Letters 1917
Thursday 12.4.17.
Dearest Evelyn and George
I hope you are both quite well and happy. I am living in a tent on the edge of a wood where there are foxes and jays and magpies but no Germans. It is very cold and wet and there is snow on the ground, it is so cold that the flowers cannot come out and the birds cannot sing. George would like being here, it is a great pity he cannot come but I will bring him next time I come home. I hope you are good to your Mother and look after her well for me when I come back. Pat Don and kick Sergeant Green from me.
Your affectionate Father
Thusday 19.4.17.
My dearest George and Evelyn
Many thanks for your two nice letters and pictures in them, I hope you will both write to me again. Major Watson is here with me and sends you his love. We have got a new Coronel he is very nice.
It is very cold here and the leaves have not begun to come on the trees, it is more like winter than spring. We wish it would be warmer. How is Don, has he killed any more lambs. How many goldfish died? Has the pond been mended yet. I have a horse now called ‘Jerry’ it is very thin and it’s ears hang down and it can hardly carry me. With love and kisses to you both.
From Daddy.
Sunday 13.5.17.
Dearest Evelyn and George
Many thanks for your nice letters and pictures which I liked very much. You are good little children to write to me. Have you found any bird’s nests yet, I have been looking for them here but I cannot find any with eggs in them.
I am living with the General now, he is a very nice man and while I am with him the Germans will not shoot me which is a good thing. I am glad Don is quite well, how are the young fox cubs have you seen them yet?
With love from
Daddy
Wednesday 30.5.17
Wednesday 30.5.17
Monday 4.6.17.
Dear Evelyn and George
When are you going to write me another letter. Perhaps you have forgotten who I am, or have you forgotten how to write. We are on a camp around a little farm where there are a little boy and girl about six and four years old, who look after the cows and calves for their Father and Mother. The shells are coming over all day and all night but they are not frightened. I wonder how George would like to be here? I hear the Bantam hen has hatched some chickens, is she looking after them properly. What new birds eggs have you found this year? Give my love to Don and be good children.
Your affectionate Father
Corncrake
Monday 18.6.17.
My dear George.
Many thanks for your letter and nice picture which I liked very much. You and Evelyn are quite good at drawing. I don’t think Mummy will be able to get you a tortoise as they are very scarce this year owing to the war. I believe they mostly come from Greece. It is a pity you cannot find the Corncrakes but they are very hard to find as they hide in the long grass, sometimes they find them when they are cutting the hay.
I hear you have given up your cot to the baby and have now got a bed like a big boy, which must be very nice for you.
I hope Don is quite well. Give him a pat from me and take him for a walk. I suppose you and Evelyn work hard in the garden every day and help Mummy.
With love from Daddy
Friday 20.7.17.
Dearest Evelyn
Many thanks for your nice letter and picture, also thank Don for his letter and give him a nice bone from me. It is very good of Don writing, how does he manage it. I hear George is riding very well now, it is a very good thing, we shall all be able to go riding together when I come home. There is a little boy in this house with long golden hair like a girl’s. He is three and a half years old and his Mother will not cut it off, I think I will some day when he is asleep.
Give your Mother a nice big kiss from me.
With love from Daddy
Tuesday 31.7.17.
My dearest Evelyn.
Thank you so much for your nice letter which came this afternoon. I hope the naughty jay was not eating our green peas, do you remember the one I shot last year, the wings were given to Mrs Wiggins. Your Mummy sent me some nice photographs of you and George with Peter, what a big girl you are getting. How well George rides now, tell him I said so, it will be very nice if we can all go riding together.
Tuesday 31.7.17.
My dearest George
Many thanks for your nice letter which came this afternoon. What do you mean when you say you eat blackbirds all day long? How do you catch them or do you shoot them with your bow and arrows. Are they cooked in a pie? Tuesday
I see you ride Peter, you look very well on him, probably you ride every day. Of course you are working very hard in the garden and helping your Mother to keep down the weeds. It must be very nice to be able to help her like that. We will go a ride together when I come home, I will ride Teevie and you can ride Peter or Tommy whichever you like. There is a big canal near here full of fish which the men catch and eat. They also swim in the canal. Give your Mummy a big kiss from me.
Every yours
Daddy
Friday 31.8.17.
My dearest George
I hope you are quite well. Has Miss Stokoe come back to give you lessons yet, I expect it is about time now. Mind you learn French quickly and then you can come over here to see me. There is a funny little railway which goes past this camp up to the trenches. I went up to the trenches today to see what they were like, the Germans have sown a lot of turnips and we are eating them every day, is it not a sell for them. There is a dear little green frog that lives in a shell hold near here I think you would like him for a pet. Give your Mummy a big kiss from me.
Your affectionate Daddy
Friday 31.8.17.
