HG12/15/74

Letter from Henry Hugh Longuet Longuet-Higgins, to his wife [Albinia] Cecil Longuet-Higgins. Sent from Headquarters of 44th Division, c/o General Post Office, Doncaster.

15 Jul 1940

From: 1940 To: 1940

Is about 8 miles from Doncaster. The principal people are in a large pretentious hall with much white marble statuary. The mess is a mile away in a farm house. Other messes are in marquees. The church is in the grounds of the Hall. The Tomlinson's 'cottage' has grown from 2 cottages into a house, much the same as Vine Cottage at Turvey. The imediate area is countryside, but further away are the colliery villages and pitheads and rubbish tips of the south Yorkshire coalfield. Are a long way from any entertainment so it was a boon to the troops to get the 'Dew Drop Inn' opened last Friday in the vicarage room, where there is a good billiard table. Percy is delighted to be doing it again. On Friday Mrs Springhall drove the writer for the day on his rounds. Still has no car allocated. Details the visits made. Comments of items from the previous night's radio - Margate described by Priestley, Churchill's talk and description of air fight over Dover by Charles Gardner. Efforts to get a radio set for the mess. Got a car and made visits on Saturday. Sunday services.

item

Longuet-Higgins, Henry Hugh Longuet,
Longuet-Higgins, Albinia Cecil,
Churchill, Winston,
Priestley,
Gardner, Charles,
Springhall

family correspondence, World War Two, Doncaster, World War Two home front, Brodsworth Hall, church services, radio