May 14/18

Dear Mother

Supposed to be mail day tomorrow but they are so erratic that it really does’nt matter much. We have had no mails in yet of course, as it’s only 10 days or so since our last one, though I believe one has arrived in Bombay.

You will probably have heard from Jim & how he had to go to hospital with sandfly fever, but he is all right again now & ‘phoned me today to say he was leaving the hospital tomorrow. I did’nt even know he had gone there till he had been there 2 days, & then one of the students on the class said he had seen his name there so I rung up & found out. I went & saw him once or twice there & he seemed very fit each time & had got over the worst of it, but I was too busy to go oftener. However he’s all right now & I expect I’ll see him tomorrow.

I’m all right again too now & am back to work once more. I had 3 days in bed last week, but I could’nt spare any more as there’s such lots to do on this class & there are only 3 of us instructors.

Warmer now & the hot weather has fairly started, but it’s quite bearable at present. And a week ago, when I had fever an’ all, I was wearing the old Shetland & sleeping under a blanket!

I’m longing to get the next mail as it ought to have accounts of Ben’s wedding & of old Nell too. You did just write a wee line to say it went off all right & Nell looked thin, but I hope for more details later.

What wonderful things the Navy has been doing has’nt it, I think it’s truly marvellous, and I am so glad they’ve had a chance to show some definite results to the public. It was really magnificent the blocking of Zeebrugge & Ostend harbours. I do hope it will materially affect the submarines & you’ll be able to get more food now.

You poor folk at home are getting very little to eat I’m afraid & not very nourishing at that. I do hope things are better now. What awful prices things are too & the meat allowance seems ridiculously small. So sorry to hear Nance has jaundice, lucky she was home as you say & not stuck up in rooms at Queensferry.

Yes, those cuttings about Hit I got allright. You will know by now that we were in that show, & chased the Turk for miles & miles after the battle of Khan Baghdadi. You saw I expect that “our troops have occupied Ana” well we got right up to there, simply miles & miles ahead of anybody! We did’nt have much fighting, but we had a strenuous time on the whole, but it was quite good fun. There has been more rounding up of Turks up the other side, but of course I was’nt in that.

A lovely parcel came from you 2 or 3 days ago with soap & bath salts & chocolate, thanks awfully. I gave one of the pieces of soap to Jim in hospital. I got a line from the Mess president to say the F & M boxes had arrived & were very much appreciated. He said he was writing to you.

I must get ready some work for tomorrow. We get up at 5 every day, outdoor work 6-9, indoor (lectures etc) 10-30 -1, & preparation for next day during the afternoon, so we are pretty busy, especially in this climate!

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Ted

If Nancy was living some of the time “in rooms in Queensferry” that means Paul was probably at Rosyth. I would dearly love to know if they lived in North Queensferry or South Queensferry. North would be nearer Rosyth, South is more usually referred to as “Queensferry” or “the ‘Ferry”. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeebrugge_Raid