Letter from Frances Hodgkins to Muriel Hodgkins
Date
24 Apr 1943
See transcription
Catalogue number
FHL391
Date
24 Apr 1943
Transcript
Corfe Castle Dorset April 24th 43
My Dearest Muriel
Your cable telling me of dear Bert’s death reached me yesterday Good Friday April 23rd. It was a sad shock and I keep wondering what sudden illness has carried him off and I have been very near to tears thinking of you all & the sad blank in your happy Family circle this Easter tide.
He was such a dear loveable fellow of many friends & he will be greatly missed. I do sympathise with you all. Write me a line Muriel dear when you can bear to and tell me about his illness & last days. I hope there was no great suffering. He complained of lumbago in one of his recent letters but seemed to have got over it. I don’t know whether he had retired from business but I knew he was looking forward to enjoying leisure & rest with you & the girls & well deserved rest with I hope a substantial pension attached to it on which he could comfortably sit back & enjoy his declining years, like I am trying to do, only partially successful because I have never had the habit of pleasantly idling the days away – and work I shall till I drop!
It has always been such a comfort to me to know how happy you have made Bert & what a grand unselfish wife you have been & what a success you both have made of married life. Of course I regret seeing so little of you – but that is life. My warm love to you and the girls & please do send me a line to tell me your plans. As a valued Civil servant I hope Bert will be generously treated. I have been very grateful to you & Bert for the presents of food you have sent. Lack of butter is the chief need amounting almost to committing any crime to obtain another ounce.
I hope this will reach you safely, also the cable message I sent off today in reply to yours. It was so kind & thoughtful of you to think of me. The dear Bert is very much in my thoughts & I think of him always, kind always unselfish with a brave honest outlook on life & very loveable & true. Bless him. Affectionately yours Frances
My Dearest Muriel
Your cable telling me of dear Bert’s death reached me yesterday Good Friday April 23rd. It was a sad shock and I keep wondering what sudden illness has carried him off and I have been very near to tears thinking of you all & the sad blank in your happy Family circle this Easter tide.
He was such a dear loveable fellow of many friends & he will be greatly missed. I do sympathise with you all. Write me a line Muriel dear when you can bear to and tell me about his illness & last days. I hope there was no great suffering. He complained of lumbago in one of his recent letters but seemed to have got over it. I don’t know whether he had retired from business but I knew he was looking forward to enjoying leisure & rest with you & the girls & well deserved rest with I hope a substantial pension attached to it on which he could comfortably sit back & enjoy his declining years, like I am trying to do, only partially successful because I have never had the habit of pleasantly idling the days away – and work I shall till I drop!
It has always been such a comfort to me to know how happy you have made Bert & what a grand unselfish wife you have been & what a success you both have made of married life. Of course I regret seeing so little of you – but that is life. My warm love to you and the girls & please do send me a line to tell me your plans. As a valued Civil servant I hope Bert will be generously treated. I have been very grateful to you & Bert for the presents of food you have sent. Lack of butter is the chief need amounting almost to committing any crime to obtain another ounce.
I hope this will reach you safely, also the cable message I sent off today in reply to yours. It was so kind & thoughtful of you to think of me. The dear Bert is very much in my thoughts & I think of him always, kind always unselfish with a brave honest outlook on life & very loveable & true. Bless him. Affectionately yours Frances
Sender's address
Corfe Castle, Dorset
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McCormick
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