Major P.C. Benham,

G Branch

HQ 1 Corps District

BAOR

Friday 4 Jan 46

10.15 pm.

My own most precious darling,

One whole working day has been and come and gone and has left me flatter than any pancake – I just could not take any sort of interest though towards the evening I was beginning to pick up the threads and I’ve no doubt that before long I shall get back into the swing of things.  I need hardly say that my one and only interest today has been centred on the question of demob and the latest gen, but during my absence very little has come in that I didn’t know before, but on my own very secret ‘net’ I have heard things which make it quite clear that my date of the 20^th was a fairly pessimistic one and all being well I should be out within the first fortnight in March but you know what these things are and I think we should be unwise to bank on it – one encouraging thing is that I gather my replacement has been asked for on the grounds that ‘training’ will go on forever and someone, a regular, who is staying on must be trained in air matters, I am definitely NOT going on the Air Support Course!!  Otherwise nothing much has happened so far as I can make out.  I didn’t hurry up to the office this am and arrived there at about 9.45!  it’s been a bitterly cold day and I’m not sorry to be back in my own room which is beautifully warm, but this evening, much against my will, I was dragged along to a farewell party though I didn’t stay very long, slipping off early on the pretence that my long journey had completely exhausted me, and I must be early to bed!

There are a couple of things which I would be most grateful if you could do for me, the first is to let Nora King know, only if you see her, that the letters she gave me will be on their way to Hamburg tomorrow, a friend of mine is taking them up, the second is to tell Eric Brough that the 2 books I am anxious to get are WILSHERE’S COMMON LAW and RIVINGTON’S LAW OF PROPERTY – if you could let him know I would be most grateful, I ought to write to him but have a whole host of letters to write these next few days, several of my ex – 1 Corps pals wrote to me at Christmas including my old friend Charles Woodford who asked after you.

Darling I just can’t tell you how much I miss being with you at the flat but every nook, every cranny, is so engraven on my mind that I have only to close my eyes and I’m right there with you, it makes me a hundred times keener to get home, knowing what a heavenly place you have made of it.  You could never have been more wrong when you said to me one day ‘I’m afraid this isn’t what you expected when you came home’ – every second of our time I loved, never, never think I mind doing a few odd chores – I got a real kick out of the small things I did, even polishing the silver!  The things we did together which were complete heaven are far too numerous to mention but outstanding were our evenings by the old fireside, our parties in the flat and that wonderful dance at which I felt so very proud of my sweet wiz, you looked and were, so terribly sweet – if I had never seen you before I should have fallen in love with you all over again.  I’m just longing to hear from you, and know that you are being kept going as I am by the marvellous thought that in 10 weeks time, maybe less, our D day will be here, it seems almost too marvellous to be true, but there it is and roll on March.  Now dearest heart, I must leave you, I love you, darling – more, far more, than ever – thank you again for such a heavenly leave.  God bless and keep you always.  Yours and yours alone.  With all my love

                        for ever

                        Peter

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

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 734 dated 4 JA 46.  Signed P.C. Benham.     

On front of envelope 4 Jan.

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

In the Train

Note carefully!  Thursday 7.30 pm.

