Evacuee Boys Read Free

writing a post-card because there isn’t any news besides that the bicycle has not arrived yet. In the last few days it has been raining a terrible lot. My finger is much better and there is nothing to worry about. I miss you very much, please come as soon as you can. How is business? How is Granny, Grand Dad and Mariska?
    I got a letter from Mr. Young yesterday and answered it to-day. 6 I left room for Andrew on the other side.

    Yours dearly loving son,
    John

    … continued by Andrew
    Dear Mum & Dad,

    I have asked John to write the main part of the card today. It will do him good. There is no other news besides what John writes.

    Thousands of kisses from,
    Andrew

    23 October 1939
    Dear Mother & Father,

    Mrs. Childs probably told you already that I had a quarrel with Mr. Kelly, but I want to tell you that since then, things have been much quieter again. As to what I can make of it, Mr. Kelly has many moods. Sometimes he is in a good mood & sometimes he is in a bad one. He was very angry about me taking Mrs. Childs up into the unfinished room & he used this occasion to say everything that he wanted to say. He did not shout or use nasty words. He said it all in a quiet polite tone. He accused me of not being straight forward because I did not tell either him or Mrs. Kelly about your coming, about Bill coming, & instead of asking first I just brought Bill & his mother in. All they knew about the arrival of Mrs. Childs was what they could pick up from conversation between John & me. Secondly, he accused me of taking everything for granted & that I have no consideration for Mrs. Kelly. As an instance he put forward that I did yesterday morning. He also said that I did not offer any help to her & took all I could.
    He had no grudge against Johnny, because he was too young to know these things, but he thought I was old enough. He kept on sermonising for about an hour mentioning that he definitely objected to me talking about him as landlord & Mrs. Kelly as landlady. He said he was no landlord to us until we paid anything like £2 a week. As we are now, we are only in his house through his charity & kind-heartedness.
    As a final point he mentioned something I did not understand saying: ‘When you came here I did not take you as Jews, but as children in distress. If your conduct has been such as to alter this attitude, it was your own fault.’ What do you make of that?
    After dinner I saw Mrs. Childs again and told her the whole story asking her to give you a note & to tell you all about it. It is a pity you were not here yesterday. I was very sorry that you could not come, but it was comforting to see some of my old friends.
    At tea-time, Mr. Kelly seemed to have forgotten all about the quarrel but I did not. I pretended to be very distressed, & only had one cup of tea & took no cake. Of course he noticed it & when he got up he said, ‘What I told you at dinner does not concern you now’ & he stroked my head. After tea I have done the drying for Mrs. Kelly & everything was OK. We have not talked about the quarrel since.
    Before I forget, will you please send that card which I gave you before I left London, to be completed when National Registration takes place, to the Schoolkeeper in London [to W.K. Central School].
    Thank you very much for the things you sent down. The cake is excellent. I am afraid Daddy’s pullover would do as a skirt for me. It is so big.
    Will you please send the money down for this week soon, as a week has elapsed since the last 10/- to Mrs. Kelly. I shall not have much left when I bought another lot of stamps for postcards. By the way – Mrs. Childs gave us 1/- to share and I put in savings. If you think I should not have accepted it, give it back to her.
    Make sure you have your seats booked at Mrs. Shaw for next month, as I want to see you soon. What about me coming down for the half term holiday? I could spend two whole days with you.
    Mrs. Kelly said that if we were to go down for Christmas