56 Bond St
Monkwearmouth
Sunderland
28.11.40
Dear Angela
May I excuse myself for not writing before now, and may I thank you very much for the birthday-card, it arrived a little late - but what is the difference. I hope this letter reaches you before Xmas - I think it will, I have used the strongest envelope I could find as the others were very thin. I am not certain what kind of Xmas I will have this year, as I may have to work all the holidays. I am expecting at least three parties - allowing for air-raids. I will have a fortnight’s holiday from evening classes at Xmas but there will be no moon out, and it will be too dark to go out. One of my pals is coming home from London at Xmas, so I have something to look forward to, even if not holidays.
I had my first and probably last Cross-Country run the other Saturday, I was running for Sunderland Harriers Junior Club against my old school, the result was the best possible - a draw. I don’t think I will run any more this year as it is too tiring after work and I didn’t run very good - 7th out of 16 runners. I am having to do nothing else but work these days and my weekly table-tennis has been replaced by homework - I hope you don’t get as much work to do.
You will have seen some photos of the damage in Coventry and Birmingham, it must have been terrible. Everyone says our turn will come soon so we are just hoping for the best. If we do get bombed here I don’t know what dad and I will do, as mam will be called out nursing - but we haven’t been bombed yet! I hope we are doing just as much in Germany. I often wonder where my French and German correspondents are, and I think I will try and contact them when all of this is over. Another plane was brought down here a few days ago, the “Jerries” haven’t been over for about two days, but they will give us a call soon.
There was a war -poster exhibition in the Art Gallery and one of the Bede girls won a prize. The exhibition was in connection with War Weapons Week. There was also an exhibition of war weapons ranging from prehistoric axes to machine guns, the sword of Dundee, who fought in the Battle of Killiecrankie, was there. The total war savings of the town was well over one million pounds which wasn’t too bad.
There was no parade on Armistice Day, as is usual; the poppies were sold. - The siren is blowing now - I will continue writing until any explosions are heard - mam is complaining about the shelter being cold (and saying nasty things about the Germans under her breath) I should say the sirens - as others have joined in. Mam has just gone out like a scarecrow - carrying blankets, rugs, scarves etc. into the shelter.
I must close now as I have run out of news-
A Merry Xmas
And
A Happy New Year
Harold
P.S. Excuse style and mistakes as I have a headache, and I am not feeling extra good
28 November 1940
2 November 1940
56 Bond Street
Monkwearmouth
Sunderland
2 Nov 1940
Dear Angela
You may have noticed that my writing is worse than usual, you must excuse it, as I have a black and blue finger nail and I have to hold my pen between my thumb and second finger. I hurt my finger when I was drilling some holes with an electric drill on some staging about 10 ft from the ground, my foot slipped, I slipped and then the drill slipped; the result was me hanging by one foot, with a sore finger, and my arm burnt a little by the hot drill. I have been working for over a fortnight now, and am quite used to the hours now. We make ships engines and repair them, but we do get other repair jobs in. We all stopped work last Wednesday to see a ship launched in the next yard to ours, it was a wonderful sight as I was quite close to it as it slipped down (or should I say “her” and “she”). I will give you a rough idea of my work, sometimes I help the engineers on the machines when they are doing fine work (i.e. to 1 ⁄1000”) but if it is fairly rough work on the drill or lathe I do it myself; I like to help to “mark off”, that is put the measurements and marks on the rough casting, it is very interesting and full of mathematics. I felt very important the other day when I was given a labourer to help me, this meant that I was telling a man what to do! I also felt quite proud when a ship went out of the river and I had helped to make part of her engines. Well so much for work, I think I will be sorry to leave it next year to go to University, but, I prefer to be clean.
We have had a few raids lately but not very near, I can now sleep through a whole night of gunfiring without bothering about it. Our air-raid shelter is just about completed, but it will not stop a direct hit.
I bet you have a good time in the “lab”, I used to enjoy it very much. I can remember the time I once tried to filter conc. Acid and the filter paper just disappeared. When I have time I still read on the modern discoveries about the structure of the atom, radium and isotopes etc but I liked the “messing around” in the lab better. My new subject is Engine Drawing, it is altogether new to me, my first mark was 6/10 for a half finished drawing, my others were 9/10 and 8/10 so I don’t think I am doing too bad.
I haven’t much time for sport, but I play table tennis every Saturday night, I am not very good but it is a little relaxation.
I went to see a parade this afternoon, it was for “armaments” week, there were the three forces; tanks, searchlights; and an undamaged Messerschmidt was on view.
We are hearing plenty about your election but I don’t think we quite understand its importance as we have the King and Queen as the first persons in the country. It must take a lot of thinking out to select your candidate as they both seem so promising.
The girl next door has been teaching me how to dance, but I don’t seem to have made enough progress to go to a big dance yet - I may some day as miracles still happen! I went to a Halloween Party last Wednesday (it was early as most of us had to attend evening classes) there were the usual turnips and spooks etc and I had a go at a dance or two but not with an extra lot of success.
If you have a friend who wished to correspond with someone in England here is one of my pal’s address
Mr Harry Royal
73 Newbold Avenue
Newcastle Road
Sunderland
Co. Durham
It is drawing in dark now (6.00 p.m.) and it will soon be dark at 4 p.m. I hate this as we have no lights at all and it takes hours to go a short distance. Everyone will be glad when the winter is over, I hope it will not be like last year, but war is war and we must take what comes.
I must close now, hoping you will excuse the writing and terrible style, but I have some maths to do after this and not much time to do them in.
