Hello Sweetheart,
This will be my last letter to you from Cyprus and to tell you the truth I am very glad it is. Time is passing so quickly now that I hardly have time to sit down and think.
Today has been very eventful in that I started the clearance procedure from the station. This entails wandering around with a blue chit and having my name crossed off various registers etc. I have handed in all my K.D. uniform to stores, so it only remains for me to pack up and go.
Hello,
Sorry that I haven’t written for some time but have been kept extremely busy what with one thing or another.
Our touring the island trip over the weekend went off marvellously. I think that I will always remember those few days.
On the first day we went up to the Troodos Mountains stopping at a village called Platres. It is a charming place, set in excellent surroundings. A place where visitors to Cyprus always head. We had a few drinks and a walk around noting the cool mountain streams that seemed to rush from the pine covered mountains above, down through the village on for an unknown destination. The effect of such a spot seems to bestow peace on oneself.
Hello darling,
It’s me again with even less days to the great day. Received another masterpiece from you this morning. It certainly put me in a fine mood. xx
Went swimming this afternoon down by the rocks. It was pretty rough there but being a brave, dashing (lying) fool I ventured in. I’ve got courage I haven’t even used yet. By the way, perhaps you ought to widen the door at your house – my head, you know, big, very big!
Hello beautiful,
That’s the way to start a letter, with a good honest remark. Another good honest remark is this ‘ere erk will set foot in Essex in just twenty one days time. Am feeling very happy with life just now. All the time I can imagine myself holding you once again. You know Maureen, it’s not my father, friends or relations I am looking forward to, just Maureen Brown, that girl of my dreams. Xx
Hello darling,
Only another twenty-three days before this frustrated airman is let loose on English soil again. I don’t suppose I need to tell you that your buddy is very excited about seeing you again even more so after receiving your latest charming letter.
Hello again,
Here I am as per usual pondering on how to let you know the good news in the most amount of pages. Should reach at least six pages tonight provided I write a load of uninteresting rubbish.
Hello darling,
It’s a hot sunny day. I’ve about 50 days to do in the RAF and I have to reply to about 40 odd pages of your latest letters. That is the general situation at the moment and the only thing worrying in me is what to write about.
Hello darling,
It’s pretty warm here this evening. What with that and the soft romantic music being played over the steam radio, well, it’s a perfect atmosphere for love and all that. Wish you were right here now Maureen. We could pop down to the beach for a midnight swim.
Hello again,
Maureen thanks a lot for your most informative, interesting and extremely pleasing letter. It has had me wishing twice as hard that the next forty-five days would soon be just a memory of the past. I must congratulate you on being amazingly frank and to the point at all times – you are quite a girl in my book.
Hello darling,
Thinks! About time I wrote but have a good excuse because life is pretty interesting in this area just lately. Since this Kuwait business started, thousands of soldiers have passed though this camp bound for the trouble spot. They have been arriving from all parts of the island and seem to be heavily armed. Some of them even pitched tents on the bondu outside the billet overnight before they went.
Hi!,
This is that man of yours attempting another masterpiece, says he. Maureen, did I ever tell you that you are beautiful? Well, darling, you are. And after these very original lines I’ll continue.
You know for a girl who says she hasn’t much to write about, you wade through a hell of a lot of pages, tell me dear, what is your secret? Perhaps you drink Horlicks with a dash of gin, immediately before retiring for the night/morning or something.
Darling Maureen,
This the great egg eater reporting from a little ol’ island at the end of the Med on the left hand side. How are you my pet, looking forward to your holiday I bet (poetry!)
The past week has been pretty fair in many ways. First and most important was a charming ‘little’ letter plus some very attractive photographs from a certain young lady from Dagenham.
My Dear Maureen
Hello sweetheart. How’s my favourite girl today?
My conscience tells me to write but the darn thing doesn’t tell me what to write about. However, we shall see.
Had an entertainments meeting last Friday morning. It was called mainly to arrange the details for the forthcoming barbeque which will probably be held on the 30th. it seems this barbeque will be a great success. Can you imagine it, a warm starry night in June with soft music and dancing going on.
Darling Maureen,
Well chico, you’ve certainly been putting in plenty of overtime with that pen of yours and thanks a lot for such first class letters. I reckon to having to reply to at least thirty five pages but guess you’ll have to make do with the five unless I have a good old brainstorm.
One of my best friends has just returned from UK leave and last night he was almost insistent that he should buy me a drink at the NAAFI. I knew very well what to expect from him and after a couple he began spouting out his experiences and love affairs during his leave.
My Dear Maureen,
Went swimming this morning by Lady’s Mile Beach and it was really a morning well spent. If you are wondering what or rather how I managed to escape work, well it’s just a little thing called leave, all three days of it. Some of the Squadron lads are working down by the Water Ski Club so I had door-to-door transport there and back, so to speak. Arrived down there just after seven in a Landrover and after finding myself a neat little spot amongst the sand dunes went straight into the cool, cool water. It was wonderful. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was more than hot as the morning drew on.
