16/9/42 - still firefighting at Cannon St House

                                                                                C/O ARP Committee

                                                                                110 Cannon St EC4

                                                                                 Sept 16^th 1942

My Dear Ida

                Not having heard from you for some time and not having written, I am dropping you a line to let you know that I am fitter that I have been for years, and I hope that you are both O.K. (Awful Term!) I am really hard at it not only training squads in fire fighting, but also going through a comprehensive first aid course. We have nearly a hundred fire guards in this building which also houses over eighty firstaiders.  About 20 of them are day duty only. We have about 20 girl first aiders, but they are only for day duty. No women act as night fireguards in the City of London and in any case this organisation won’t have them. I am very glad as I don’t want to have the added responsibility of having girls here at night.

I like the work here very much and I am my own master, subject of course to the committee to whom I am answerable. In some ways we have organised ourselves under a military pattern which makes everything work well.

I am legally in charge from 5pm to 8am and any lawful order I give has to be obeyed under penalty of prosecution at the Mansion House for non compliance. Similarly I could be prosecuted if I neglected my duties or was guilty of misbehaviour.

I saw the American Military Marine Detachments in the recent march to the Guildhall and was especially struck by the fine physique, bearing and general smartness of their Marine Corps. One sees thousands of Yankee Soldiers, Officers and other ranks daily in London and I have yet to see one under the influence of liquor – they are a pattern to our own Canadians in this respect. I should be very glad to hear from you when you have time.

Love

Your aff cousin

Elydyr

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!

15/4/41 - still in Hospital in Windsor

                                                                                           E Ward

                                                                                           County Emergency Hospital

                                                                                           Old Windsor

                                                                                           Berks

                                                                                           15.4.41

My Dear Ida

                I have just heard from Meryn and he tells me is total liabilities are £150 being due for Income Tax. The remainder of the £400 he wanted was to avoid drawing on his office in view of their tremendous expenses due to the Blitz and death of their senior partner.

I have had a blood test and owing to a mistake it has to be done again tomorrow. It means drinking 6 oz of glucose and then having five blood tests, one every half hour. It is puzzling then as I have not sugar now on this diet. It is all very tedious now and I am longing to be out of this Hospital.

Love to you all

Your aff cousin

Elydyr

11/4/41 - now being tested for diabetes at Windsor

                                                                                        E Ward

                                                                                        County Emergency Hospital

                                                                                        Old Windsor

                                                                                        Berks

                                                                                        11.4.41

My Dear Ida

                My head is now recovered and the effects of the concussion passed. I have a test for sugar. I had 6oz of glucose given to me and then 5 blood tests every half an hour. This to finally decide my diet, which is pretty good. Egg and bacon for breakfast, a large helping of meat and plenty of cabbage for dinner, Toast and tea with every meal and for supper Bovril, toast and cheese.  Bovril at eleven and pm. Urine test before and after meals. I feel very well now and am not weak. There is a lot of noise from gun fire at night but no bombs. This emergency hospital is run by Westminster Hospital but the doctors are found by St Georges. A young Doctor called Dr Rhys Lewis attends me. He has an uncle called Davies (a timber merchant who has bought and lives at Danyrallt(?). He appears to know his business and is a very nice young fellow.

Love to you both

Your aff cousin

Elydyr

---

5/4/41 - Recovery from head injury at Windsor

                                                                                     County Emergency Hospital

                                                                                     Old Windsor

                                                                                     Berks

                                                                                     5/4/41

My dear Ida

                Thanks for your kind letter. As you can see from the above address, I have been evacuated from Westminster Hospital to one of their overflow places in the country. I have been sent here for a week to test me thoroughly for the sugar and to determine my future diet which I fancy will be fairly strict. I have quite recovered from my head injury and had the stitches taken out. The Westminster Hospital is only using three of the seven floors and has been bombed twice, but without casualties. I came here my ambulance convoy as a walking patient. Gwen came to see me on Thursday afternoon, she looked very worn and worried. I am afraid they are in an awful jam. If anything can be done to help, of course you will.

I had my accident by a fall during the blackout, which they seemed to connect with my complaint.

The ARP in London is really wonderful and the way they get to fires is to be seen to be believed. The spirit of the people in London is really marvellous, but the rich seem to have all scuttled off to their bunk holes.

With love

Your aff cousin

Elydyr

18/11/40 - Staying at Great Westminster House

                                                                                                                Ministry of Supply

                                                                                                                Cor 4.b Room 612

                                                                                                                Great Westminister House

                                                                                                                Horseferry Rd

                                                                                                                London SW1

                                                                                                                18/11/40

My Dear Ida

                Many thanks for your long and newsy letter. I was shocked to hear about Llandovery being bombed.  I hope nothing further will happen. We had a terrible night last Friday, 28 H.E. Bombs dropped in our vicinity and demolished a printing works (a large number of deaths), hit Westminster Hospital (not badly no casualties),  in Victoria St - 3 large premises down to the ground and some flats behind us. All within a radius of 400 yards. The bombing of Coventry has appalled us all and everybody is praying for and demanding reprisals.

As I said, I am sleeping here at present and expect I shall do so for some time.

I saw Meryn for a short time on Friday, he came here and we had a snack of Lunch. He says they are now installed at 15 Berners St (they have 3 floors) and the although work of picking up the threads presented great difficulties, they are surmounting them.

Gwen drives an ambulance with the AFS at Kingston House, Sloane Sq and has been having a hectic time. Meryn does not look very well to me, but he never was really robust.

We play whist and very mild bridge at nights and we have a really good wireless set. Food at night is a problem here as there is nothing open at blackout near here, but we now cook on the Fire Brigade brazier, our staple diet being sausages. It is now however a case of eating to live and not living to eat.

I went to Deans yard[1] yesterday and found they have damaged the roof to the vestibule leading to the “up school” ie great hall. I do a guard about every 8 nights in the Building with the Home Guard, it seems to me to be a rather futile business.
I have not heard for a couple of year s how Violet and co are getting on, but I suppose the war has not reached Llansadwrn yet.

Love

Your aff cousin

Elydyr

---

[1] Elydr went to Westminster School, Deans Yard is (or was?) part of Westminster School.

8/11/40 - Staying at Great Westminster House

                                                                                                                Ministry of Supply

                                                                                                                Cor 4.b Room 612

                                                                                                                Great Westminister House

                                                                                                                Horseferry Rd

                                                                                                                London SW1

                                                                                                                8/11/40

My Dear Ida

                I do not know what has happened to Meryn, I have written to him but have not heard for a fortnight. There has been severe bombing round his house, so I do not known what has occurred. They continue to drop them all round our place and the embankment,where Millbank Hospital and Thames House are situated. I lost a lot of things when 74 St Georges Sq was hit but was really very lucky.

Love

Your aff cousin

Elydyr