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This is the second part of the letter started on 27 October 1939 and written in the village of Villers-Marmery.
It is a great scene setter of life in the Phoney War.
As you can see at the beginning of the letter I started this on the 27th but hope to finish it of today 28th.
You would be surprised to see my surroundings while writing this second installment. 2 fellows are playing billiards, others playing cards or writing letters like me. The scene is the 'local' where we have come for warmth and recreation in our spare time. I've just had a jolly good dinner and now have a café cognac to keep it down. What luxury!
Nowadays the Serjeant Major does not seem to require an assistant as there has been some re-shuffling of the office. So I now share the job of dealing with incoming and outgoing letters and messages with a chap named Saunders. Dad may remember 'Sandy' from ----. (could be 'Bramley' as his father visited Frank at Bramley)
We work shifts between us so I manage to get definite time to myself which is a blessing even though I feel that I've been relegated (necessarily) in my work.
The apples Edie sent will be very nice. I can imagine Ernie bending the top most bows down to get them - what a hero. Yes, the seeds I sowed were a bit close I agree but I'm a novice at gardening and will benefit by experience. Bonfires and hedge clipping are my favourite jobs and always will be, I think.
I've had letters from all sorts of unexpected sources. 100 cigarettes from Auntie Louie Lyndsell and family, a short letter from Dora Hunt offering to do knitting and to correspond if I wish it, and a line from one of the A.T.S. who was at ---- (probably 'Bramley') and who wants to knit and write.
So Don and Audrey are married at last and a quiet wedding at that. Please give them my best wishes when the first opportunity arrives.
We now appear to have settled down after our second move this side. We are very comfortable, having straw-filled palliasses to sleep on, a 'pukka' cookhouse and eating room and last but not least a fine big room in the largest house in the village where we have our office. In some respects we are no worse off than in England and in some cases very much better off.
Incidentally in the café there is a good wireless set on which some of us have heard the news from England the last two evenings.
Edie asks if there is a censorship on letters to the troops but as far as I can tell there is not.
Many thanks again for all your letters. They are very welcome.
Fond love to you all and xxxxxx for Anne.
Frank
p.s. 50 cigarettes issued free with box of matches this week. It is said we will get these regularly each week.
p.p.s. I really forgot about paying the butcher, in any case you can't be in my debt, sister. We were paid 60 francs last week but 120 francs for simple gunners this week. I should be able to manage but last week I over spent. Who cares!
Frank
Tell Dad the Army Field Post Office is some way away from us and I don't see how I shall get an opportunity of contacting the R.E.P.S.
F
L. Higgens (censor)
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Another incident in Vaudesencourt, during this phoney war when not much was happening an old lady was wheeling a heavy wheelbarrow topped high with swedes down the village road when a huge dornier bomber flew over quite low. We were taking cover but this poor old lady just slogged along. We (us soldiers) shouted out to her "'La Bosche" "La Bosche”. She did not flinch, just wheeled her load on slowly and called out "Cest 1a guerre".
ReplyDeleteThe Germans were just showing off their planes in the skies over France at this stage. Sometimes hundreds of German planes flew over in layers of glittering silver in the sky. Unbelievable. We were defending an RAF base nearby at Auberive where Fairy Battles were doing regular sorties over Germany. I knew many of the crews, but sadly most of these brave chaps did not return from raids. Fairy Battles were a fragile sort of fighter bomber, but no match for the German defenses. Real brave lovely young RAF crews were killed, the cream of our race.