H.M.S. Gloucester
C/o G.P.O.

July 14^th

Dear Mother.

V. many thanks for your letter- I’ll send Topher’s trousers back now because I expect mine will arrive to-night. We have just come back from being at sea for a couple of days – nothing doing out there though – the weather was quite nice and it did us good I think as we have’nt moved for sometime!

I heard from Ted – so he has passed his board- I wonder when he will go out – and Wiggy is going out too- I do hope he gets on all right & comes home safely. So Ruth has had some leave too – well I’m sure she deserves it. Yes how you must have laughed over Harry Tate – even your description made me laugh like any thing-

We are still in Quarantine for Hun measles – I told you we had them did’nt I –another of us went down with it 2 days ago – awful nuisance, as it was the very last day of our first quarantine.

Simply splendid Ian H’s despatch I think & of course we knew all the landing places & various spots he mentioned fairly well, which made it all the more interesting.

Poor old Dreda. She is working hard – she told me she hated the sight of pen & paper to write letters. I can quite imagine it.

There is ever so little news – with much love to you all – ever your loving son

Paul

Harry Tate was a music hall comedian – http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Ancestry/Tate.htm