Letter to Geoff from friend in USA, 1943
Title
Letter to Geoff from friend in USA, 1943
Description
Letter to Geoff asking for his news, lamenting the death of both someone known to her and and David who trained with Geoff. It also includes a review of her families lives and how things have changed in the year since Geoff was in the USA.
Creator
Date
1943-12-13
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Two page typewritten letter
Conforms To
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
EGriffinLShattockGF431213-0001, EGriffinLShattockGF431213-0002
Transcription
Montgomery, Alabama
December 13, 1943
Dear Geoff,
Well here we are rounding out another year --- nearing a time when all should be happy --- but with so much sorrow in the world we can approach the Christmas season in our usual spirit.
I have waited so patiently for a letter from you but haven’t had a single line since you wrote telling of poor David and also about your being in the hospital. I hope that during the intervening months that you have entirely regained your health and that all goes well with you. I had a sweet letter from Mrs. Howlett today telling me that the International Red Cross had written her that David has actually gone on that long journey into the great beyond and that his earthly body is buried in France. It just does not seem possible that David, the boy we loved, is gone from us. Though there are left behind those that will never forget him.
Hilda was over for a few minutes to read the letter from David’s mother. She was on her way to the U.S.O. to help entertain the soldiers. She goes each Monday night and serves food, dances with the boys, plays games etc. Poor little Nell did not go tonight. The enclosed paper clipping with [sic] tell the story. You know she had three brothers all of whom were in the service. Two of them in the Navy and one in the Army. Thursday night they received a wire from the War Department telling them that Jimmy age 22 who was a dive bomber pilot is missing in Action. All of our neighborhood [sic] is so grieved as he was a fine clean cut young man. I do so sympathize with them. I knew you would be interested in knowing that they have sorrow in their home brought about by the war. Mrs. Eiland was down at the USO helping them serve the boys when the wire came and did not know about it until she got home.
You would not know the U.S.A. now Geoff --- so many many [sic] changes. There is a different feeling in the air over here from what you observed while over here. We are thinking of more serious things than good times, foods, clothes, automobiles etc. America is fully war conscious now. We have plenty of everything but lots lots [sic] less than when you left two years ago, and too everybody is working like mad. Aubrey is hardly ever home. The railroads are busy as can be. Granny and I are at home. I have not worked this year except for a few months early during the year. I feel pretty good considering that I am getting to be an old lady, not withstanding the fact that I had the flu for about three weeks recently. Katie is still with us and Bing (the puppy) are both fine, however, lemon pies, cakes etc are more rare at 101 First St than two years ago. We have kinder discontinued luxuries for the duration.
Won’t you please sit down and write us a real long letter, telling us as much as you can about yourself. I hope that your folks are and have been
[page break]
all right since I last heard from you. Do you or have you ever heard from Gordon Bailey, Dennis Clennells etc.? I am interested to know how all our boys have been, but since we don’t have Tommy or David and you three were our specials won’t you write us pretty soon all the news.
My old great-aunt (83 years old) who broke her hip is still bed ridden. The doctors say she will never walk again. Granny has broken some but then she is pass seventy and we can’t stay young when we get old in years. Aubrey celebrated his 46 birthday on Dec. 10th so we are all not as young as we once were.
I am hoping that lasting peace is not far off, however, we want to stay after our enemies this time so there won’t be another war in 20 to 25 years. I hope our allies will help us to make war so unpopular this time that the world will never cease to remember its horrors and not let some half wit plunge us into such a mess again. You boys have certainly been doing a grand job over there and every freedom loving person in the world has a just right to be proud of you -- and now we have our boys over there to help you and between you two and the Russians and Chinese I believe we have them licked.
Wishing you only the best of everything for 1944 --- good health and a measure of happiness. May God watch over you Geoff and keep you safe is my earnest prayer. Be the same good sweet boy we learned to love over here and everything will come out all right.
Sincerely,
Louise
Mrs. A. W. Griffin
101 First Street
Oak Park
Montgomery, Alabama
U.S.A.
December 13, 1943
Dear Geoff,
Well here we are rounding out another year --- nearing a time when all should be happy --- but with so much sorrow in the world we can approach the Christmas season in our usual spirit.
I have waited so patiently for a letter from you but haven’t had a single line since you wrote telling of poor David and also about your being in the hospital. I hope that during the intervening months that you have entirely regained your health and that all goes well with you. I had a sweet letter from Mrs. Howlett today telling me that the International Red Cross had written her that David has actually gone on that long journey into the great beyond and that his earthly body is buried in France. It just does not seem possible that David, the boy we loved, is gone from us. Though there are left behind those that will never forget him.
Hilda was over for a few minutes to read the letter from David’s mother. She was on her way to the U.S.O. to help entertain the soldiers. She goes each Monday night and serves food, dances with the boys, plays games etc. Poor little Nell did not go tonight. The enclosed paper clipping with [sic] tell the story. You know she had three brothers all of whom were in the service. Two of them in the Navy and one in the Army. Thursday night they received a wire from the War Department telling them that Jimmy age 22 who was a dive bomber pilot is missing in Action. All of our neighborhood [sic] is so grieved as he was a fine clean cut young man. I do so sympathize with them. I knew you would be interested in knowing that they have sorrow in their home brought about by the war. Mrs. Eiland was down at the USO helping them serve the boys when the wire came and did not know about it until she got home.
You would not know the U.S.A. now Geoff --- so many many [sic] changes. There is a different feeling in the air over here from what you observed while over here. We are thinking of more serious things than good times, foods, clothes, automobiles etc. America is fully war conscious now. We have plenty of everything but lots lots [sic] less than when you left two years ago, and too everybody is working like mad. Aubrey is hardly ever home. The railroads are busy as can be. Granny and I are at home. I have not worked this year except for a few months early during the year. I feel pretty good considering that I am getting to be an old lady, not withstanding the fact that I had the flu for about three weeks recently. Katie is still with us and Bing (the puppy) are both fine, however, lemon pies, cakes etc are more rare at 101 First St than two years ago. We have kinder discontinued luxuries for the duration.
Won’t you please sit down and write us a real long letter, telling us as much as you can about yourself. I hope that your folks are and have been
[page break]
all right since I last heard from you. Do you or have you ever heard from Gordon Bailey, Dennis Clennells etc.? I am interested to know how all our boys have been, but since we don’t have Tommy or David and you three were our specials won’t you write us pretty soon all the news.
My old great-aunt (83 years old) who broke her hip is still bed ridden. The doctors say she will never walk again. Granny has broken some but then she is pass seventy and we can’t stay young when we get old in years. Aubrey celebrated his 46 birthday on Dec. 10th so we are all not as young as we once were.
I am hoping that lasting peace is not far off, however, we want to stay after our enemies this time so there won’t be another war in 20 to 25 years. I hope our allies will help us to make war so unpopular this time that the world will never cease to remember its horrors and not let some half wit plunge us into such a mess again. You boys have certainly been doing a grand job over there and every freedom loving person in the world has a just right to be proud of you -- and now we have our boys over there to help you and between you two and the Russians and Chinese I believe we have them licked.
Wishing you only the best of everything for 1944 --- good health and a measure of happiness. May God watch over you Geoff and keep you safe is my earnest prayer. Be the same good sweet boy we learned to love over here and everything will come out all right.
Sincerely,
Louise
Mrs. A. W. Griffin
101 First Street
Oak Park
Montgomery, Alabama
U.S.A.
Collection
Citation
Mrs A W Griffin, “Letter to Geoff from friend in USA, 1943,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 16, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net/collections/document/41022.