Letter from Harry Massey to Barbara Massey

Letter No. 77 Tuesday Oct 14th

Major J.H. Massey 6th Palestinian Coy., The Buffs M.E.F.

My dear darling Barbara

I have just had your A.G. of Sept 17th & I'm so pleased that my two parcels arrived safely & that you like the things. I suppose even two pounds of sugar is a help - but it seems a little crazy to be sending tea to you which had already been sent out here from England & before that had come past this way en route from China. I will buy some jam & honey as you ask for on my next trip to the Naafi. And I am glad you like the undies & stockings - even though the undies were artificial silk. I absolutely adore you in pretty pants & petticoats & things - may I have more to do with the purchase of your things after the war, darling?

Poor Madge. It is dreadful about Walter, even though they did lead rather a chequered life. Please tell her how sorry I am when you write to her. I think she should just sit pat with her Michael & not bother about any more husbands, don't you? Or will she be tempted on account of the doubtful distinction of having three of them at her age, & with her looks.

As I told you I was going to, I duly went up to Zikhran Ya'akov today & attended another meeting & made a recruiting speech. But it was all rather a farce as far as I was concerned. I feel pretty annoyed about it. The main reason for the meeting was to commenorate the death of a Jewish woman, Sarah Hanson. She & her family worked very successfully for the British intelligence in the last war, until they were caught by the Turks. She behaved incredibly bravely, told the Turks that she was the chief one & there was no use in questioning the others. She was tortured & refused to speak & finally managed to obtain a pistol & shoot herself, as she was afraid she would not be able to stand any more. So, they decided to use this day & her memory & martyrdom to give point

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to such a meeting during Recruiting Week. Ben came with me to interpret & we set off at 8.0 & drove the little Austin to death, in order to be there by 10.30 am. It had been intended that Major Aran should go there but he had to return to Egypt & so, having heard me perform on Friday, they asked me to go instead - saying that it would make all the difference , a British Major going all that way especially to speak to them. Arrived at Zikhran we found a hell of a lovely party going on & about 3-400 people in the process of forming themselves into a procession to march to the grave. But they were nearly all women & children. It seemed the young men were either working or keeping out of the way. I shook hands with the Major & the Muktar & a few other walkers, who were very polite & pleased to see me, but did not seem to have much idea about why I was there. Then the ex-headmaster of the local school took us in hand, I asked him how many recruits could be had - what was the potential. He weighed the question very carefully & proudly announced that he really thought that they could reach - 10! I wanted to leave, but it had all gone too far. So we tacked onto the end of the procession & proceeded to the cemetery. Four or five speeches were made & then it was my turn. It really was a little awkward because it was a commemoration & we were in a cemetery. Anyway, I said a few words about Sarah Aranson's death having

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been in vain if we did not win this war & if the Jews did not play their part & then proceeded to harangue them. They all listened very politely & their faces appeared interested. But it was all wrong. I felt the recruiting part might havae taken place elsewhere. After me, on old Rabbi chanted for about ten minutes & then the juvenile band struck up a tune - which half way through I recognised as "God save the King" & came up into a smart salute. We then came out to find that the Austin had disappeared & were informed by a duty polieman that the Military Police had found it unattended & taken it away. It took 1/2 hour to retrieve that. Then we went for lunch, & now I thought this will be good & make up for everything, Zikhran being the centre of the wine industry in Palestine. But no, the day was doomed. And we were proudly taken to a famous vegetarian penzion, had a couple of lemon wafers - & felt quite awkward when we asked for an ash tray to have a cigarette with our coffee. We then left in a hurray refusing an invitation to attend a recruiting conference at 5.0 pm at which they said my presence would do them great honour.

On the return journey, Ben & I felt so famished with hunger we stopped at a place & had a large omellette & fries, tomatos & potatosbegan to feel better. But what a day. And now I am beginning a cold, blast

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it, because it is giving me a foul headache. I do have some odd times, from time to time really. And having been here, solidly, every day for the last five weeks, Col Leicester chose this day to come & see me. But I am told that Peter gave him a great welcome.

I must take 3 aspirins & go to bed. Goodnight sweetest darling Barbara XXXXX

Saturday Oct 18th Angel darling heart - I'm getting in a most frightful state about this question of me coming home or you coming out here. I am quite unable to think of anything else. As you see, I was about to write to you on Thursday & then your cable arrived. I could not write - & I had to go out at 8.30 anyway. And last night, I wrote you a L.C telling you as much as I could of my plans & ideas. Within a few days, I should know more clearly as to whetehr or not this thing is within the bounds of possibilitye or not. I am only too afraid that it may be the latter, in which case I must come down to hearth again, & compose myself, & settle down seriously to the tack of getting myself sent home. No matter what happends, I have definitely finished with complacently sitting here & waitinf for the end of the war. I just cannot bear, my darling, to be parted from you one minute longer that is necessary - & so I shall go on trying & exploring & pulling strings & using such influence as I can get hold of, & always looking for new influence. It is not aneasy matter, & it will certainly require great determination on both our parts. But there

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must be something in the hackneyed old tag "where there's a will, there's a way". And I told you in my L.C. the Samuels are my big hope - & there may come the need for you to come out in the some special role. Perhaps as a war artist, or a designer, or even as a journalist. I don't know - I am only guessing now. And in any case, you will probably have far more news from me in cables, A.Gs, L.Cs before this letter arrives.

Max, of course, has to come too. You should not leave him behind, & I would not want you to. He will be weaned by the time you were to come - & then comes the difficulty of feeding him properly, on the journey. That is why I want you to come all the way by air, if it is possible & apart from Max, I feel it is much safer. We must be very careful about the journey darling - & on no acocunt must you take any risk which is greater than that of being in England at all. I could not hope to get over it if anything were to happen to you, my darling dearest Barbara. I do not think about this too often, but I know quite certainly that I could not live without you. I would not want to. But I am not going to dwell on that morbid note - even if we have to wait until the end of the war. You, I & Max are going to be together & we are going to have a wonderful life. You are incredible & wonderful my darling - I want to tell you but my words are so poor. But the moment I think of you. I do think of you more 7 more, the more I know that you have reached a higher degree of perfection than any other woman in this world. It is amazing that you