. Everyone is so thrilled at the great advance on the Western Front. As always when there are great things doing I wonder how I go on taking an interest in the little trivial things that only effect me personally. Its lovely to be back again, after two weeks away. I am sorry that he ceremony of Annette taking her M.A. is on Saturday, so that I have to go away again so soon. Of course I want to be there, but I wish it had been a few weeks later. I have to leave here to-morrow & stay a night in London in order to get down to Oxford in time for the ceremony. A. Gets straight to Oxford from Bletchley, & we stay one night there. I come straight home again on Sunday. did you hear that H.D. returned to India by air, & Winsome has had a cable saying that he has arrived safely. We have go no further with house hunting. Dad thinks it is best not to attempt to get anything, unless just the right thing turns up. I think he wants to be left in peace here. I must say when I begin to think about the problem of furnishing a house & fitting up the kitchen etc, it rather appals me. There has been such a big improvement in the supply of crockery & glass, that one rather hopes that the other household necessaries will also appear in the not too distant future. There is lots of talk about it in the papers. Uncle George has let most of his house to a couple who have just come to Witham to one of the Banks. Uncle G is keeping his little bedroom & snuggery. The people are bringing their own furniture, so Aunt Do’s has to be moved out. It was left so that Uncle George could have the use of it for as long as he wanted, and then it was to be divided up between the nephews & nieces, each choosing round in turn. Since you cannot be there, I shall choose for you, & credit you with the value of the things. Dont you think that is the best way? We may be able to have a picture or two, or something that it would be possible to take out to Canada. We are all so glad that Uncle George is doing this, for it was wretched for him living along, & he was frightfully hard up. Getting rent from the house will make a big difference. Also Mrs What-ever-her-name-is & her husband are out working all day, but cook George his evening meal each night. Aunt & I had to rush over to Witham yesterday to list all the things before they go into store. We had a picnic lunch with Aunt May, who still has no companion, and is tired and full of pain, poor thing. We all try to persuade her to go into a very nice home for elderly ladies where Janie Wrey’s sister, Amy Herbert spent the last years of her life, but Aunt M wont hear of it. She & Uncle G asked lots of questions about you & Og. George hopes Og is fond of horses and dogs. You were quite right, by the way, in thinking that Perkin is an exceptional puss. She is a marvel, still so dainty and pretty, & she still plays like a kit. Hope you feel better rested & with more energy.
Love as always & constant thoughts. Xmas wishes soon! Mother
Postcard from LJT to Annette
Great Leighs. Nov 28th 1944
Sorry I did not get the little jacket posted to you yesterday – now, by Reg. Post it would not get to you before Friday, so I will bring it in a neat parcel to London and hand it over to you.
I will bring my long black skirt as well and I could take the waist into your measure. Have you the short skirt with you?
I have not looked in your cupboard – I will do so, and if it is there I will alter it to your measure and bring it too. (Later – skirt found so will bring it.)
Dad not too fit, with that tiresome complaint. My legs seem cured. Everyone else well. Furniture from Witham comes to-day.
