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Date: January 20th 1917
To
May
From
Eric
Letter

Kingsley Hotel
20/1/17.

Dearest May:-

I know you will forgive me for not writing sooner for so many things have happened since Xmas- sort of hurriedly as it were- and I haven' t been able to do anything very much but "arrange" details of one kind and another. Nevertheless I did get the parcel from Eaton’s and the shirts which it contained from you and Ruth were very much appreciated I do assure you. They were both of such beautiful material I am sure that you must have bought the very best obtainable. Thanks ever so much Little Sister, it was mighty good of you to think of something that I needed so much.

Norman's gift, the folding coat-hanger, also reached me safely and I have been using it continually ever since. Let him read this and tell him that I am very grateful for both the gift and the kindness behind it.

Molly and I are having the happiest honeymoon that ever happened since the world began. There are only a few of the luckiest of us who can afford to spend a honeymoon in London you know, and you may be sure we are having the time of our lives. Molly is looking better than she has for years. She seems to have got more color and to have lost all the dark circles which she used to have under her eyes, I hope the climate will suit her. People in England certainly do seem to develop beautiful complexions .

Molly is going to call on Mrs. Waldorf Astor this afternoon, having got letters of introduction to her from Dr. Stuart McGuire and from a lady whom she nursed in Richmond. Mrs. Astor is closely connected with the Red Cross and with military nursing generally in England, and we hope that she may put Molly in line for something good.

By the time this letter reaches you, you will have heard more of the particulars of the great explosion last night than have at the present been published for the enlightenment of the English public. The munition works where it occurred was many miles from this hotel but the noise was terrific even here. People generally are of the opinion that a great catastrophe has occurred and the Government is coming in for a good deal of criticism for not publishing the details.

Molly and I went to see the newest war film showing the "tanks" in action. It was most interesting.

Please tell me where Pat Shaw is and tell him to write me at No. 19 R.S. R.F.C. Hounslow Heath, Middlesex. He wrote me before Xmas asking me what my plans were for the holiday and saying that he was going up to Scotland for a short holiday. His letter was not sent on to Cornwall unfortunately so I did not get it until I returned to Hounslow and now I don’t know where he is- nor where any of the relatives in the army are for that matter.

Give little Margaret my love. I hope the poor wee kid is feeling quite herself again. With best love to yourself and all the household from both Molly and myself.

Always devotedly yours,
Eric

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