12 Jan 1941

56 Bond St
Sunderland

12.1. 194(0)1

Dear Angela
Please excuse the first mistake, but I have not got used to the New Year yet. You must also excuse me for being late with your birthday greetings, I intended to write just before Xmas but I am afraid that I forgot in the Xmas rush.
I am glad that Xmas is over, it may seem funny but in my fortnight’s vacation from Evening Classes I had to work overtime every night but two, and after that I had parties until early morning. My friend came up from London and we certainly had a good time with all the parties and the snow.
We have not had a raid for about six weeks now but, now that the snow has gone we may get something. The snow came just after Xmas, I would have liked it at Xmas as it seems to be a more real Xmas.
I am still enjoying work although there is too much of it. We got our Xmas exam results in Engineering and I was top - it seems I must be suited for Engineering. Well I only have until May for Evening Classes now and then a rest until September when I start College. I only hope that your reports have been as good as mine. When will you have to leave school and think about work? I feel having to stay at home when others are in the forces, but mam will not let me join up because of spoiling my future (if I have any). I suppose I will just have to wait until I am called up (if the war lasts).
I was reading about the building of the suspension bridge at San Francisco, it was a marvellous piece of engineering and must be lovely to see. One of the lecturers at the College helped to build our bridge and I am looking forward to meeting him.
I haven’t done any sketching for a while now. My last attempt was a water colour of Hylton Castle, it was fairly good from a distance - but close up it was all splashes. I intend to go to Durham sometime and if I remember I will send you a photo of the Cathedral or perhaps a sketch (if it turns out OK). It’s a pity that so many of Wrens churches have been bombed, I have read a good few books on them. St Paul’s must be wonderful as the dome is kept together by large chains inside the walls. What are the oldest buildings in America? I don’t suppose you will have as many or as old, historic places as we have, but you must have some.
I was promoted at Sunday School to-day - I was made a teacher. I have a class of five, two girls and three boys, who are eight and nine years old. I am looking forward to a hectic time telling them stories.
I am afraid that I have no more news to say as I am not answering a letter, but just sending you birthday greetings. I hope you will excuse them being so late.
I close hoping you have had a good time at Xmas and that you will have one during this year.
Yours sincerely
Harold
P.S. Enclosed is an Australian stamp

28 November 1940

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

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

13 October 1940 - War censorship in action!

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