This letter is from my father Richard to his brother. He was stationed in Egypt at the time and fought at El Alamein which was around the time the letter was written in October 1942 as you can see by the date stamp.
I find the line “I am in the desert. It isn’t so bad” particularly understated and stoical and typical of my father who would never speak of the war. After his death we were told he also took part in the liberation of the notorious Bergen Belsen camp.
He wrote it on discovering that his brother Joseph, who was known by his middle name Tom, had gotten married. Tom had been in the Royal Navy but transferred to the Air Force.
The brothers were very close and my father was sad that he had missed Tom and Kit’s wedding. My father went on to marry my mum Ellen who was Kit’s sister Liz’s best friend. The brothers worked together for many years after the war on Surrey Docks in London.
The original letter was discovered by my cousin in a cupboard when they were clearing the house out several years ago.