My dearest Evelyn
I hope you are quite well and happy and being good as usual. I left Mummy in London and went down to Dover whence we crossed to Calais, the sea was rather rough but I was not ill. We are going back to the trenches but the Germans here are not very naughty so we don’t mind. It is very wet and all the trenches are full of water which makes it bad for the men. George would not mind being here as it is fairly safe and there are plenty of green frogs for him to kiss. I would like to come back to you again and go for another ride together. Perhaps we will be able to have Christmas at Sibbersfield together. Give your Mummy a big kiss from me and give Don a pat.
Your loving Daddy
Thursday 13.9.17.
Dearest George
I hope you are quite well and getting on with your lessons. Can you talk French yet, let me know when you can and then you can come out here to see me. This is a funny place, all the trees have their branches knocked off and look like telegraph poles, many of them are broken in two. The ground is very hard to walk on as it is covered with shell holes, full of mud and water. There is very little grass or other plants, in fact it is like a desert and there are no birds or other animals, except rats, and not very many of them. I hope Mummy enjoyed her stay at Walworth mind you look after her well and kiss her from me, see she gets plenty to eat. Has her portrait come yet, let me know what it is like when it comes. How are you getting on with your riding, can you ride as well as Evelyn yet. Are there plenty of nuts now, I expect they are ripe by this time.
With best love from Daddy
Thursday 13.9.17.
Dearest Evelyn
I hope you are quite well and enjoyed going to Hoylake. Did you see any submarines there. What did Peter do when you were away. We are living in a funny place here like a rabbit hole you go through a low door way down a lot of steps til you get to a low tunnel with little rooms opening off it, it is quite dark and we live by candlelight and it is hot and damp, but we don’t mind because the German shells cannot hurt us. We come out at night when it is dark and we cannot be seen to go round to look at our soldiers just like foxes. There has been a beautiful house and grounds here but it is all knocked down to pieces. I would rather be back at Sibbersfield. I don’t think you and George would like being here. The whole place swarms with flies, however we shall be out before long for a rest.
I hope you are looking well after your Mother and being kind to her. Give my kind regards to Don and tell him to be a good dog.
With best love
From Daddy
Monday 24.9.17.
Dearest Evelyn and George
Thank you very much for the nice parcel you sent me with the beautiful peas and nuts in it, it is very good of you to send it and I liked it very much. I hope you had a good time at Hoylake, I hear the little Briscoes came over to see you for the day, I expect they are big children now. How are the baby goldfish getting on, are they still alive or have the others eaten them up.
We are having quite nice weather here now, we live in a big house with all of the windows broken, in fact there is no glass in any of them and there is a moat full of water all around it. There are no fish in the moat, I expect the soldiers have taken them all. Major Watson and I went for a ride this morning, it is quite nice country around here. The airplanes come at night and drop bombs on us, but they have not hit us yet. Give my love to Don.
With best love from Daddy
Thurday 4.10.17.
Dearest Evelyn.
Many thanks for your letter. I wrote to Don immediately I got his letter, as I was so pleased with it. It is not often you get a dog that takes the trouble to write to his Master. How are you all getting along at Sibbersfield? Are you still riding Peter? When I get home we must go out together again perhaps we will go hunting, is George still riding or is he busy kissing frogs. We are living in an old German dugout, at least it is not a dugout as it is built in the side of a hill in a ravine. It is like a little cottage with three rooms and a kitchen, but it is rather cold and dark; the Germans had electric light but we only have candles.
I hope to come back about the end of this month and we will have great fun together. Love to Don.
Your affectionate Daddy
Thursday 4.10.17.
Dearest George.
Many thanks for your letter which I was very glad to get. How are you getting on with your lessons, let me know as soon as you can speak French and then you can come out here to me as an interpreter. We have an American officer staying with us at present, learning how to kill Germans. He is quite nice and comes from Texas, from the same town as Mrs Colley. The Germans have been very naughty and have killed three of my men and wounded some more which is very naughty of them. I hope Don liked his letter. How are you getting on with your riding, I expect you will be able to come out with me when I get home. There is a little cat in this dug out. It sleeps on my bed and barks at the rats when they come near.
Your affectionate Daddy.
Tuesday 9.10.17.
My dearest Evelyn
I hope you had a nice birthday and got the little brooch I sent you from Paris alright, and in time for the birthday. Next year perhaps we shall all be home together and we will have a party and fireworks to celebrate it.
Thank you very much for your letter of October 4th, I am glad the hen houses are in good order and ready for the Winter, I suppose you help your Mummy every day with the hens. How is Peter getting on and do you still write him every day?
We are having very wet weather here now and it is rather cold, I hope it won’t snow.
