D -64

Major P.C. Benham,

G Branch

HQ 1 Corps District

BAOR

Wednesday 9^th January

10.30 pm.

My own most precious darling,

I’m writing this, surrounded by pots and pans and a frightful stink, in the kitchen, as the only warm place in the Mess!  Believe it or not the boilers have gone again but DV should be on heat again tomorrow.

I have been out most of today but on my return I was thrilled to find your Friday letter on my table containing, inter alia, the account of the children’s party, all rather exhausting I should imagine but it seems to have gone off well.  I shall be giving John a ring when he gets back and hope he will be able to combine business with pleasure the next time he comes over for a conference.  I hope the toe is better and above all that my letters are reaching you now.  No one knows better than I do what a difference that daily letter makes to life, it is a wonderful physical bridge of the gulf, isn’t it? but I’m very much afraid that the letter I posted first thing on Friday won’t reach you until Monday at the earliest, I’m longing to hear that it has put in an appearance.  After a pretty full day’s work yesterday I duly presented myself at the YMCA at 7.45 for the ‘needle’ ping pong match and much to my astonishment found about a 100 spectators there in the very large hall, tiered seats etc.  I was playing number 5 (there were 6 in the team) and they played in the order 1, 3, 5, 2, 4 and 6.  Amidst considerable enthusiasm I went on to play with the score 1-1, and with more enthusiasm and handshaking all round beat my chap by 3 games to 1 (much to everyone’s surprise, including myself) to put HQ 1 Corps in the lead 2-1 at the interval.  The last match started with the score 3-2 to us and our no 6 (I was thankful it wasn’t me!).  after a thrilling game, beat his opponent, so we won 4-2 – after more handshaking etc I got back to the mess at 10.30 absolutely nervously exhausted and went straight to bed and to sleep.  Today I had to do a job of work at Paderborn (about 2 hours from here) and didn’t get back to the office until just after tea.  Freddie Self arrived at 7 ocl and since dinner we have been drinking fairly steadily and discussing plans for fairly high level hockey between now and the summer.  I think in view of my demob in early March, I shall hand over the hockey to him as he will be in the Corps until May – how marvellous it will be when everything is handed over!  Ted, who was also writing letters down here, has just packed up and departed and I’m afraid I must shortly follow suit as I mustn’t miss my nightly law book reading.  It’s an awful sweat, but will pay a dividend in the long run – so, my angel, very reluctantly, I will leave you until tomorrow night, though between now and them you will be, as you always are, so very much in my thoughts.  I love you, dearest heart, so terribly terribly much, and am only existing now for the day, which is drawing so close, when we shall have each other for always.  God bless and keep you, wonderful wiz, now and always – ALL my love is yours and only yours

            for ever and always

                        Peter

In envelope headed ‘O A S’ addressed to Mrs Peter C Benham, 9 Vint Crescent Colchester Essex.

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 734 dated 11 JA 46.  Signed P.C. Benham.   

On front of envelope 9 Jan.