Wednesday
Normandy
Dearest,
While it’s fresh in my mind, we had to fall in today to have explained to us the demobbing plan and also the effect the increase in pay will have on us – providing, of course, we are still in the forces to complete three years’ service! The officer who explained it – a Captain of Marines – was quite open to hear the point of view of the men, though I was the only one, almost, who spoke up, and I don’t think he was eye to eye with all we had to say. However, he was, I’m glad to say, both courteous and patient. The points in which I was interested were: why should men be proud to take suits of Government manufacture when they have not the moral courage to force the same conditions on the women’s forces? Will the extra 7/- a week long-service pay (three years’ qualification) be docked from the War Services Grant? (To this the answer was “probably”, though in the absence of definite information this answer can only be surmise.) And, finally, I asked how the House of Commons was going to interpret the wishes of the people most vitally affected – the service man and woman – when service people are expressly forbidden by regulations to communicate with the Press or any person in authority, which obviously includes their M.P. I pointed out that we are, in effect, permanently disenfranchised, a point of view not acceptable to authority who says it has its own methods of helping touch with service opinion. But the M.P.s haven’t! All of which was vastly entertaining, except for the fact that I found myself a voice crying in the wilderness once more and, of course, I’d started thinking again for a few brief moments. It took me all afternoon to batter myself into the requisite state of dumbness and numbness again. Now, that is enough on that side of things.
I’ve been looking up the class – there are about 70 of them! – in which I come for demobbing. It is class 28 and we understand that the first lot to be released will most likely be the first 27 classes! Now what do you know about that? Of course, to be quite sensible, you can’t tell to a couple of classes and the figure 27 was given here as a guide – not a hard and fast dividing line. Nobody will be in a position to be dogmatic on the subject yet. Still, it’s hopeful to think I’m within reach of it, isn’t it? You will be very interested to hear that it is most unlikely that men of more than 35 will be sent out to the Far East, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t send use elsewhere, does it? Still, the bright spot is that when your group is scheduled for demobilisation, back you come and if you are in, say, India, due for demobbing in June, they will send you back in May so you don’t serve extra time. And there you have pretty well the whole of the plan as it affects me. What I’m now looking forward to seeing are the papers with details of the social insurance scheme, as I couldn’t get much of it on the radio. One of the people I always think of when these various schemes are mooted is Durham, and I wonder if he finds time in his service duties to listen to them. He’s very hot on political things and I always enjoyed having a go with him. Whatever else he was, he was honest and deeply sincere.
Now I’ll answer your letter! I’m sorry there was such a long gap in your mail, but there should certainly not have been a week by any means. There was another NAAFI form besides the one you have already received. After that I think there were several which were more or less notes. However, in the change-over period the mail certainly went awry, for several fellows had letters from home saying their letters were taking seven and eight days to get home from here, as against three or four from the other places. Your letters are doing better lately and the one you posted on the 21st got here yesterday – five days afterwards. I’m just telling you so as to give you an idea of the way things have changed.
As you say, Dave’s relationships with his wife and family are his concern, not ours. But thank you, sweetheart, for all the nice things you say. I developed a pair of wings while I was reading that bit of your letter. I can’t understand Dave’s attitude at all, but I never make any comment to him, even by inference, for I’m very touchy myself on the question of other people making even the slightest hint about my family life, which I consider to be absolutely sacrosanct!
I was very interested in all you had to say about Nurse Halsey and the County scheme. If you like Nurse Halsey, that is all that matters and I agree that the County scheme not only seems good but should also save a few pounds, which we can very well do with. I hate this business of not being able to help you at all as I could do if I was home again. I’ll have to see if I can write another article on something or other.
At that point I left you to go to an Ensa show. It wasn’t bad. If I’m to get this away today, however, I’ll have to pack up now, for I’ve got tummy trouble again! So have almost all the rest of the lads. Normandy Blues they call it. I’m off to see the vet but want to get this in before I go. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be right as rain by tomorrow morning, but it is uncomfortable while it lasts. All my love, sweetheart.
Ever your own,
Arthur X
Sep 271944