No 151

Major GS Andrews, RCE

Survey, HQ First Cdn Army O/S

31 Jan 43

Dear Jean:

Your airletter of the 17 Jan arrived on the 26, pretty good time. It would be fun to have Mary wake me up the way she does you, no doubt she will have saved up a lot of mischief to play on her Pop. I still have a few cards left to send, but when they are gone, am afraid there won't be many more, as the stores have been quite depleted of their stocks of those things, and no more being made. Got Betty's family letter telling about her marriage, and she seems to be happy, even though her new found family life may be hostile for a while. Am glad her former father-in-law was such a good sport to give them his blessing too. Betty used one word in her letter which I quite unladylike, maybe it's a new kind of swank wartime slang, anyway I still don't like it, however it isn't m place to criticize her. Betty hasn't had quite the same advantages as my other sisters in her upbringing. Guess I'm an old stick in the mud. My own wife has spoiled me with too high standards maybe, but its one way I like being spoiled. Its funny that you are having such a cold winter, while the one here has been remarkably mild. I hope your plumbing didn't give you too much trouble. It will be great when I get home, and we can have lots and lots of wood for the fire-place, I guess the people of the Axis countries are having it much tougher than we are though. It was a grand stunt of the RAF yesterday to bomb Berlin for both broadcasts of Hitlers chief stooges. No doubt we will be having reprisal raids here. Howver, its like coming in to a hornet's nest, as our defences are pretty hot. You mentioned getting an endowment policy to take the place of the one which is maturing. I think it would be better to take out a Government annuity, either for you & me jointly, or one for Mary which will mature in time to help her with her advanced education. I am definitely opposed to increasing our insurance with any private company. Frank Swannell knows quite a bit about the Dominion Gov't Annuity arrangements. Another thing, we must aim to have as much as we can reasonably put by in negotiable investments, like War Bonds, so that when we can pay off the mortgage on the house in one lump, we will have a substantial amount ready to pay. I think the house is as good an investment as anything, I had an interesting short trip to Oxford. Up Fri. morning and back Sat pm. To a meeting of odd Forestry people, mostly [?] chaps, at the Imperial Forestry Institute. They invited me to come along, and I was put up for the one night by on e of the [?] at Christ Church College, one of the finest in oxford. My friend Col Lloyd was there, with Lt Col Durshott from BC, and a couple of other Cdns, half a dozen from Australia and others from New Zealand. They may ask me to write up some proposals for post war Air Survey, in connection with Land Utilization, (including Forestry), which is becoming a big thing in post war planning. I don't have much time, but it is important, so may try to help them if I can. The Col wants the typewriter, we will sign egg,

LOVE TO YOU BOTH.

----------GER