My Dearest :
Here I sit, three to go & then me !  Its ten past ten.Grrrr !  We’ve filled in our forms & I did two & send one herewith.  The other was briefer.  The Brigadier, the clean grey tall man with a D.S.O. & M.C. & bright red tabs has talked to us very sweet & reassuring.  Not a court martial, not an interview, a man to man talk . . . .  Are you a leader or a follower ?  . . . . (am I a follower ?) Very disarming & gay & and very intelligent. “No old school tie anymore, only two classes, leaders and followers” . . .
I’ll continue this after.  We see our man, then another, then our man again.  No.1 has just returned, says its charming & friendly.
There are 20 of us here, all one stripers, all nice clean blokes in their best tunics.
We have dinner here & catch the 2.20 train & get to Scarborough at 8o/c.  That will be that !  Funny it should happen yesterday, when you wrote all about it.  I haven’t posted last night’s letter yet.  I’ll put it in with this.  This is a wilderness.  Miles & miles of snow with huts, buildings & drill halls, a vast place like Aldershot, only larger.
My hair is brushed, my nails clean, my boots gleaming yet dubbined & my heart just a shade quicker than usual.
La di da
What packed days.  Signals clarification, This leave . . . ?
Prospects for leave are definitely brighter now, unless I’m in D & get posted at once.
I don’t know
More later.
How it was cold last night I wore my vest & shirt & tigers (long pants) & sox & jersey & 4 blankets & a great coat & work up freezing seven times.  Dear old cosy ¹ Barracks.  No hot water, except from Cookhouse
More later
AFTER.
12.10
                      Since I put down the pad I’ve had long periods of waiting with my inside all watery & two quarter hours with the Big Gentleman.
I read – I’ll send the book – Lemon Farm, until my turn came up & then went to see a heavy jowelled Lt. Colonel.  I saluted very smartly (I think) & he said “sit down and take your cap off ” I did.
He said “you write books, eh ?” I said “” yes sir” (I suddenly said to myself – D.S.D.  old man, you’re a quite talented writer, you’ve no need to be scared, he can’t write novels.” He said “Does this writing game pay ?” I said it did after the first 20 years.  We laughed & discussed the books, & village life & all sorts of things.  Very pleasant & amiable & D.S.D. quite on form.  I forget what we said.  Oh, did I like travelling & I told him about you & I & the typewriter & S. America after the war – He liked that.  Then he said, very well, & I donned my toque & saluted & left. That was that.  Then I sat again & red some more Lemon Farm & yawned & eventually I was summoned by the orderly to the red tabbed Colonel.  I donned the lid, went in & flashed a salute & he twinkled & caught my eye & I laughed & and we both chuckled.  He said sit down & I did.  He has a very disarming way with him.  We talked for 20 minutes. He said “one thing you said appeals to me, you likes sailing” I said I did & said that you & I went in the Easter or Autumn when we could. “Just the two of you ?” he said.  I didn’t think it necessary to mention Kenneth & said yes. “No man,” he said. “No man,” I said & we talked of small boat sailing. I told him of our dream village near Bristol, & we discussed villages.  Then he asked about my slight impediment , if it affected me with a squad of men.  I said no, not normally & he said he understood.  He could place me in the A. Pay Corps if it was a nuisance.  I said it was not.  He said O.K.  Then he said you put down light AA. Why? I said that Field was, by all accounts, full up.  He said it was but they always had a few vacancies for good men.  He said why do I like the Field RA.  I told him waxing eloquent on the precision, what appealed to me & the organisation & the traditions of the Regt.  He said, “well if your as keen as that I’ll put you in my own OCTU, I commanded it until last month, shall I ?” So I said “yes please sir.”  And he said, “Alright, Field Artillery it is, & I am sure you’ll do well.  You’re too old, of course, but you’re a young 35 & I feel you can do it.” All overcome I thanked him, groped for my hat, saluted like hell & departed.  So that’s that.  But that’s not official.
The orderly has come in.  I’ve got an A !!!  He’s seen the list.  Me, your doddery husband is classed A.  Cooper & Chadwick are B & Dickenson, the other bloke here, who came this morning, is turned down.  Isn’t it miraculous !  I feel genuinely thrilled.  But the colonel said the first month of the OCTU is very tough.  I’ll do it.  It’s violent physical stuff.  But as the blokes are picked men its a help.  There are two OCTUs, one here at Catterick & one is, I think Notts.  The course is 4½ months, with 7 days in the middle & seven days at the end.  How long we have to wait I don’t know.  I think I’ll get the leave in.
We are training back to Scarborough this evening, 4o/c for Richmond, & we get to Scarborough at 9.15.  If this Board had been nearer home I’d have come to you but I can’t do this :- ² I’ll see if I can telephone you from York.  I did want to ring up last night, but it was impossible.  There should be time in York.  There we are, not official, but near as dammit.  It is really OK.  Me driver, signaller, OCTU candidate grade A.

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