Hello darling,
It was real good to hear from you again so thanks a lot for writing all them there pages. Believe me Maureen I’ve been feeling like a new man these past few days. When I received your letter it seemed like a dream or something. Anyway darling I want you to know I still and always did think that you are the tops for me.
Darling,
Your letter came as rather a shock, yet strangely enough I am not annoyed with you in any way. Although we may have stopped writing to each other I am sure our love is still there, perhaps hidden for a few months.
Darling Maureen,
Had a fabulous time down in little ol’ Limasol last night. Was feeling a bit depressed sitting in the billet and the Station Dance didn’t sound so attractive after all, so this ‘ere guy collects a few rusting airmen from the comfort of our ‘home’ and away we went. We went to a bar called Andy Capps but we weren’t too keen on it there, so we moved on to the Supermarket. This place was only recently built and boasts a fine club for members only. However, we bowled in and ordered drinks.
The recent excitement on the world scene centres on our friend Dr Castro in dear ol’ Cuba. So far he says he is beating the rebels. The rebels of course insist they are winning and are sending aircraft over Havana to drop a bomb here and there. Personally I think that Castro has the power to crush them but am hoping that it doesn’t turn out that way. He is reported to be a ruthless character who believes in that latest sport – ‘firing squad’.
Darling,
Anyone for tennis? And all that jazz. This afternoon yours truly took up his racquet for a few sets of this large type ping-pong game. It was pretty good as well, in fact we quite enjoyed it and have made arrangements for a further game later this week. It was fairly warm so we discarded our white shirts so as to catch some more suntan on our pink bodies. ‘We,’ meaning Cliff and myself, played three sets which lasted over one and a half hours all together. Mind you, we weren’t so fit by then. Felt like dropping sometimes but it was a good game. I think that I have played more tennis than him.
Darling,
Have just got myself a jug of Ovaltine and will now try to write 20 pages or so. (says I with tongue in cheek). It’s gonna be awkward because this boyo hasn’t a clue what to write about. I suppose you must have gathered that by now. I do try to write as many pages as possible about nothing in particular. Reckon it must be good training in case the Daily Mirror require my services as their editor or something.
Darling,
Hello Maureen. How are you today? Recovered from your exhaustive weekend I hope. Don’t suppose you could have been more tired as I was first thing Monday morning. Suppose it’s my own fault for playing too much football on Sunday.
Monday was quite a day because the kind sergeant was good enough to let yours truly have the afternoon off.
Darling,
Have many pages to fill but nothing to fill them because not much happens here. No dancing because there aren’t many females in these ‘ere parts. Still we have a fair ol’ time now and again. Just as well really because that’s when the time really flies.
The news this week was the arrival of the Sabres of the Turkish Air Force. Two squadrons flew in earlier this week. They look ok but their formation flying was very ragged. Must remember to drop a line to the Turkish Air Marshall about it.
Darling,
Right now on this hot dusty day the Platters are singing ‘Only You’. Spring is in the air and all that. Everything would be near perfect if only I was sitting in the back garden of ** Parsloes Avenue with you.
These past few days have been pretty good. All us lads have been sun-bathing, playing cards, swigging beer and in general having an easy life. Saturday we had a little game of football but the lads soon packed up because they thought it meant too much running around in the heat.
Darling,
It’s a very hot day today. Not a cloud in the deep blue sky. This morning was spent as per the top social circle of Cyprus, namely washing and ironing. It’s all the rage nowadays. Must be the weather.
Darling,
Have managed to wangle a few hours off this afternoon so now I have a fine opportunity to write quietly and undisturbed by those well-known charlies commonly known as airmen. What could be more common than that? – you dare! Should have written this masterpiece yesterday really but what with one thing and another things didn’t work out that way.
Hello darling.
Thanks a lot for those photographs. They are mighty good, man. Had they been a bit lighter they would have been even better but I’m not complaining one bit. Received your (my) letters on Monday and Wednesday so I’ve been pretty chuffed these past few days.
Darling,
Am writing this on a quite Sunday morning in dear old Akrotiri. The fact that it is quiet is due to the ‘Sunday Morning Lie-in For Airman Association’ which has a membership of some two thousand airman every Sunday until about noon. Only trouble is, your Alan hasn’t a clue what to write about so, like always I’ll press on regardless. Think you must agree this is a very original way to start a letter, but why worry, it’s Sunday.
Darling,
Thanks for everything, your present, the card the letter, and just everything. Maureen, you really are a darling. You know, you’re terrific, just great in fact. I’m not just flattering you because I feel it’s the right thing to do but because I really do love you very much and when you do these sort of things I just burst.
Darling,
Have just finished yet another game of whist and I’m happy to say fortune has swollen by yet another shilling. With all this cash I’m raking in I will be able to buy myself a Comet so I can pop over to Dagenham every weekend. It was amusing tonight because the two guys we were playing with began to lose their tempers over each other’s play. Each blaming the other for the way the cards were going. We, meaning Paddy and myself are back as a team in this partner whist game and really going strong.
