Sisters’ Quarters, University House
Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham
Nov 24th 1915
My own dear Sweetheart
I am so happy, having received your nice letter dated Nov 11th. I love having a letter in which I see yourself reflected. It just makes all the difference in life to me.
In it you tell me not to worry over much about my health, as regards wondering whether it will make any difference to your caring for me. Your wish that you would like to be with me always even if I were an invalid made me realize how absolutely sweet life with you will be. It will be something very new to me to be cherished so tenderly. To have someone to look after me, after all these years of work and very little real happiness, until 2½ years ago, will be great indeed.
I am very tired of looking after myself and shall just love to be with you for always.
You’re not far wrong in your remark towards the end of your letter, that you “would undertake to cure me of any disease” if you could only have me to yourself for a week or two!
You’re a conceited old thing but nevertheless you have never uttered a truer statement in your life before! I guarantee the cure you advocate would be permanent and, as the beauty specialists advertise, I should be a “new woman”!
The varicose veins are not getting any worse – just sometimes they pain if I have had an extra amount of standing.
Reading in your letter that there are English nurses at Lemnos, makes me eager to join their numbers. I daresay if I agitated enough I could get out there but I am beginning to realize that I am not built for these adventurous undertakings. I am behind the scenes here but nevertheless the work I am doing is important. There are numbers of girls who are keen to go abroad – if I go I am depriving one of them of their chance – when I really do not mind a bit if I stay at home so long as I am doing war work. If there were no others who wished to go I’d volunteer at once for Serbia, Lemnos or anywhere else.
I expect if I got to Lemnos you would probably never come near the place. I don’t mean that you wouldn’t if you had the chance but that you wouldn’t get the chance!
George is at Sydenham, after a long weekend at home. I wish I could have seen him. Your Father sent me a few lines to tell me he was at home and looking very well. Won’t Kath and Jack love having him. What tales he must have to tell.
Private Yates of the 9th Worcesters is much better since his last operation. The wound in his arm is still painful but is looking much cleaner.
Barbara was singing at a concert the other day. Mother was sitting in front of someone who was reading the programme out loud. “Miss BC! Why I heard her sing ten years ago in India”! Then when she saw Bar she exclaimed, “How well she carries her years. She doesn’t look a day older”! Mother turned round and recognized a Mrs Pickering, whose husband was a subaltern in the 2nd Duke of Wellingtons, when we were in Dinapore. He is now a Colonel in command of the 4th Battalion. He is in hospital at Boulogne suffering agonies, trying to save his arm, which is badly shattered by shrapnel. Of course, Mrs Pickering heard me sing, not Bar, ten years ago!
I must stop scribbling now, dearest.
I am so glad to have had your dear letter. May some like it soon follow.
All my hearts love, Best Beloved.
Ever your devoted
Mela
