New Year's Eve dinners - Sunday 31st December 1944

As Usual

Sunday 31^st Dec.

Chotie Darling,

                                    Surprisingly enough I have another day free, so thought I’d write you a few more lines.

            As we were ‘working’ over Xmas, we had to postphone our Xmas dinner, and we are now looking forward to it tonight.  I’ve managed to get two bottles of whisky for about 22 shillings so we won’t go short of a wee nip, as all the other officers have the same ration.

            I’m sorry to say my mate Geoff Winzer (The Dooke) was rather badly wounded yesterday when doing a patrol that I had previously done some few days ago – Xmas Day I believe.  I haven’t seen him since – he’s miles back now of course – so I can’t say exactly how bad he is, but it’s reckoned he’ll be in dock for at least six to eight weeks.       

            Eric (Schoolmaster) Macey* and I share a room in a café in this little village**.  The people are very good to us here – we had lunch with them today, a glorious meal comprising soup with toast, a dish consisting of every conceivable vegetable mayonnaised with eggs and salmon, followed by boiled chicken, white sauce and mashed potatoes à la crème. The meal went on for hours and hours ending with coffee and cigars.  Having then assisted each other to rise from the table we had our photos taken in the snow outside.  I'm now resting preparatory to another bout at six-thirty tonight.

                I received a parcel from the Church yesterday which was very kind of them.  I’ll try to write them just as soon as I can, but I’m pretty pushed for time.

                I hope you received my cheque for Xmas – if it doesn’t arrive, let me know & I’ll send another.  As soon as I get a chance I’ll send you some ‘parfum’ or something – but there just aren’t any shops here.

                Have just re-read Huxley’s ‘Crome Yellow’*** - an excellent way of spending the odd minutes spare on patrol.

Well, Darling I’ve really nothing to write about – nothing I can tell you.  

Don’t swear on my getting leave will you?  I certainly can’t get home in under six weeks.

                                              All my love, Darling

                                                             Dicker

 

*see post for 29th December 1944.

**probably Honnay, between Beauraing and Wellin, south-west of Rochefort.

***the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley.

 

These photos are labelled ‘Honnay le 1.1.1945’ but fit the scene described in Dick’s letter for 31st December 1944.  Only the girls’ names are added to the label Esther, Lucienne and Victorine. The soldier next to Dick is presumably Lieutenant Eric Macey and Dick describes the other man as an ‘old boy like Joe Stalin’ in his 1945 diary where he also mentions he stayed with them at Honnay ‘some five days’.