Major P.C. Benham,

G Branch

HQ 1 Corps District

BAOR

Sunday 20^th January

My dearest Maz

I have so much to thank you for this week that I hardly know where to begin – letters, magazines, and last, but not least, a really magnificent cake which arrived safe and sound yesterday morning, I sampled it last night and it really is a beauty, quite one of your very best – it couldn’t have come at a better time either, as I am duty officer all day today and tonight and I shall bring up an Aunt Kate portion for tea this afternoon and another piece tonight!  Your most interesting letters were dated 11^th and 13^th January many thanks – I was very interested to hear that the Bakers infant has arrived – you don’t miss a thing, and no doubt put two and two together when you saw Jack emerging from the Floral Box – you seem to have had a very tasty little meal at the flat the other evening it fair made me mouth water, nothing so homely about the food out here I’m afraid.

I hope by now the drawing and morning rooms are nearly completed – I’m afraid this cold spell will have rather upset things and no doubt the kitchen has come into its own, still, as you say, it will be grand when they are finished.  It has been an amazing week here with practically every day the same, very cold but dry and sunny – I suppose its healthy weather and all that but it does me no good at all – no snow to ski on, grounds much too hard for hockey (both the games I had fixed up during the week had to be cancelled) and practically no opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine.  I hope we don’t get a lot of snow for a bit and that the grounds thaw out, because there is a most attractive sounding hockey tour in Holland from Jan 30^th to Feb 4^th, playing 3 matches in Amsterdam and the Hague between those dates – the team hasn’t been selected yet but I’m hoping for the best!  The letter you forwarded on to me, which arrived today was from Douglas Goodbody, Secretary of the OU Hockey Association who was out here in the RAF, asking me to play against the School on 9^th March – Nothing further on the demob line since I last wrote and I’ve not heard any more about the chap who is likely to be coming in as my relief.  I’m now all being well at D -53 days – less than 8 weeks to go!  Apart from a table tennis match on Thursday evening and a party on Friday I’ve done absolutely nothing of interest this week, a little law study and that is all.  The match on Thursday wasn’t a very good one and we beat A branch very easily 8-2 our no 5 being the only one to lose, he lost both his games.  Earlier in the week I had a most pleasant surprise when who should walk into my office but Peter Royle, late 17^th Field Regiment!  He was in the Regiment at the beginning of the war and in another Battery until Roy Oddie was killed – Peter took over B Troop and he and I used to relieve each other at Ops so I got to know him very well.  He was wounded, still commanding B Troop, in Sicily but was in Italy when his Father died and he came back to England, dropping to Lieutenant.  He came out here last June and is now in command of a battery only about 20 miles from ISERLOHN!  I arranged for him to come over on Friday night for dinner and a super chat.  On Friday morning I got a message from John Stephens unit that he was coming up for a conference here and would I have dinner with him in the Visitors Mess where he had booked a room for the night.  To cut a long story short he joined Peter Royle and myself for dinner in the Officers’ Club and came back to C Mess where he spent the night in a room whose occupant had gone on leave that morning!  We had an excellent evening and both John and Peter were in cracking form.  John just the same as usual and when we parted after breakfast yesterday morning his last words were ‘Peter, give my love to your Mother, and to Eileen – and your Father’!  Peter, it has been nice seeing you again etc etc!’  I heard many interesting things from Peter R but didn’t get as much ‘gen’ as I should have done had we been alone – I gather there was no question of Ian giving himself a MC, he had one glorious day and should have got at least a DSO.  I hope to be going over to Peter’s Battery one evening next week.  Now, Maz dear, I must get packing up for lunch, so will say au revoir to you – only another 7½ weeks, may it go very quickly.   God bless and much love to you, again many thanks for the super cake, your letters and mags, my love to Pari and Elli.

            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 21 JA 46.  Signed P.C. Benham.   

On front of envelope Written Jan 20^th 1946 rec Jan 23^rd 1946 (4)