Tuesday 6 September 2011

17/9/41 - firefighting at Cannon St House

                                                                                              C/O ARP Committee
                                                                                              Cannon St House
                                                                                              Cannon St
                                                                                              London EC4
                                                                                              17 Sept 1941
My Dear Ida
               Meryn says he is expecting the next proclamation to call him up and he has been promised a job in *** with a decent rank. This is strictly private. I cannot help feeling that it would have been better if he had taken a commission at the commencement of the War as his undoubted ability and physical fitness would have borne fruit. However, that is a matter for him.
I am in co-charge of the fire-fighting arrangements at Cannon St House and as you may guess, when the Blitz is resumed, that this will not be a very safe job. We have six fire watchers on each night taken from the tenants at Cannon St House. I had Meryn here one evening and showed him our roofs and he didn’t like them.

It is strange that the representatives of Watkins Brewers (Llandovery)  - Mervyn Spencer and Co are all housed here. The other man here is charge of the fire scheme is called Wills, he is a nonconformist minister. From all accounts he is a very brave fellow and is most enthusiastic and one of the fittest men physically I have met. He is only 30 years old, his wife and 2 sons are in Canada and his mother in Australia.
We really are a happy family here and it does me good to see staid principals of important firms enter into games of table tennis, darts and shove halfpenny.
I enclose a letter I had from my Chief at the Ministry of Supply when I resigned, as you could be wrongly thinking that there was something wrong then. Would you keep it for me.
I suppose Uncle Arthur does not even know that there is a war on, but Meryn tells me that his health is excellent. I am sorry for his affliction in a way, but feel that it spares him a lot of worry and anxiety.
Love to you both
Your aff cousin
Elydyr
Please excuse scrawl, this is being scribbled at 3.30 am!

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