Letter from Harry Massey to Barbara Massey

6. even before pregnancy, & had jumped out of a window before. The corporal told me all about it when the baby was born - but it was hoped that this would make all the differences to her. But no - she must have been pretty mad, & I feel it is what is known as a happy release. So this morning, I went to see Dr Solovsighi (?) - (the little nightingale) whom I mentioned before, & arranged for the baby, not yet weaned of course, to be taken into a hospital in the meantime. I then collected the corporal, poor little man, & took him & the baby to the hospital. And after dinner I am going to see a Mrs Bar - Rav-Nar - the people I had Passover with - & arrange for a proper place for the baby to go & be brought up. Afer our tragedies, darling, I feel so much for such people, & I could barely keep my tears back today. ---I have now returned, & it is midnight - & there was a 3 hour air raid during last night. So I cannot help being sleepy again. But is all fixed up for the baby, & it goes to the best Institution in Palestine, Jerusalem, in two days - the corporal pays £2 a month to the Jewish Welfare Committe the same. So things are as well arranged as possible for the poor man, & I feel I have done my best. Mine is a strange job. Goodnight, Barbara darling. xxxx Wednesday 9 July I have had a letter from my mother today, dated June 9th - the last one I had from you was posted on the 5th May. Infuriating, again.

7. She sounded very pleased abou the baby, but had not had any details about him by then. She said Charles, Dorothy, Mrs Twinch, Miss Farnival, & "lots of people in Hale", were very pleased about it - but did not mention Aunt Sarah. I am just about to go to the Garrison Cinema, see Diana Wynyard in "One More River." I shall return at 9-30, go on with this. Not too good a film, & very old - I saw it before, maybe we saw it together. In any case, it was much too high fashion for the troops, who kept up a line of raspberries most of the time. But I must continue about my weekend at Naltaya. Before going to bed on Saturday, we had a spot of supper & this included a favorite traditional Jewish food called gelfilter fish - a sort of stuffed fish. Never in all my days have I tasted anything so revolting & foul - I had one bite, was very nearly sick on the spot & gave up. On Sunday morning, we breakfasted very pleasantly from hors d'ouvres things - tomato & cucumber salad, cream cheese, green olives, some kind of fish, & so on: Very pleasant -, melon, tea, & bread & honey. They had rather a good idea in the house - the dining room, kitchen were spacious & grand & put in between the two, they had a very small room, which they used for breakfast & odd meals. Furnished with just a table, upholstered benches ran two walls, & chairs, & a cupboard & drawers in which to keep necesssary things. Afterwards, we went out & looked round some diamond cutting & polishing places, which was quite interesting, but really not much about what to tell you - but I now know how it is done. The most

8. peculiar part of the whole business was the flippant & almost careless way in which they handle them - benches of 10 & 20 just popped into a scruffy little bit of paper, something scribbled on in pencil, & shoved away in an old cardboard box. Mr Ben - Ami had started this industry which provisionaly was concentrated in Belgium & Holland. He went the last year, persuaded them that the Nazis really were caring, offered them land in Naltarya, & now the industry is concentrated there & I expect, will remain there. Quite smart work, & I presume he gets his cut out of it all. We then went to a Kibutz nearly, at a place called Mishmar la Sharon - where we had the ordinary lunch which was really wholesome & good. We were then shown round the fuit gardens. This is going to hurt you, I'm afraid darling - you must be dying to have really good fruit & plenty of it again - & you told me in one of your letters not to mention orange juice again, or you would swoon away. But I expect you can take it, & maybe you are better off in this way, in Devon. We had had some gorgeous water melon for lunch & then in the gardens we had various kinds of plums, pears & apples, & saw pomegranates growing. Then we went across the vineyards, had enormous bunches of green & black grapes, brought upon us. It was really an orgy. I wished you could have had some of these lovely things. Oranges are very nearly finished now, though Choinatzki still manages to bring me a glass full of orange juice at 6-25 each morning. But melon & grapes are in full swing & very cheap, lovely to have. We then went home again.

9. after effusive thanks, & had another nice lie down on our beds. And then we went & had tea with the District Officer. This Government business is a life complicated Pastime, as you know I expect, is a mandate from the League of Nations. At the top, is the High Commissioner. Then the country is divided into districts, & each district has a District Commissioner. In each district, there are various small towns & large villages, & each of these has an assistant D. C. And all of them have a District Officer, who is Jew or Arab according to the village or town - & which is a mixed population, Jew & Arab, they have one of each. In the evening, they held a party forme & asked the Assistant D. C of Fulkarm & the same gentleman for Nazareth, who was staying with him for the weekend. It was rather a dull evening. And in the morning we returned. But I enjoyed the weekend very much, it was good to get away from here & relax. By the way, my mother put Max's birth in the Manchester Gurdian, which was kind & thoughtful of her & will inform various people. She also said Bill Williams had telephoned, for your address & mine to write to us.

Once again the Army here have got a move on & acted on my advice, & my new second in command arrived yesterday. And once again, I wished that the Association had behavedl ike this. This time it is a man called Soloman, who is Regular Army. He was a corporal in the Black Watch - then came to the P. R. T. D. as a Sgt Instructor - then went to an Officers Cadet Training Unit - & was commissioned into the Bulls as a Full Lieutenant. He is 24 - younger than I expected & he seems alright, but I do not know anything of him yet. I hope to God he will be O.K.,

10. I cannot go on like this. I am told I am already known as the second in command killer. I am enclosing another of the snaps - negative & an enlargement. I kept it back because Choiney he wanted one of Palor. And Arkin took some last weekend, which I shall be able to send on in my next letter. The concert last Wednesday was medium. There was no conductor - a tradition for the last concert of the season. You can probably imagine the result marvellously well disciplined playing, but that was all, no feeling, character or individuality. They played Schuberts Unfinished Symphony. Stravinskps Pluminella Suite - a strange piece of music; there was a garulous movement in the middle which was so strident & ugly & unexpected it gave me a stomach ache, internally. And then Bolero, which was well done. Should have been a conductor, I suggested that the next concert, they should all play standing on one leg! To bed now. Syria has asked for Armistice today & the U.S.A are going to Iceland - Russia seems to be doing pretty well. Oh darling - can it end soon? I follow events so closely & with only one idea in my head. To be with my sweet darling again & begin life again. I love you so much, always Barbara darling.

XXXX Harry