Letter to his mother Ellen in Oakwood, Ferriby, Yorkshire, dated 15th March 1942:

Dear Mum,
several letters from you since I last wrote, the latest dated 12.2.42. Also received Iris’s novel for which many thanks. November parcel has yet to arrive, likewise any tobacco parcels, but one lives in hopes. My most needed articles that perhaps you can send in future are razor blades, shaving soap, tooth powder, brush, and of course chocolate, if it's still procurable. I have ordered a new set of uniform from my tailor, so if there’s no existing regulations at home prohibiting the making of service dress you should be shortly receiving a parcel from Meyer and Mortimer. Will you please enclose the contents in my next clothing parcel. I have arranged with my bank to pay the bill. I have an old service jacket at Altwood House. I’m sure it is much too small. First day of Spring today. It is really quite warm, though there is still a lot of snow to melt away. I think it must have been a longer winter than usual this year. Thousands of migratory birds have been passing over during the last four days and the nights have been made noisy by the large winged homebred species! I can’t think of any books I’m badly in need of at the moment, but I’ll send you a list if I do. With love to yourself and the family from Clive.

Letter to his mother Ellen in Oakwood.... dated 30th May 1942:

Dear Mum,
your most recent letter at the time of writing is the 16th April. I’m glad your operation is over and you are getting on well. I trust you have had better weather for convalescing in that we have had here. Hardly a descent day this spring. We are trying to start cricket but the rain has washed out most fixtures to date. I shall never, never again complain about the English weather; it is most consistent compared to most I’ve seen during the last two years of the Continental climate! Every room here has its own little allotment garden and the camp has been very busy planting what seeds that have been providable. My room has planted enough potatoes for about two meals! The radish, lettuce, parsnip crops should produce larger returns, we are hoping! Vik’s parcels and Non’s cigarettes are now coming through as I think I have mentioned before. Your Feb clothes parcel should be arriving any time now, unless it is going to be as delayed as the Nov one, which I think was 6 months. This however was exceptional. I am afraid I can find ever less to say than usual. Outside the exterior world there seems nothing to comment upon. And to do this is usually verboten! My best regards to Mrs W Wright If you are still with her.
Clive

Letter to his mother Ellen in Oakwood...., dated 19th August 1942:

Dear Mum,
I have not written for over two weeks because the German authorities recently stopped all incoming and outgoing mail, in reprisal, it is said, for the over-dilatory post between Germany and its POWs! However, the order has been rescinded temporarily anyway, and so we are able to write again. Letters are coming with the Camp once more and I received yours of 17.7.42 the day before yesterday. I’m glad you’ve been able to make the Red X see reason and shall be very grateful for the uniform. We’ve had several meals of potatoes and turnips from our allotment – the most filling of our crops – and of course quite a few lettuces and radishes, but the soil at our end of the camp is very poor – all the goodness seems to have run down to the lower ground – and the quantity and quality of the produce suffers in consequence. – I miss the cinema here. We’ve had one or two films shown on a small projector and expect to have another one in the near future, but the films of course are not of our choosing. – After a cold, rainy summer till date, we are now enjoying a heatwave, but for how long I should not like to prophesy after all this miserable weather we’ve experienced! We’ve played a certain amount of stump cricket between the showers.
Clive

Letter to his mother Ellen Jacob in Fort Hill, Barnstable, Devon, dated 9th November 1942:


Dear Mum,
No letters from you for the last 6 weeks until the last few days when I have received three, the latest dated 18.10.41 from Edinburgh. The July clothes parcel arrived about a fortnight ago and also 350 cigarettes from Mrs Chanter – please thank her – and four days ago a food parcel arrived from Katie in Portugal. No, the Harrod’s cigarette parcels have not started to trickle in yet, but I expect they will be in due course. For future parcels toothpaste, shaving soap, blades etc are greatly in demand. (a line blocked out by the censor) Have done very little writing recently, it is very nearly impossible at present there being no silent rooms but we hope to obtain some in the near future. Have played some Majong in the evenings, there are two or three sets in the camp. 8 degrees of frost today but the really cold weather is yet to come and a heavy snowfall. I imagine the climate here approximates to the Danish, so the snows will probably have come by Xmas. Katie writes of a warm sun and a pleasant existence in Lisbon. Old Mrs Brice seems to have stood up to their many vicitudes reasonable well. – No I doubt whether many will manage a trip to Edinburgh just now. She appears very busily occupied at the infirmary in Inverness. Her father is the QM at the depot where I first met her. I certainly intend being in Scotland for at least the summer after the war – after then?
Clive