Tuesday
Glasgow
Dearest,
Before anything else, I want to get this off my mind. One of our fellows is going to apply for a special grant and the form he has got is rather different from the one I had and I’m wondering if it applies to the same grant. This one is called War Service Grant, what is yours called? Can you give me any details as to where yours goes to for renewal or any queries? And can you give me the full title of the Soldiers Sailors etc and the address? Will you answer these queries as soon as you can, by return if possible, because this lad wants to get his application in while he is here. I think he has only just become eligible because his wife has given up her job as she is stagnant! Anyhow, that’s off my mind.
Now another subject – one nearer our hearts! I decided to tackle the instructor today and get some satisfaction from him about this course. He would not commit himself, but from what he did say I think there will be an extension of some sort of this course. Near enough what he said was this: that he cannot extend the course of his own volition and that he will have to wait until our Commander comes along. When he will pay us a visit we don’t know but MacDonald, the instructor, says he is going to recommend an extension which means, in my estimation, that we will get one, but for how long I cannot say. It may be anything between two to four weeks. None of this is definite, but I thought it only fair to let you know what the position is. As soon as there is some definite news I’ll let you know, but as you can see things are far from certain at the moment. Most of the lads are, like myself, wanting to get out of the trainee stage and for that reason will be glad to get away from here now that we have reached this stage. If we had known before we got that weekend leave we would probably have been quite pleased, but now we are too near leave to want it postponing.
Your letter on Gregsonian notepaper(!) came by the evening post. Many thanks, love. Hope you had a nice time. What a nice surprise for the children that you should run into a procession. I see you kept up your winning sequence at Limedale. Nice work. I hope my leave coincides with Harold’s. Which starts a train of thought. What happened about the baccy?
Dinner time
Oh, sweet, I knew something would happen. I have been full of beans this morning and I said to Jack and Charlie, “I’ll get a letter from the wife that will take this smile off my face”, but I never thought of this. How are you, love? You are far from explicit in your letter. What are the pains, and what does the doctor say? Is it flu or incipient appendix, or what? It’s no good trying to fool me, love, and you should know that. You are too weak even to write straight! Some of the lines are running into each other. The trouble is that I’m in a quandary. You certainly won’t be fit to travel home on Tuesday, but you may be on Wednesday, which is the day you will get this. Oh, sweet, I wish I knew just what it was. If I knew it was a straightforward dose of flu I shouldn’t worry quite so much – although I naturally wouldn’t shriek with joy. Love, I thought we played straight with each other. Never do things like this. Tell me straight out what is the matter. I can face up to the actual knowledge but not to these doubts. Now, sweet, you won’t get this till you are at home but let me know how you are and no nonsense. I do hope you are better, love. Do look after yourself and stay in bed until you are properly fit to travel. Bye for now, love. I do wish I was home. All my love, angel, and get well soon.
Ever your own,
Arthur X