G Branch

HQ I Corps District

B.A.O.R.

Sunday 2^nd September  

My dearest Maz,

So very many thanks for your letters of the 24^th and 29^th – I loved reading of all your news and was very pleased in the letter which reached me today to hear you were in a slightly ‘soap-boxish’ frame of mind – I’ve felt just the same myself recently!  I just can’t thank you enough for all you have done for Eileen – she has told me so many times how absolutely sweet you were to her and what a splendid nurse you were, from my experience I know so well what she meant – you have no idea what a comfort it is when I’m away to know that, should Eileen be ill, you are there to look after her, again a thousand thanks.

Eileen seems to be getting a rare hustle on with the flat and her enthusiasm has raised my spirits a lot and my impatience to get home has grown correspondingly.  You and Pari don’t seem to be wasting your time either, bureaux, Heppelwhite’s etc.  I don’t think I know the house in Fitzwalter Road which you were talking about, but from your description of it it didn’t sound very suitable for you and Pari.  You also seem to have had some good tennis and this last week, if your weather has been anything like ours here, should have seen you getting some more.  I hope so much that it will be fine for your holiday, what a difference it makes if the sun shines and it’s warm.

My own week, as Eileen will have told you, has had rather a tragic ending in that I spent all day yesterday in bed feeling like death and have been indoors, though very much better, most of today.  Charles left on Monday and I had a very cheery letter from him today – he seems very happy with his new job, he is a real pukka school-teacher once again, and works and lives in very comfortable and old-world surroundings.  Also today I had a very nice letter from Elli, he seems to have really enjoyed his holiday, had plenty of variety, made some good friends and it will have done him a world of good.  My own activities this week have been fairly varied and with Trevor Harrison’s arrival back from leave, I’ve not been quite so busy as of late.  On Wednesday night Nigel and I went to see a film called ‘The Hitler Gang’.  Well acted and worth seeing, with no-one well known in it.  Thursday saw me playing hockey in the afternoon – we had a very good game against the Sergeants which we rather surprisingly won 5.2 (3).  It was a very hot afternoon and I felt rather whacked after a lot of running about.  Friday was really my downfall!  Our attached Dutch officers gave a large party at 12 midday in honour of Queen Wilhelmina’s birthday and I had a drink which they called gin and lime but which certainly tasted odd though I didn’t think much about it at the time.  After an early dinner Nigel and I went along to see ‘The Circle’ an ENSA play with a wonderful cast – Leslie Banks, Yvonne Arnand, Cecil Trouncer, Rosalie Crutchley and Max Adrian.  It was excellent and afterwards I was invited by our Welfare king to go along to a party to which the artists had been invited – I was feeling 100% fit and I found not the large party I had expected but just 6 of us plus the cast sitting down to a magnificent dinner at about 11.30!  I sat between Leslie Banks and R. Crutchley and they were extremely nice – I rather shook the former by reminding him that he was in the Essex Regiment at the beginning of the last war.  I was extremely careful of what I ate and had only one glass of champagne and got back to my room at 2.30 am 100% sober and feeling very fit.  At 6 am I woke up feeling terribly sick and between then and 11.30 was sick at half hour intervals – the Doc came in and had a look at me in the morning and said I had slight food poisoning and that I was to eat nothing that day, I didn’t. but woke this morning feeling a hundred times better and very hungry.  I have taken things very slowly today and went out for a short walk this afternoon – I really felt like death yesterday morning what it was I don’t know but looking back believe it may have been some awful soup we had in the Mess on Friday night, several others have been queer and one chap has been even worse than I.

Well, little Maz, I guess I must close now – thank you so very much again for looking after Eileen so well, my love to Pari and Elli, God bless you and much love

            Yours as ever

very affectionately

                        Peter

In envelope headed ‘O A S’ addressed to Mrs Gerald C Benham, 5 Oxford Road Colchester Essex.

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 734 dated 3 SP 45.  Signed P.C. Benham.     

On front of envelope Written Sept 2^nd 1945 rec Sept 6^th 1945.           (4)