Letter from Harry Massey to Barbara Massey

Capt J. J. Massey 6th Palestinian Company The Bufs. M.E.F

Letter no. 23

13 March Thursday

My sweet darling - I have not had a letter frm you for a week, & feel almost upset about it. Having had two during the previous week, I was really beginning to feel that this would now become normal. I expect I shall have another one any day now. I had another letter from my mother the other day - it was a very pleasant letter & very affectionate. Patricia seems to have really got down to earth at last - with 8 goats, a young married couple, & some girls who are keen on farming. How very respectable. I hope it will work out all right for her. I wrote my ma last week, or the week before, & also sent her a short cable two days ago. I must write her again in a week or so's time, & not leave it so long again. I'm afraid I have been very bad about writing to everybody, except to you. But I always have so much I want to tell you & tell you about, & it is annoying to have to sit down & waste time by writing to other people. So I hope you have been keeping my end up to some extent for me - & perhaps written to Jimmy & Jessie & let the Association know how & where I am - & you too. I have sent Jimmy a cable this week, sending regards to the chairman & all. It would be most unfortunate, if just as my army pay went up, my civil pay went down. The year ends on March 31st - I hope Norths have made some money, & that they decide to pay me a little commission again. Darling, before your letters came I was always telling you how much I wanted them - & now they have started to come, I have told you how thrilled & happy I am to have them. And I toldyou at least something of how wonderful it is to see in black & white that you love me & miss me.

2. But I have not told you how much I enjoy & appreciate your letters. They are lovely, my darling - so interesting & amusing & sympathetic - & it is wonderful the way you tell me all the things I want to hear about, & seem to feel & understand all the things which I worry about & which occupy my mind so much. And you are very sweet - & appreciative of my letters. Of course, it is worth while - any mortal thing is worth while when it makes you happy & give ou pleasure & I will write as much as I possibly. I do wish I had more time to write now, & also that I was seeing more interesting things to write about, as I was on the boat & in Egypt. But I always, even without seeing new things, find it simple to write to ou, & can just sit down here, & go on writing for as long as there is time. But you know how slowly I write - I think I am becoming quicker - & the very fact that I am writing to you is always making me stop & think about you. I write in my bedroom in these barracks. It is jsut a room in a barrack but, 18ft x 12ft (I have just the minute paced it) & it has an iron bed & mattress, 2 tables, 2 chairs, a leather easy chair, a wardrobe cupboard, a chest of drawers, & a washhboard stand etc, including a jerry, which I do notuse.

[diagram of plan of room] And of course, I have to stop writing quite often, & look at your photographs & that sends me off into daydreams again. I have just the other day put two more snaps

3.

of Lisa on the side where your new photograph is. The one of her running across the road, & the one of her spinning round on her toes as Simon ran past - they are both so pretty. I have now put all the snaps onto a sheet of paper & posted them down, & they no longer slip about & get under your photo. The Company Sergeant Major came in for a drink the other night; & was most impressed with your picture & said you looked like a film star. Ben - Amiz wife was here last Sunday, & was terribly anxious to see them too - & she made the same remark. So now you know, for my part, my darling, you are the loveliest, most beautiful, prettiest, & sweetest girl in the whole world, whether you look like a film star or not, & no matter what the C.S.M & Mrs Ben - Ami think. But still - it is quite nice to have people admire your picture if only they could know you. Your last letter but one told me you were going to Ascot; your last letter was not numbered, and told me very little about it. So I suppose the one in between has not arrived yet. I do want to hear all about it, & what sort of a place & house it is, & what your rooms are like. And you say you are a bit lonely, & like a piece of wood. It is a damn shame darling - I do so wish with all my heart that I could be with you, for your sake alone. Madge & Eileen are such an odd couple of girls, & I trust you will be able to continue to get on with them alright. Ther always seems to be one thing wrong somehow at Elinors here was Elinor - & at Joans there was Roger by day & Bill by night. It does seem awful that

4. Roger should have become such a loathsome child. And that Bill should before more of ^a glum, smug, ordinary little Scotsman. Joan deserves so much better - even though she does talk such a hell of a lot from time to time. The absolute ideal arrangement would be if you & the baby, & Peggy & her baby, your mother, could all be together, in some really suitable house in some pretty, pleasant & safe place. I do hope tha this can be arranged. But be sure & make it a safe place, & try very hard, my sweet, to remember to cable me your new address as soon as you know it. E.F.M is the only way to cable. As you have found out, thos C.S.N things are no earthly use, & I have not received one of them yet, I don't think. And they made such a blasted fuss about them out here, & the same at home I expect. Why can they not see that all this yap & no results, makes people so browned off than if they had never spoken at all. When the baby comes, will you have one sent by each way, darling. In such a case, perhaps C.S.N may work alright. If you are going to have the baby a month early - it will be just about 6 weeks from now. Perhaps when this letter arrives, you will have the baby in your arms. I hope & pray too, darling, as much as you do, that it will be a girl. A boy will be lovely too, but a girl will be lovvelier. I shall wait so anxiously, when the time comes, to hear from you. I tis fine that you are

5. going to Hughes & that he is looking after you so well, & taking so much trouble, & that you like him. I feel confident that, this time, things will be quite different, & that your need not be at all afraid. If ever anybody in this world, deserved an easy time, it is you, my sweet brave sweetheart. Please think of me as much & as often as you can, my dearest Barbara & know that I shall be thinking of you & wishing for you - & longing to be with you. I will finish this & send it off tomorrow. Goodnight my lovely sweet, I shall kiss you & think of you when I am in bed. I always do. xxx

Friday 14th March. This evening I have been to see "Evelyn Prentice" - Myrna hay & Wm Powell. It was v bad & a waste of time. I was sure that it was a film you had seen - & that Evelyn Prentice was a famous American actress, & you had been very shocked at the time that I had never heard of her before. I wonder who & what film I am mixing it up with. On Tuesday I went to dinner at the Navy Lieutenant & his wife & found it was a cocktail party. There was nobody very amusing or interesting there - so I had 3 Gins & Frenchies, & then went off to see the film "Parlour Hall." The acting was quite adequate, & the story & dialogue are mostly what one has gathered from the press for the last few years. But people here seem to think it is a wonderful film. And now I must tell you about some of the Jew chaps in my company, I think you wil be interested & it will give you more of an idea as to what kind of people I