Hello darling;

Well dear here it is Thursday afternoon and as usual I am doing nothing and thought I would write you and let you know the latest and I have certainly done a lot since last writing you.
Well I am working, or should I say hanging around another place now. I am out in the R.C.A.F Tobacco depot now and what a joke it is. I do about 10 minutes or work a day and we have every afternoon from 12:30 off. I figured out that the government pays me about $53 a week for that 10 minutes every morning. I reported out here on Tuesday morning and applied for a leave as soon as I arrived. They said you are not wasting any time so I more or less told them I am not the least bit interested in the R.C.A.F and just want to get home.
At any rate it seemed to work and I start my leave on Friday the 1st of March. I was only told that this morning so I have not had time to tell your Aunt and Uncle that I will be coming and since I will be leaving on Saturday I thought I would phone my Aunt in Birmingham and tell her to expect me first for a couple of days and then I would be off to see your Aunt and Uncle.
Well I am living at a place that is about a 10 minute walk from work so that is really handy. They are certainly swell to me and they give me the run of the house, there is the lady and her husband who own the place, a girl about 9 or 10 and a little boy who is 3. She is quite a good cook and I really think I will do alright until I come home which cannot be soon enough for me. I figured that this would be my last leave anyway.
Last night I went to the local show as there is really not much to do around here, but I am going to take things easy from now on until I get home and I spend most of my evenings here in front of the fire. They want me to learn bridge so I can play at nights with them and since you and I will no doubt be entertaining ourselves when we get settled I figured I should learn how to play.
I received 4 of your letters, one from my mother and 1 from Percy all at once so had a great time reading them all. Percy certainly thinks Donna is quite cute little thing and thinks that she takes after you which tickled me pink darling.
Well how is the weather back there as it is rather cold here but nice and bright today. We had a little snow 2 days ago but it has already melted. I went into town yesterday morning to pick up my bag and saw quite a bit of London. By the time you receive this I will be in ” Bonnie Aberdeen” Tell Pop Booth that I plan on sampling some real old Scotch whiskey in the near future.
I am going into town this afternoon to get my suit pressed and to pick up my laundry. By the way dear, I was thinking that we could go to Montreal some weekend when I am back and on my leave, you have never been there and I think it would be a wonderful trip for us.
So keep the old chin up dear as I hope to be home soon and from your very best husband as always,
All my love,

Bill

XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX

Hello dearest;

Well here I am again, Friday night at 11 PM and I have jus come in from a walk, there was Marv, Kenny and myself, they are the other 2 fellows that I came to London with. We went downtown to see what it was like at night. I was rather disappointed as it was almost as quite as Toronto (the good). We went down Piccadilly which was supposed to be pretty wild but it was like Danforth Ave.
What has surprised me about London is the number of taxis, there are literally thousands running around and most of them are about 10 years old, ou take you life in your hands every time you cross the street. We see free pictures at the Canadian Legion every night. Wednesday night I saw Wonder Man and last night I stayed in at the club. Tomorrow night we will take in a free stage show, they say they are pretty good and there are as many stage shows as there are theatres in London. Sunday morning we are taking a conducted tour around London and in the afternoon we are going to a museum. There is lots to do and see and I am going to make the most of my short (I hope) stay here.
Did you know that I have not had any mail for 14 days. I know that it is not your fault, as they have just lost track of me and where I am. But I am going to smartem them up on Monday and also try and get some leave. Oh by the way I have an address of a firm in Scotland that makes kilts, they cost 5 pounds each or about $23 and also you can order them by mail, all you have to do is give them the measurements so let me know what you think dear.
Gosh I hear more rumours around headquarters then I ever heard in Bournemouth. I do not listen to any of them and I am not saying anything to you about when I should be coming home as I frankly do not know. If you were only here with me dearest we would hvae a wonderful time.
I am still living int he Salvation Army hostel, but I expect to get a place to live on Monday or Tuesday. The weather here is quite mild but it is not bright at here at all. I have not seen any more than a couple of hours of sunshine since I have been here. It has been a year since I started my embarkation leave and I cannot believe where the time has gone. I hold on to the idea that we will all be together soon and that lovely idea is what keeps me going through these cloudy days.
Well dear, I will leave it here, so as always I love you from the bottom of my heart and please give Donna a kiss from her old Daddy.
Love as always,

Bill

XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX – for Donna

Hello darling;

I am sorry dear that I have not written sooner but I have been trying to get hold of some of those air mail forms and I just managed to get one at this club. Darling the transfer out of Bournemouth was so fast and disorganized that I really only had the chance to telegram you letting you know I was on the move. So here I am now reporting from London.
Well I have been in London for 4 days now and I am now a little more used to it. I am working in the War Crimes Commission Section and as there is lots of work to do the time seems to go faster. The R.C.A.F headquarters here is a large department store we have taken over. It was called Harrods before. It is quite a nice building.
I am still staying at the Salvation Army Hotel as we have not been able to get another place to live as yet although I think we will be getting another place on Monday. It takes us about 15 minutes on the underground to get to work, it is certainly a very efficient system.
Well let me see what I have been doing. Saturday we went to the show and Sunday we went tot he zoo in the afternoon and I really enjoyed it. They have every animal in the world at this place, and it is in regents Place. Sunday night I stayed at the Canadian Legion Club and saw a swell picture, that is where I am writing from now. They are showing Danny Kaye’s “Wonder Man” tonight so we are staying for that. Tomorrow night the Brauer Club is closing and we are going to go as they are having a real big “do” and I imagine that they will make a news real of it, so keep your eye open at the show and you might even see me in the background.
I do not like London as much as |I thought I would but if you were here dearest I would just think it is grand. By the way I happened to see Tom Bradheers’ file and he has a little girl, she was born 5 months after he was married……ahem….
Well dear as yet no further news on when I will be on that old boat back home. They are up to number 82 now and my number is 88 but that does not mean anything if they need you.
I hear so many rumours every day that I really do not believe anyone anymore just what I read officially. They guy that I chum around with is from Toronto, he is married and his wife lives there. He was married only 3 months before he came overseas. He is like me and we get along quite well. I think he thinks about his wife back home as much as I think about you darling.
Well this is you London reporter saying so long to his very well wife and as always,
With all my love,

Bill

XXXXXX
XXXXXX