Letters from my dad

General chat
#1

Slightly off topic, my dad was on active service in WW2 and he wrote hundreds of letters to my mum and some to me too. After he died, my mum used to spend the evenings just reading those letters. I have them now, they were part of my young life. They are a treasure trove of history and so very funny, he had a wonderful sense of humour. The problem is, they are all mixed up, they were my mum’s obviously and she just used to dip into the holdall bag in which she kept them. They are undated ( against regulations to date letters and rightly so). I would love to copy them but Dad had very small handwriting and I cannot make out all the words. Although, I do get the gist, when the letters get rather personal I skip over those.

The parting

My mum called this photo “The Parting”, it was customary for a photo to be taken when a member of the armed forces was due to go overseas. I am the one in the middle :grinning:
MaryL

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#2

Hi Mary, what lovely memories. Great photo, it’s lovely to read the stories from years ago. Time just passes in a flash and it’s nice to have all the memories and photos to look back on.
Steph x

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#3

Thank you Steph
Mary x

#4

How amazing to still have these letters Mary, something to treasure and pass on to the next generation. What a braw bairn you were :wink:

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#5

Thank you V, I could pass them on to our town’s museum, but I would hope that they would be treated with respect and not shoved into a dusty cupboard. Besides some are very personal to my mum and as I said I have always skipped over these.
Love
Mary XX

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#6

Regarding letter. Not ones sent to me but my husbands grandfather sent letters home when he was serving in WW1 and in the trenches, no more than a lad and obviously frightened. Simple letter written in pencil. Brian kept those letter in an old tin but now they have been passed on to a museum of the regiment his grandfather was in.

MARY, I think your letters would be very welcome and it might be worth contacting the regiment your father was in if you know it.
Pat xxx

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#7

“Love Letters”

Love letters straight from your heart
Keep us so near while apart

I’m not alone in the night
When I can have all the love that you write
I memorize every line
And I kiss the name that you sign
And darling then I read again
Right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart

I memorize every line
And I kiss the name that you sign
And darling then I read again
Right from the start
Love Letters Straight from the Heart.

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#8
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#9

Thank you for this, Pat, I know my dad’s regiment and his service number. I will do as you suggest.
Mary xxx

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#10

@MaryL what a beautiful family! Your mum was so pretty and your Dad was SO handsome wow!!

What precious memories you have to go back to whenever you like. What a gift! I have a notepad my Dad used to leave notes to my Grandma when she came into his flat to let the cat out and leave treats whilst he was at work. They are so dear to me, I read them often. When I first got them I read them to my Grandma in hospital. In fact, I might read them again tonight! Like your Dad, mine also had a real funny sense of humour. A lot of the notes he’s correcting my Grandma’s spelling and grammar, usually followed by a ‘DUH!’ LOL!

Best wishes x

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#11

MaryL, I’m sure someone could take a photocopy and increase the letter size so that they could be read them more easily. How wonderful to have these letters. It would be wonderful if they were saved for future generations to read.
I love the photo.

#12

Thank yu, my friends for your kind replies, they are very heart warming.
When my dad got his first leave, after 4 years without seeing him, we had moved to another house, dad couldn’t tell my mum the exact date. Wind back to the 4 years he was away, my mum had his photo on display and I used to kiss it and talk to it every day.
This particular night, I was fast asleep when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, my mum said “Mary do you know who this is?” I flung my arms round him saying “It is my dad”, all 3 of us sat for ages just with our arms around each other, this is such a happy memory.
I was most astonished when I woke up the next morning in my own bed, I had been so used to sleeping with my mum :grinning: :heart: In my innocence I did not realise that they wanted to sleep together.
dadinscarborough
The day my dad died, I was heartbroken. x x x x x

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#13

dadchipcap2
This was when my dad first went into the army.
I loved him to bits :revolving_hearts: :revolving_hearts: :revolving_hearts:

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#14

Thank you, Daffy, I hadn’t thought of that. I asked our grandson if he would take care of them, he was very pleased .
I am glad that you liked the photo. x

#15

I have a lump in my throat reading that Mary :revolving_hearts: What a handsome man your Dad was xx

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#16

What a lovely story :blush:

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#17

Oh mary
What wonderful memories to have despite the fact the war was such a difficult time. Your mum and dad look so handsome (dad) and elegant (mum). Didnt they have such glamourous hairstyles and clothes back then. I like forties fashion. And you are such a cutie bless. What a beautiful photo and the letters must give you such comfort being able to read his words even though he is gone, its like a part of him is still here. It is something to cherish and to share with your family. Thank you also for sharing with us.
Take care. Thinking of you.
Meebee

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#18

Just thought I would share this too. My mum had photos my grandfather took in world war 2 with notes on the back. She left them to me in her will so that I could pass them on to the regimental museum in her name but I am still waiting to get them. I only got to see them once. They were amazing I wanted to copy them on Blurb so that anyone could get a copy because I felt that the families of the other people in the photos might want to see them and it was selfish of us to keep them to ourselves when so many others could touch a photo of there grandfather too.
Thinking of you all.
Meebee

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#19

Thank you so much, Meebee for your kind posts, my mum and dad were such a special couple, they adored each other from being 12 and 10 years old, dad being the elder. It broke our hearts when he had to go to war, I can remember always feeling anxious that he may not come home. I am an anxious person and I do blame the war years, we hadn’t a man in our family all the men were serving in the forces. Two of them stayed in this country but so many were posted overseas, we lost one, Frank Hartley was in bomber command, he flew a Lancaster bomber and he was shot down over France, he was only 21 years old, married for just a few weeks.
Thank you for your story about your grandfather, I love it. I have never heard of Blurb, I shall do a search.
x x

#20

Hey MaryL
Thank you so much for sharing that absolutely fascinating. So sad about Frank Hartley so many good people lost and thank you for telling us because even though we never knew him we will remember a small piece of him. Wow your parents were special to have been together since they were 10 and 12 and just as an aside (that photo of your dad when he was older he was still a very handsome man you can definitely be proud.

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