Posted on Wednesday 18th September 1940
Bemerton
Wiltshire
My Darling,
What’s happened to you! Haven’t heard from you for ages. I thought you must at least be pushing up the daisies by now.
Well Darling, I’m still fed up (as usual) and trying hard to get a transfer. Du Rose, Gammage and myself are still being chased by the RSM. My God, what a life we get. It’s just an existence.
He managed to get du Rose on two charges in the same day last week, but Eric, who is almost a BA put up a lawyer’s defence and the cases were dismissed. It was a narrow shave, though.
I’d rather hoped that we would have been stripped, in which case I should have reverted and gone back to the ranks. At the moment none of us care either way. If du Rose would, I know I should.
I’ve been reading rather a lot, having enjoyed immensely Adrian Bell’s ‘Corduroy’ and having fought, I think rather unsuccessfully, with James Cabell’s ‘Jurgen’. I also read a Penguin (these are all penguins) entitled ‘Murder at the ‘Varsity’ ’* in which the murderer, an elderly scholastic University Lecturer, has a passion for Rabelais! – which I suppose only goes to show what Rabbi can do for you.
I hope you will excuse this scrawl but as I write less, so my écriture** depreciates. I’m afraid I get duller and duller in my present company. My former touch with ‘Les Belles Lettres’ now seems to elude me. I often misquote Shakespeare. An unpardonable sin. However, I rival University Dons on the ‘Immortal Bard’ when half tight; so perhaps it’s not as bad as I make it appear.
At present I’m sleeping in du Rose’s tent with six Birmingham urchins – and what amazing blokes they are. Nothing seems to get them down. They grumble about everything one moment, and are exceptionally cheerful the next. Their language is amazing. They all appear to live for “tabs” (cigarettes) and kypher (skirt) and come back to the tent late at night and recount all their luck and experiences until the early hours. Needless to say it’s all very interesting.
Du Rose is something of a swimmer. He is the present Midland Champ and has swum against Wainwright*** a score of times.
It’s now Tuesday afternoon & I still haven’t heard from you. Mother wrote on Tuesday last but I only received the letter on Monday. It had gone all the way to Warmwell although it had the Bemerton address.
Well Darling I must close now, still loving you more than ever
Your devoted
Dicker
PS Write soon.
PPS. I’ve just received your letter.
All is forgiven!
Dicker
* Adrian Bell was an English rural journalist and farmer – ‘Corduroy’ recounts his early experience of farming. James Cabell was an American author of fantasy fiction. His best known book ‘Jurgen’ was the subject of an obscenity trial soon after publication. ‘Murder at the ‘Varsity’ ‘ is by Richard Wilson Webb, and English detective writer.
**French for handwriting.
***Norman Wainwright was a British Olympic swimmer. At the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney he was in the gold medal winning freestyle 4 x 220 yards relay team.
© Chotie Darling, 2010
19th September 1940 – the German Fleet assembled to bring their troops to Britain for the invasion was dispersed.
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