3rd April 1946

Dear Mom, Dad & Jean,

Just a short letter to let you know I received your number 17 quite safely yesterday. I don’t expect I shall be able to write more than a couple of pages as I wrote to you last Saturday and to Jean on Monday and there hasn’t been anything fresh happened since then.

I had a letter from Barmouth yesterday as well as yours also one from Jess O. She said that she liked my photo very much and took it in to show Mr C. who said that he didn’t even know that I was in the Navy. Evidently I wasn’t as notorious in the village as I thought or else he would sure to have missed me. Do you realise I have been in over a year now?

Aunty Win spent most of her letter telling me about Uncle Fred and how the kids were looking forward to seeing him. It was a bit of bad luck for Aunty Edna wasn’t it! This is the tenth letter I have written today, don’t think I have nothing to do but it is always a half day on a Wednesday. The other nine were to Gilberstone Avenue, Mr. A., Barmouth, Whitehouse (youth club leader), Gilbert (night school mate), a flame from Sheldon, Jess, Norman R. and Dorothy H. Pretty busy aren’t I?

Am glad you liked the photo everyone said what a lot like Randolph Scott I looked. Cliff A, by the way is supposed to have contracted T.B. so wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get his ticket.

Don’t forget that it is not the first time that I have ‘followed in my father’s footsteps’ in the back bedroom. Do you remember when I used to go over to Granny C’s at the weekend about nine or ten years ago. Well I used to sleep there with Uncle Fred and I remember it used to be the bright spot of the weekend when he used to bring me a cup of Horlick’s and “tuppence” worth of chips in a piece of dirty old newspaper about midnight. Very tasty, very sweet.

Well I can’t think of anything more at the moment so I will close down until next time.

All my love
Graham

P.S. Did you get my last letter O.K. as there has been a plane crash and a lot of mail has been lost. I see there was also a crash with mail coming out here. I hope none of mine was on board.

1st April 1946

Dear Jean,

I am sorry that I haven’t written a reply to your last letter before but I don’t seem to have so much time for writing letters as I did when I was at Sydney. Still here goes!

You will probably know by now, through Bill B., that I hadn’t fractured my arm after all. The doctor on board said that he thought I had fractured it and he sent me ashore to the Chinese civilian hospital to have it X-rayed. They took three shots of it and found that there were no broken bones at all so I was lucky wasn’t I? Still the bone is very badly bruised and I can’t do my usual work. The last couple of days I have been Engineer’s messenger so I have had a pretty easy life. It has gone down a lot now though and I don’t have to wear a sling now, I think another week and it should be quite O.K. again.

I think it is pretty definite about us going to Japan on April 20th now. I hope we don’t stay there too long, you have to have a little respect for your neck in places like that.

Yesterday I saw the United Services play the Combined Chinese at football. It was a very exciting game and ended in a 2-2 draw. The Chinese centre half and goalkeeper were both brilliant and would easily get their place in any English team. All the same though the Services should have won because they were leading 2-1 when the goalkeeper went to punch the ball and didn’t connect properly and the Chinese centre forward only had to tap it into the net.

I see Villa and Birmingham re having a fight to win the league though Birmingham has the best chance as they are matches in hand. They have both done very well this year haven’t they!

I had a letter from Roy on Saturday and he said that Harry G. is going out with Dorrie T. of all people! and John D. is going out with Joan F., she certainly gets around a bit. That’s about the sixth or seventh isn’t it? What did you think about Margaret H.’s baby dying? A shame wasn’t it, I believe she died of haemorraghe (is that spelt right?)

Have you been to the pictures lately with your lover? I have seen three in the last fortnight, Fred McMurray Edward G. Robinson in “Double Indemnity”, Claudette Colbert, Joseph Colten and Shirley Temple in “Since You Went Away” and Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O’Brien in “Our Vines have Tender Grapes”. They were all very good pictures and I quite enjoyed them, especially the last one which is the best film that I have seen since I left Sydney.

Well I think that is about all for now Jean so I will close once again until next time.

I am enclosing a couple of combs, I hope you get them O.K. Did you get my last photo by the way?

So all my love
Your loving brother
Graham
xxxxx
P.S. Tell dad that Docker is favourite for the snooker handicap. He beat Alf Deeler and Alf Austin the same night!!