Sunday morning the last day of January, a wild wet day blowing a gale from S.E. and heavy showers of rain. Ashley’s field at the back of our house is almost water-logged. If it doesn’t soon dry, it will be very serious as the autumn sown corn will rot in the sodden ground, and most, if not all, of our wheat is sown in the autumn. If our harvest is a failure what shall we do for bread next winter if this continues? We think we may be getting a bit more master over the U-boats but they are a very serious menace at present. We are shipping wheat to India now. I think we as a people must have a large faith in providence. We either have a lot of faith or a lot of confidence, perhaps a mixture of both. Ron says they get no bread only biscuits tho’ there is no shortage of food. We had a letter on Thursday. I am afraid he won’t get my air-graph very quickly as no air-mail is accepted for N. Africa at present. There is an Air Mail Letter Card from John Meldrum this week again, I am enclosing it in today’s letter to Ron who says John’s APO [Army Post Office] number is the same as his. If that is just for N.A. there is a possibility that they may meet sometime. Ron has received the snaps of Rene’s wedding and Sprogg and Father sent on Dec. 13.42. Our letter was between 3 and 4 weeks coming this time. Ron had had a chill and been to M.O. [Medical Officer], said it was bitterly cold and he did not get warm until in bed. It was Sunday night and he was writing in bed and was quite warm then. He says hardly anything about Xmas only that they had pork and not a bad time considering conditions so I’m afraid it wasn’t a very “Happy Xmas”. When we have finished fighting in N.A. which may be soon, I wonder if he will go further away still.
Yesterday we bombed Berlin twice during the day. It is terrible, and were over Ger. again last night. It cannot, must not, go on, this wholesale murder is not war but destruction. In fair and open fight we can pray for our side to win and we do, but bombs and fire appal us and choke our prayers. We have sorely mismanaged this world given to us to rule for God. May he turn the hearts of all men towards Him that we may live in peace and destroy the Evil one who is having so much of his own way now.
Father and Jean are not up yet, suppose I had better call Jean. She has a bit of homework to do yet and it won’t be fit to go to Chapel I think this morning. It is Fa’s day off, but he has to take Mr. Walker to W[illoughby] Stn this afternoon, he is on 36 hours leave. Sprogg has just come in, don’t know where he lodges but is not wet. Of course the windows are open at Corbie so he can get in there if he wants to, a lot of R.A.s came to Canning’s houses yesterday, but we have none so far, tho’ a Cpl called one day to inquire which were Corbie and Red Tiles.
Houses built by John Henry Canning on Sea Bank Road (nearer to ‘Lenton Lodge’ than those on Sea Road) are probably meant here. See Village Map.
Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?
