The Globe and Mail - Dear Sweetheart

Dear Sweetheart: July 10, 1941 ... I'll be back

Letters home from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:26 EST

It was the Second World War. A million young Canadians were marching off to risk their lives. One of them, David K. Hazzard, was separated from his beloved wife Audrey, but soon found a way to fight the loneliness – with his pen. He wrote hundreds of letters, beginning each the same way – - Follow link to read full post

... aren't my shoulders meant for you to cry on?

Letters home from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:26 EST

Sussex, New Brunswick, Friday July 18/41 Dear Sweetheart, Still here, but not for long. We are all packed, the huts are being scrubbed down and everyone is busy. This will be my last letter I will be sending you from in Canada. I'm having it mailed in Toronto by Mrs. Moore Jackson who is going home - Follow link to read full post

... Eddie got plastered and spewed all over the place

Letter home from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:25 EST

On board the HMT Strathmore, Monday July 28, 1941 Dear Sweetheart, So far we've had a very pleasant trip with good weather and very little sea-sickness in the whole gang. We are considerably more crowded than on our trip to Newfoundland as there are several units on board and the ship is only slightly - Follow link to read full post

One item I would appreciate personally is toilet paper ...

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:25 EST

Aldershot, England, Friday Aug. 1, 1941 Dear Sweetheart, We've finally arrived and are more or less getting settled down. This is the first letter that I've written since landing. We had a fairly long train trip from our point of disembarkation, and the country we came through was really beautiful - Follow link to read full post

Being in uniform seems to be a passport for hospitality

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:24 EST

Sgt. Hazzard is in Aldershot, the base camp for the Canadian military in England. He describes training exercises and awaiting the arrival of Queen Mary, the ceremonial Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Own Rifles. Aldershot, England, Saturday Aug. 16, 1941 Dear Sweetheart, On Tuesday, the Colonel and - Follow link to read full post

Hitler's playboys really tried to get it ...

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:24 EST

At home in Mimico, Ont., Audrey watches the mail every morning for word of her husband – his first letters are still crossing the Atlantic – while trying to conceal how much she misses him by keeping busy with their two young daughters. David has already received several letters from Audrey - Follow link to read full post

They hoot and whistle out any girl they meet …

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:24 EST

Within weeks of arriving in England, David Hazzard's name was put forward for officer training. He wrote home to his wife about the entrance exams, and about his disapproval of the behaviour of some of the men. (The text has been abridged.) Aldershot, England, Thursday Aug. 28, 1941 Dear Sweetheart - Follow link to read full post

After almost two years of trying, I'm finally going to get my chance

Letters from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:23 EST

Thursday Oct. 9, 1941 Dear Sweetheart, At long last we have been given something definite on this O.C.T.U. business. Eleven of us were called into the Colonel's office tonight and told that we had all passed O.K. and were going on the course which will start on Dec. 3rd. And that is just six weeks - Follow link to read full post

Parcels … are like manna from heaven …

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:20 EST

At Aldershot, soldiers listen eagerly for the call: "Canadian mail's in!" Letters and parcels take more than a month to cross the Atlantic and occasionally go missing. Because the mail often arrives in bundles, both David Hazzard and Audrey carefully number their letters so they can be read in order - Follow link to read full post

The officers despise us ...

Letter from a soldier — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:19 EST

Monday Nov. 10, 1941 Dear Sweetheart, I'm glad to know that Karen can be angelic for a few days at a time, and also that Anne has her glasses again. She'll be easier to handle at school now and maybe her work will show still more marked improvement. Next – I can imagine that Karen was quite surprised - Follow link to read full post