I remain
Yours sincerely
Harold
17 August 1940
56 Bond Street
Sunderland
17 Aug
Dear Angela
Please excuse me for not writing before now, but I have just returned from a week at camp. We were out in the wilds of the Pennines. The weather behaved itself fairly well and only rained once, when we were seven miles from camp on the moors! The cooking was much better than last years, we even tried a fruit pudding made of wild fruits which we had gathered. We also helped the country by working on the farm, my hand are tender now, because of the hay forks - but I will get over it.
The results have not been published yet and my chances of passing seem to be getting smaller each day - but I am still hoping!
Dad and I have just returned from the “battlefield” that is where the last bombs were dropped when I was at camp. I believe you asked me what it was like in an air raid, well I can tell you much better now as I have been in one. It was last Friday, I was just retuning from the swimming baths and when I reached the middle of the bridge a terrible crash and a great red flash came from the end of the bridge - only fifty yards away, a few seconds afterwards another crash and flash came from a timber yard below the bridge – I saw the black pieces of shrapnel flying, then I ran for shelter. “He” dropped fourteen bombs, killing four people and wounding about sixty. The latest raid was last Thursday when I was at camp. About 150 planes approached our coast, our fighters went out and brought over 40 down before the raiders reached the coast, the total of Germans brought down here was 52. Out of 1,000 planes over England 169 were shot down. About 40 bombs must have been dropped and we have just been touring about ten wrecked houses and some bomb holes in the roads. Only four were killed and about ten wounded. In “his” first raid military objects were bombed, but not in his second as only houses were hit. These raids were during the day, we also have many at nights when the convoys are attacked, but little damage has been done by these. Well so much for that, we are quite confident of our fighter planes and A.A. guns.
We have started a “Spitfire” fund in Sunderland. It is a fund to gather £5,000 to buy a “Spitfire”. Everyone is selling old things, having concerts, raffles etc to raise money. One man has already given £10,000 to buy two planes. Many other towns are doing this in order to replace the fighters we have lost.
Mam has had a busy time lately as she has been allowed extra sugar to make jam with. We have had a busy time too - taking samples. We have started to take the rationing as a matter of course now, it seemed very little at first but with care it lasts out.
Well I must close now - hoping you will excuse this letter being so full of “war”, it is the only thing we have to think of over here. Please excuse the muddled style and writing but it is very hot here and my blistered hands don’t seem to have been made for a pen.
I remain your war weary, but, never been hit correspondent
Harold
23 July 1940 -Middleham Church and Northallerton Church
Monkwearmouth
Sunderland
23rd July
Dear Angela
Please excuse this late answer, but your letter arrived during my exams, and as I had left all my work until the night before I had not time to write. The “ordeal” began on the 11th July and ended on the 19th, I was very unlucky as I had to take the most exams, that was eighteen papers for eight subjects. The three art papers were fairly easy, the “object” was a polished saucepan, two plates, a table napkin and two wooden spoons in 1½ hrs; the “memory” was a drinking trough for animals which had to be drawn once, and then in a different position with a group of suitable objects; the third paper was a piece of embroidered cloth. Well so much for that. I am going to enjoy myself during the seven weeks before the results are published.
I suppose you will have seen by now that I am home again, it is great to be here for a while. I will probably have to return to Northallerton in a few weeks time. I will be able to take it easy for a year as my next exam doesn’t come until 1942. I intend to send you a school “mag” with this, or this with a mag. if I remember You will notice that it is a fairly “stiff” affair, it is censored by the masters and therefore no “skits” can be put in; my poem was rejected because it was said to be insulting to the Board of Education, but I don’t believe it! I am afraid I am not mentioned much in it, I should have been on the cross-country team photo, but I was not told when it was to be taken. My cross-country running is very poor anyway. You will probably find one or two boys who are writing to correspondents near you; you will also find one or two mistakes in my sketches, I have found plenty, but too late. You can judge the rest on its merits, N.B. III is the lowest form and U VI is the highest. If I remember I will also enclose one or two sketches, which most “critics” think and rightly too, are just moderate.(PS Don’t notice the shadows, they are just to hold the thing together).
I thought that the dress of the boys would surprise you, - that is just how we go to school - some schools enforce a cap and blazer, but ours doesn’t. It is much too cold out here to go without coats and with open necks, I only wish we could. I am afraid I have been unlucky again, my French correspondent has followed my German one, I can’t write to him because he is in enemy country now. His last letter was quite cheerful, he was certain of victory and boasted of his two brothers who were in a tank at the front.
If you haven’t realised by now I will tell you - I am still alive! (this is an official secret) in other words the bomb with my name on it hasn’t been dropped yet. During the first raid about six bombs were dropped within two miles of us, nothing happened except a few thuds and the windows rattling. We had a few visits after that but not many bombs. He was at Sunderland a while ago and put a few holes in some fields and damaged some houses on the cliff, but no-one was hurt. He dropped two, about a mile away, on Friday night, and another on Sunday night. Everyone is fairly calm and we just sit and chat in the shelters.
I was going to have agreat holiday this year but I doubt it now. I had set my mind on playing tennis by the end of it, but I will have to learn another year. All sea bathing is stopped because of barbed wire fencing, and only the smallest swimming bath is open. My trip to London is off because of all this trouble, so I will just have to laze around and get fat. I feel terrible, having nothing to do and far too much time to do it in, as a last resort I may try and find a girlfriend, but not just yet!
I suppose you will have heard all about Dunkirk and Petain, but it can’t be helped. One of my uncles was in Dunkirk and had to leave when the position became impossible. Most of the towns were full of B.E.F. men after the evacuation of France, they were given about a fortnight to recover.
Well I must close now, hoping you will excuse writing and spelling.
Yours sincerely until paper becomes stationary
Harold