My own most precious darling,

This really has been (is being, I should say) one hell of a journey and it looks as though we shan’t get back to the mess until midnight at the earliest.  I’m feeling pretty bloody at the moment and, but for the fact that we four from the mess have been together since DOVER I would be sunk into the depths of depression.  I didn’t reach LONDON until 9.45 after quite a comfortable journey and was at Victoria at 10.15 when I put the call through to you – thoughts of our next phone conversation have consoled me a whole lot during the journey.  After our chat I went along to the RTO’s office where I found Jack Behanell and Ted Worsdel turned up very shortly after.  The train left at 11.15 and we reached DOVER round about 1.15 – lorries took us up to the transit camp where we had a cupper and were taking over to our billets, and heard the glad news that reveille was at 05.30 hrs!  The 3 of us shared a room and I slept like the proverbial log until 6 ocl when we had to go over to the mess for a very unappetizing breakfast.  Finding there was a half hour after breakfast before we had a go down to the docks I had a wash and shave etc.  There were the usual long waits by the quayside but at 10 ocl the boat sailed and the sea was on the roughish side though nothing like so bad as when we came the other way.  On the boat we were joined by Henry Podmore another of the C Mess fraternity – he had gone on leave two days before us but had been well and truly mucked about since his return to Victoria on Sunday evening – the answer appears to be that one or two boats didn’t sail on Monday or Tuesday owing to fog and they have been trying to run extra boats on Wednesday to make up the balance of those still left in transit camps – very unfair of the likes of Henry who haven’t been allowed out of camp for 2 days just in case they could be squeezed onto a later ship – We got to Calais at 11.30 and put our watches on to 12.30 had lunch at 1 ocl and afterwards went to see a film which I had seen before called ‘Hangover Square’ fair.  We were told that owing to a pile-up of officers in CALAIS we should have to spend the night there and get a train the following evening.  Ted went to the Movement Control people and ‘bounced’ them into giving him 4 tickets for the MUNSTER train due to leave at 6 ocl yesterday evening but couldn’t get himself made OC Train which didn’t make any difference as the four of us have a very comfortable and warm carriage to ourselves!  I got off to sleep at 9 ocl and was woken at 03.00 hrs this morning with the announcement (a) that we were 4 hours late and (b) we were to have a hot meal – not a very good one as it turned out though we were very wise to have it as our next food was to come 13 hours later!  I was soon asleep again and next woke at 9.30 much to everyone’s amusement, so I had nearly 12 hours sleep and boy! did I need it?

The next delaying factor was at a place called SPYCK where the railway crosses the Rhine – they had ‘broken’ the bridge to let some large funnelled ship through and we sat there for 3 solid hours before we could cross, eventually arriving at WESEL just after 6 ocl for a hot meal – exactly 10 hours late and 24 hours after we had got into the train at CALAIS – we shan’t get to MUNSTER ‘til 10 ocl at the earliest and it will take at least 2 hours to get back to the Mess from there.  We are not very far from MUNSTER now and the train has pulled up for one of its inevitable stops and the time is 9.15 – I have read ¾ of Sava’s book and it is first-class, isn’t it?  Better, I think than the Healing Knife.  I just can’t tell you how simply wonderful the sandwiches and the coffee were.  I ate most of the sandwiches, one cheese biscuit and one piece of cake on the way from Victoria to DOVER last night (sorry, the night before last I should say) and they were marvellous and the coffee too.  As for the oranges and apples they saved my life completely and were used on many occasions when, due to the fug in the carriage etc, my thirst became uncontrollable – but, darling, I felt terrible when I thought of the hole it must have made in our joint and that it was your ration for some time.  We’ve just started up again and it’s no easy matter writing when the train is on the move so I will say au revoir until the time when I’m back in my own room when the atmosphere will be more conducive to the writing of the most important part of this letter, so ‘til then, my darling, TTFN.

1.15 am.  Back at last and in bed!  I got back at 12.30 and after a few sandwiches and some whisky feel much better – I’ve just unpacked and had a good wash and it won’t be long before I’m off to sleep.

Darling girl the more I think of the last 15 days the more certain am I that it really was the best ever leave – you just have no idea how much I love the flat – for our present wants it is absolutely ideal, and I can’t even start to thank you for the super work you have put in on it and for the million and one things you did for me when I was back – super food, wizard drink, and evenings alone with you which I wouldn’t miss for the world – you were quite perfect all the time – Oh darling girl, I love you more than ever and this last leave has brought it home to me once again what a wonderful wife I have – I’m sorry this letter is so scrappy but the circumstances aren’t what I would wish – I will write tonight (!) on better paper, in ink and more coherently – now I must bid you goodnight and may I dream of you – (I hate being in bed alone again) – God bless and keep you and again so very many thanks for being so wonderful to me.

Yours, with ALL my love for ever and ever, and already LONGING for the D day which is fast approaching,

                        Peter

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

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 734 dated 5 JA 46.  Signed P.C. Benham.     

On front of envelope 3 Jan.

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