The naughty Germans keep sending shells over our dug out which make a good noise, but we do not mind because it is a very strong place made by the Germans themselves out of concrete. We have a well inside and we draw our water with a bucket.
I have got the same pony now that I used to have at Salisbury Plain, it is called Daisy and is very fat.
Give Don my love and a piece of cake and kiss your Mummy from me.
Ever yours
Daddy
Tuesday 9.10.17.
My dearest George.
Many thanks for your letter of October 4th, I am looking forward to the walnuts which you are sending me. There are plenty of chestnuts on the trees where we were before we came here, but they were not ripe yet.
Last night I found a little mouse in my bed, I was glad it was not a rat. There are still plenty of frogs about in the shell holes so you would have lots of friends if you came out here. How are you getting on with your lessons, can you talk French and when are you going to learn how to sing (?), it would be nice to have a concert when I get back.
The Germans here are rather naughty and send shells over to us, but we send a lot more back. I saw a lot of Hun prisoners in a café the other day, just like the animals in the zoo.
When do you think the War will be over? Kind regards to all the animals. Give your Mummy a big kiss and a hug from me.
From Daddy.
Monday 15.10.17
Dearest George.
I hope you will get this letter on your birthday, and that you will have a happy day and enjoy yourself. You are getting quite a big boy now it seems such a short time ago since you were a little baby and a very nice one too.
Some of Evelyn’s cake came in a parcel yesterday, I also got a bag on nuts which I suppose you sent.
I am living in a dugout now made by the Germans, it is very strong so that the shells cannot come in and quite comfortable, There are three rooms, it is dug in the side of a hill, so we can get light and air. Let me know how you all are at home and what sort of a birthday you had. Give your Mother and Evelyn a big kiss and a hug each.
From your affectionate Daddy
Sunday 21.10.17.
My dearest George
I wrote to you too soon for your birthday before so I will write another letter now to wish you many happy returns of the day. I asked your Mummy to buy a present for me as I cannot send anything out of France except jewellery which is not much in your line..
We are out of the line now and having a rest. The wicked Germans drop bombs here every fine night, they killed one of our men and wounded two others last night but we brought down the airplane that did so we finished quits.
I hope you will have a nice party and will send me some of the cake.
Give your Mother a big kiss and hug also Evelyn.
Your affectionate Daddy
Sunday 28.10.17.
Dear Don.
Many thanks for your kind letter which came yesterday afternoon, it is very good of you to write to me. I am glad to hear about your wife’s puppies, I dare say I shall see them out here soon in a pot with some butter on the top. I hope your cousins Evelyn and George are behaving fairly well and not making too much noise. The noise out here is very bad and I am sure you would not like it. I am sorry you have only got two pence farthing left, but put it in War Loan it will double in twenty years. I dare say I shall see you at the end of next month and we shall get a day’s shooting.
Love to Evelyn and George give them ten big licks each from me.
Your affectionate Master
Wednesday 14.11.17.
My dearest Evelyn.
Thanks for your letter which came a few days ago. I hope to be home sometime this month, perhaps in time for my birthday. The weather is very cold now and it is very hard to keep warm in our wooden huts, but it is better than being in the trenches.
I hope Nicklas (?) will have got the wheat sown by now or else we shall have no bread next year. Give Mummy a big kiss and a hug.
Yours Daddy
Wednesday 14.11.17.
My dearest George,
The potted puppies were very good indeed, which was the one with the black tail? We found a bit of it in the tin. We are going away from the Huns for a rest and we hope to be away for some time. Perhaps I shall be home for my birthday, won’t that be nice? What sort of cake shall we have? Major Watson is coming to dinner tonight, I wonder what Mrs Watson has told him about you. Give your Mummy a great big kiss and give Don a pat.
Ever yours
Daddy
(On the 26 November 1917 Philip would have celebrated his 41st birthday)
Christmas 1917
Philips wife and family spent Christmas 1917 at her family home Walworth Castle (see below, now a hotel)
Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th December
Monday 17.12.17.
To Evelyn
From Daddy
With love and kisses and best wishes for a happy Xmas.
Monday 17.12.17.
To George
From Daddy.
With best love and wishes for a happy Xmas I hope you get plenty of pudding, how is the poetry getting on.
I dreamt I shot an arrow through a sparrow.
Monday 17.12.17.
Dearest George.
Many thanks for your letter, I am sorry about Bennett’s bicycle, it must be very hard work for him push biking so far. It only freezes at night here, but it is very cold. I live in the cellar of an old house, it is very cold and damp and there are lots of rats and mice. I think you would like it. An American General came to see me this morning and looks round our camp. The Coronel is away at present so I acting as a Coronel. Which much love and a big kiss for Mummy.
From Daddy
Walworth Castle near Darlington where the Holt family spent Christmas 1917
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