Sent by:Dot Butler
Sent to:Tom Butler
Sent from:Boars Hill Oxfordshire
Date of letter:1 February 1941
"He is always talking about when Daddy comes home and I always get him to look at your photo in the kitchen when he talks of his Daddy so that he won't forget you."
My grandfather kept all the letters that my grandmother sent him during the war, I now have them all. I also have my grandfathers photographs from North Africa and Burma.
Transcript:
My Dear Husband,
The above title may help you to remember you have a Wife & Son. I have just written one letter to you which I propose to send with a parcel to you. I don't know when or if you will ever get it. But when you do get it you'll realize, I HOPE just how I feel as I sit here writing to you tonight. Well it is off my chest anyway so now I'll try and write as I usually do Although it'll be a hard job. Clive [unclear] a lovely boy now he talks beautifully now and it is quite easy to have quite a conversation with him. He pronounces most of his words quite correctly and is most particular about everything being just so. Now when he goes to bed he has to take his Bunny, the big one mummy, Granny Ben gave him, and his big doggy, also from mummy and a little rubber doll and the other morning he was cuddling them in my bed and he said "Mummy look at Clive's family". He did look a picture. I'm afraid he now calls me Dot but how can I be cross with him when he puts two little arms round my neck and says "Dear Dot, Clive loves Dot, cuddle Dot". Who could be cross? Not his mummy anyway. He is always talking about when Daddy comes home and I always get him to look at your photo in the kitchen when he talks of his Daddy so that he won't forget you. The other day I got one of your silk scarves and put it on him as it so cold and I said this is Daddy's, ask Daddy if you can borrow it and he looked up at your photo and said "Please Daddy can Clive have your scarf". I could have cried, this morning too he was saying when Daddy comes home he'll take coat off and stay home.
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English (UK)