Evacuee Boys (3 page)

Before I forget, will you please send that card which I gave you before I left London, to be completed when National Registration takes place, to the Schoolkeeper in London [to W.K. Central School].

Thank you very much for the things you sent down. The cake is excellent. I am afraid Daddy’s pullover would do as a skirt for me. It is so big.

Will you please send the money down for this week soon, as a week has elapsed since the last 10/- to Mrs. Kelly. I shall not have much left when I bought another lot of stamps for postcards. By the way – Mrs. Childs gave us 1/- to share and I put in savings. If you think I should not have accepted it, give it back to her.

Make sure you have your seats booked at Mrs. Shaw for next month, as I want to see you soon. What about me coming down for the half term holiday? I could spend two whole days with you.

Mrs. Kelly said that if we were to go down for Christmas week & stay at home for a week, she would give us the weekly Government allowance of 17/- for fares. I thanked her very much though I said that I did not think Daddy would take it.

For a long time you have not told me how the club was going. I am interested in that. Do not think John can sign this letter & I want to send it now, as I do not want to read it to John in case someone in the house overhears it.

I do not want to be moved from Mrs. Kelly for I do not think I can get a better home than this one, although I should not like to have another quarrel like this one. I tried to defend myself but he interrogated me whenever I started to speak.

Write me soon & lots of love & kisses,

from Andrew

26
October
1939
– a postcard

Dear Mum and Dad,

I am very sorry I am so late in writing but I was awaiting your reply to my letter and the something you going to send. I hope the something stands for money.

I hope when I get the letter, it will say that I can come down for the weekend, for this is a chance not likely to recur before Xmas and I am very eager to see you.

If I get your ‘yes’ before to-morrow morning’s school, I shall come straight away. If I get it after school I shall come on Saturday. If I get a ‘no’ than I shall be ever so disappointed.

There is no other news. Mr. & Mrs. Kelly are still very kind. I wish I could see you this weekend.

Lots of love from Andrew

… continued by John on the back of the postcard

Dear Mum & Dad,

I miss you terribly come as soon as possible. I feel very well, how are you? It has been rather cold the last few days what is it like in London? Is everybody alright? Please send money as we are very hard up. If you have already sent it take it as unwritten.

John

28
October
1939

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you very much for your letter and the money we received this morning. I am afraid I was rather disappointed that I could not see you this weekend. It was a very good chance that I missed. As a matter of fact, at first I wanted to come, thinking that you wanted me to come only you dare not say no. I feel just the same about visiting you, as you describe in your letter to me. All last night, the night before and before that I was thinking of home, how nice it would be to be home – even thought for a short while – and how I should like to see you again. I was seeing it all in front of me, and I nearly thought myself to be at home as I saw you all before my eyes. I did not forget anybody. I even saw little Tiggy under the bed cover meowing when I touched her.
7
I saw you two, Granny, Mariska, Bene,
8
the whole house, a good Hungarian meal & I felt myself at home I hope I can come for Christmas with Johnny and spend a happy week together.

This afternoon I went [to] Trowbridge and saw at the pictures, ‘The Four Feathers’. It is an excellent picture. At the same time, I went to Woolworths, bought a lock for the bike (6
d
) at Curry’s a bicycle pump (1/3) and battery (3
d
) for reserve in case I cannot get one later when the first one is exhausted and paid 6
d
to go to pictures. I also bought a Scout hat for 3/- and gave John 2/- for saving up for his watch, which he wants to buy when has enough money. (I thus have 2/6
d
left but do not be frightened for that will last me until you send some more.)

While I was in Trowbridge, John borrowed Mr. Kelly’s bike and went to Bath with some other Scouts and went to the Roman bath where he had a little swimming. He learned to dive, to swim on his back, to float on his back and to swim under water. He seems to have had a jolly good time. Usually on Saturdays Mr. Kelly lends John his bike so that we can go for a ride together. We have already been to Calne, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Bath. I shall have to go to Devizes, Westbury and Warminster before I shall finish off all the nearby towns.

I am now listening to ‘Bandwagon’. It is excellent. Do you ever listen to that?

I was writing to you before about the club we have formed at school. It is on Mondays and Wednesdays for seniors from 6.30 to 8 p.m. For Juniors it is on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. There we play cards, draughts, chess. We can read, or write letters. It is supposed to be an evening activity so that we should not be too bored in the long winter nights. We have also got a library in school and I took out some ‘Tales of Tolstoy’.

When you come next month I hope you will come on Sunday 26th November. I think you can arrange with Mrs. Shaw (I understand she hires the bus for November) that the bus should come on Johnny’s birthday.

The violin will come useful now as we shall try to organise the school orchestra. As I am the only one here who can play the violin decently, I shall probably be asked TO GIVE LESSONS to the others. Band practices will be carried on, on Monday nights from 6–7.

I have been on very good terms with Messrs Kelly since that last quarrel. It seems to me that to some extent it was due to bad mood on his part and besides he did not feel very well that day. However since then we have nearly forgotten. I do not understand quite what you mean by taking them more into my confidence. They already know that Daddy and Mummy have to work all night because of the club and that we have to keep the club because business is absolutely ‘pong’. I told them that the club means that we have to keep a big house, the big house that we have to pay big rent, big rates & taxes and have to keep a maid, so that we are hard up, but of course I did not say that we are full of worries with regard to creditors like Mr. Creswell, or that we have not paid the rent for so many months, that Mariska has not hade to have her wages for so many weeks, that the telephone is often shut down etc.

This reminds me – is the telephone all right now?

… continued in Hungarian

I think that it would be good to write a little in Hungarian, otherwise I shall forget a lot. I think that we are rarely alone, so that we are speaking Hungarian then. I don’t mind that and I am glad if you write to me in Hungarian.

I would very much like to see you all and to speak with you. I have thought of telephoning you but I hear that it costs 4/6
d
to telephone and there is no telephone in our house, so you can’t telephone me either. Today I am writing a few more letters to those in the house. So I won’t write any more to you today.

A million kisses from Andrew

29
October
1939

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you very much for the money you sent us. Yesterday Andrew cycled down to Trowbridge and saw the ‘Four Feathers’. At the same time, I cycled down to Bath with some Scouts on Mr. Kelly’s bicycle. At Bath we parked the cycles and walked down to the swimming bath. We went in for sixpence. I[t] was a very nice pool, and the water was lovely and warm. I had quite a lot of fun. I was in for about a half a hour. In this time I learned (taught myself) how to dive head first, swim on my back, to swim under the water with my eyes open, and to swim on my side. I think that this was worth sixpence. When we came out we went to see the Roman Baths for sixpence it was very interesting. I saw the healing water. I[t] was steaming hot and it had to be cooled before using. I am knitting a doll’s jumper.

Your dearly loving son,

John

29
October
1939
– written in Hungarian

Dear Mummy & Daddy,

I thought I would write a few lines today, before I close off this thick letter, though nothing particular has happened.

The weather was so bad today, that we did not go anywhere by bike, I knitted and read all day. I shall only go out in the evening, to post the letters, as I have written to Mariska that as usual, the menu was very good on Sunday. In general we get good meals, but of course, the English food cannot be as nice as the Hungarian.

I hope you do not worry in this is late. Don’t worry in any case if you don’t get news for a few days, if sometimes I only write every other day and the post is not very punctual.

Many kisses,

Andrew