Major P.C. Benham,

G Branch

HQ 1 Corps District

BAOR

Sunday 9^th December

P.S.  Please thank Elli very much for his Gibson & W efforts – I have taken his v sound advice.  P.

My dearest Maz

First and foremost many many happy returns, Maz dear, of your birthday, may this be the very last time I have to send you my birthday greetings by letter – all good wishes to you and may you have a real Aunt Kate day on Friday – I hope you make your annual sojourn to the Red Lion and that the meal is suitable for so special an occasion.  I have a nasty feeling that this letter will arrive before Friday but the posts are so erratic these days that it is better for it to arrive a day early than a day late – I need hardly say that I shall be thinking of you on the 14^th, and hoping its not so cold with you as it is here – this last week has been bitter – and as bad luck would have it the boiler in the mess has gone wrong and there is no heating in any of the rooms at present – I can’t ever remember being so cold indoors.  There hasn’t been very much snow yet but enough to prevent the hockey matches on Thursday and this weekend from being played, and enough to permit me to do a spot of skiing this morning! but more about that later.

I was delighted to get your letters dated Nov 30^th and Dec 4^th this week and some more papers – thanks ever so!  I was most interested to hear all about John Wissock – ***** he must have had a rotten time.  I hope you had a really super chinwag with Aunt Beth I’m sure you put on your surprised voice when you told her about Robin coming down for the wedding!!  Is your throat better now because when two of the sisters really get down to it there sure is no stopping them!  Will the hare still be going strong when I get back, it sounded a real beauty and Pari said you jugged it to a T.  Eileen also said what a super one it was (is!)

With the arrival back of Leonard Olney on Monday I’ve had a comparatively slack week with one or two good early nights and no evening entertainments, though this evening I’m going with several others to see a film which I’m told is very good called ‘Song to Remember’ – the life of Chopin with Merle Oberon and Frederick March as the two stars.  My only evening attraction was on Friday when we played our first table tennis match in the newly formed inter-branch table tennis league.  Our match was against Welfare and we beat them very easily – 5 in each team and everyone plays 2 matches best of 3 games – we won by 21-1 – I won my 2 games without much difficulty – the side is strong right through and we ought to win without much trouble.  I’m not quite right when I say it was my only evening’s entertainment because on Tuesday night I went over to SOEST (about 30miles away) where I had dinner with Freddie Self – an excellent dinner followed by a shove-halfpenny session and back here by 11.15.  The snow has made everyone very keen on skiing, the experts to ‘show off’ a bit, the uninitiated to try their hand.  We have two of the former category in the mess and Dick Jesson and I are keen to learn.  We had a ‘lecture’ on the theory of the thing yesterday evening and this a.m. we all went out to the slopes not far from here to ‘hae a go’.  There really wasn’t quite enough snow and in view of my impending leave I took it pretty gently! but I must admit I enjoyed every moment of it – my first one or two efforts weren’t entirely successful, and I picked myself out of some very odd positions, skis wrapped round the back of my neck etc! but I very soon got the hang of it and at the end was sailing merrily down hill at good speed and without mishap.  I gather that my pre-release demob news has proved very accurate and that officers of Group 24 are due to go out on Feb 20^th or so which means that I shall be out, all being well in the first half of March, three rousing cheers!!  One little snippet of news which will interest you is that John Wilson is now a full colonel and has the old red flannel wrapped round his hat – a very popular promotion, he is liked by everyone – another snippet is that Betty Goodwin’s brother is our new AQMG (Lt Col) – he phoned me the other morning and sounded as though he’d known me all my life – I might say I was equally affable!  There has been one day’s cancellation of leave this week and it now means that I’m due to arrive in Colchester on the 17^th – I am travelling back with Ted Wasdell, a Lt Col who has been in our mess all the time and we’ve agreed that we will only play ball with one more cancellation so I shall either arrive on the 17^th or 18^th – not later than that.  I’m getting really very excited at the thought of it all and ‘this time next week’ I shall, all being well, be on my way back.  Then we the leave is ended I shall only be back here for 10 weeks at the most before I’m home for good, three more rousing cheers at the prospect!  It will, at first, seem very strange coming back to what is new my, I should say, our, home and I’m longing to see it and the great work Eileen has been doing.  But that won’t prevent me from seeing a whole lot of you all and I’m longing for that too, I am enclosing a chit for Pari to get a few buckshee coupons when I get back – I don’t anticipate using the new car, I should feel far too nervous, but it’s a waste to look a gift horse in the mouth and he just fills in the registration particulars and the coupons are his.  Now, little Maz I must away.  Again my very best wishes and much love to you for the 14^th – longing to see you again, much love to Pari and Elli and yourself.

            As ever

Yours 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 11 DE 45.  Signed P.C. Benham.  

On front of envelope Written Dec 9^th 1945 rec Dec 13^th 1945 (19)

On back of envelope Major P.C. Benham, G Branch, HQ 1 Corps District, BAOR.