No. 7925934. L/Sgt. Greenwood.
‘C’ Sqdn. 9th Battn. R.T.R.
A.P.O. England.
7.6.44
Wed. evening
Jess dear, I am sorry to learn from today’s letter that you have been off-colour. It seems to me that you must have had a minor dose of flu, and no doubt your prompt action prevented it becoming more serious. It would indeed be a problem if you were really confined to bed, and I am glad and thankful that this has been avoided. I suppose you have been worrying about baby and striving to keep him free from your cold… and unless I am very much mistaken, you will have been successful. I hope you are quite well again now, my dear – Please let me know. (…)
Later.
As usual, I have been to the canteen to hear the 9 O/c. news. I was hoping to hear confirmation of the German report of our invasion of Greece… but it wasn’t even mentioned. Maybe this is just another lie. We will certainly have to be prepared for much misleading ‘information’ from enemy sources in the future. And I would particularly ask you to bear this in mind, my dear. Goebbels is sure to broadcast fantastic stories of German victories and British losses… particularly in men… with the sole purpose of disheartening those whom we are leaving behind. I don’t think your morale will be affected by this sort of thing, but you must forgive me for mentioning it. I don’t think you need have much doubt that Jerry is destined for a thorough hammering. He is going to get “what’s coming to him” whether he likes it or not. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has to relinquish another famous European capital in the near future.
There were no more startling revelations in tonight’s news, but the situation appears to be going ‘according to plan’, and there is no sign of pessimism in any of the reports. It would be madness to assume that our lads are having an easy time, but they are making good progress… and that speaks for itself. I suppose you feel much as I do about the presence of the navy. I always feel that their support presupposes success, and I’m sure that our fellows in the invasion craft must have heaved a mighty sigh of relief for not having a British navy to oppose them.
The R.A.F. too are doing a magnificent job. And you can take it from me, Jess, that we fellows are damned thankful that we have such a grand air force. Its mere existence must be of incalculable value to the army for purposes of morale alone.
There is little to tell you about myself. The fact that I have today had a hair-cut and washed some more clothes, is hardly news, is it? I have had a chat with Dave. His wife has arrived this evening for a couple of days holiday. I may see her tomorrow. Can you imagine how I envy him? And that brings me to the end of my story for today.
Oh! One thing I have been trying to remember to tell you for over a week. In fact, you may already know about it. I have arranged a further voluntary allotment for you of 10/6d per week. It will become operative on June 12th and as I signed the necessary form at the end of last month, you should by now have received your supplementary allowance book.
I don’t want any comment upon this matter my dear – nor do I want you to think that I am making an enormous sacrifice. It just happens that I will have far less need for cash in the future… and I cannot think of any reason why you should not benefit from this circumstance, can you? And if you want to please me more than I can tell you, you can easily do so by telling me that you will devote the money to a little extra clothing for yourself. Will you do this for me?
Au revoir, dear Jess
Yours always
Trevy