Love from all –Mother
From LJT to Romey (damaged air letter)
Highways
Great Leighs
Nr Chelmsford
Essex
Nov 30th 1944
No 5. My darling Romey: the papers are saying that this is the last week for Xmas greetings by air, so I had best begin sending them. You know how much ????will all be thinking of you & Og, & wishing you could both be with us, ????? with you. I hope some of the Stairs relatives will have you with them ????? day, & that you wont feel too much cut off from all the people you love most. Poor Romey, with affections pulling you both west & east! It looks as if we shall be but a small party here. Until the war has been pushed so far east that no more buz-bombs or rockets fall on the southern part of this little island, Frank & Joey feel that it would not be wise to bring Josephine here. Of course the chance of any one spot being hit is minute, but one must recognise that the chance is there. Peg likewise stays up in Manchester with her in-laws for the arrival of the baby, unless the war ends in time for her to travel down in safe time before the event, which is expected somewhere about Jan 17th. She got rather nervy about the buz-bombs, which, indeed, are not pleasant things. They have slacked off lately, but the other brutes fall from time to time. Personally I think it would be an excellent thing for her to stay in Manchester from other points of view. I greatly fear that if she is here, Aunt will be a complete slave to her, & anyway having a nurse, baby etc in the house would make a great deal of extra work. Annette feels its not fair to press for Xmas leave, as she has Uncle Bous & family, even if she is on duty. They say they love having her. Perhaps she will come home for a few days just before Christmas. It was fun going down to Oxford last week-end to see her take her M.A. She met me just after 11 o’clock outside the station, & we hurried to the little hotel in the Abdingen Road, where we were staying the night, to drop our bags, & in order that Annette might change into a pair of black stockings, lent by Anne Toulmin, who is a W.R.N. At 12.15 we had a date to meet Mr Christie, who now lives in Oxford, & his sister-in-law, for lunch. To our great pleasure John was there too. He is in the navy, & has come home from a destroyer in the Mediterranean, to do some course in England. After lunch a had to go off early to see about gowns & so on, Mr C & John took me along to the theatre to get tickets for the 5 o’clock performance, to which they asked us to go with them. Then, as we still had a little time to put in, we strolled round the gardens of St Johns. They came with me to the Sheldonian to watch the ceremony, which made it much more fun. First two old gentlemen received Hony Degrees of some sort. Then there were quite a number of both sexes coming up for their M.As. It was interesting to see that the Navy was much more strongly represented both amongst the men & the girls, & in ???cluded one U.S.A. sailor. We slipped away as soon as the M.A. part of the proceedings were finished, A & I to go to a tea party at Somerville, & the other to ????? tea on their own before the theatre. A. Met several old friends ?????had a pleasant time. The “Rep” were doing an old, but entertaining play, “Hobson’s Choice”. A says they have improved wonderfully since her day. Afterwards we all dined together at “The George”, & celebrated A’s distinction in beer, since wine if obtainable in these days, is a fantastic price. Do you remember Peggy Christie’s father? He is a splendid companion for any sort of celebration, because he enjoys it so much.
A’s and my trains both left at about 10.30 on Sunday morning, & I got a little lunch in London & was home in time for tea. It was a long way to go for 24 hours with A, but it was an occasion, & I am glad I did it.
Here I never get half the things done in the day or the week that I intend. There seem so many affairs important to the household, to be delt with. In this dreadfully wet autumn, the wettest since 1917 say the men who were in the trenches in France in that year, we have had a few fine days this week, & Aunt has been so keen to get various things done in the garden that I have felt constrained to help her. Fetching in & chopping up wood for the stove in the Annex & for the Playroom, is a daily chore that takes a surprising amount of time. Dad does the Lion’s share of it, but on one or two days this week he has felt poorly, with the tiresome complaint, called “Almost universal” on the Bromo packets, & always so spoken of by him. Dr Robertson came to see him yesterday, & strongly advises an operation in a few months time. I am glad he speaks strongly in favour of this course, for I have been urging it for years.
Aunt was up in London for the day yesterday, lunching with Unvle Bous at the Savoy to discuss arrangements about Aunt Do’s things. The idea of the lists seems the best way out of the difficulty, so it will be done quite soon. It will be useful to us to have a few bits of furniture, & useful to you to have some extra money, even if we cannot get it out to you at present. Aunt throughly enjoyed her day, & came back with great accounts of the grouse pie they had for lunch, & a small suit case full of all sorts of treasures she had purchased. She send her love & says she wont write this week. To-morrow I have to go to London again to see about a new eye for Annette. Miss Milauro made a muddle of the one which was to have been ready while we were still in town, & her carelessness has made this extra visit necessary. We dont find her really satisfactory, but the eye specialist says she is the best person available at the moment.
One of the things Unvle Bernard wanted to see me about, was to ask whether Dad & I would become the joint guardians of his children, in the event of anything happening to him. Of course there is not the slightest reason that he should not live till long past the time when Harry, the youngest, now aged 12, comes of age, but when minor children are concerned some arrangement must be made in case of emergency. We have accepted the trust. Sorry there is no more room ???????????