R.H. Gray Lt., R.C.N.V.R.,
Box 517,
℅ F.M.O., Kilindini,
B.E.A. –
2/11/43.

Dear Phyllis,

I got a letter from you today dated Oct. 5 and it was a good one to get. You are probably right about Pauline and even if you are not it is now too late to do anything so I, too, shall just be a fatalist about it. We are both better off as it is. – The other question you raised was about my post-war plans which you say are worrying Mother and Dad. As far as money goes you will by now have seen the letter in which I told them about it. If you have not you may be sure I have reassured them on that point and that I am not doing too badly. My allotment has been doubled from the end of September and I have now a bank account of £235 which is over $1000 and is growing quickly. It won’t be any terrific sum but will be enough to keep me and send me to university. The only worry is, what am I actually going to do. As you say I have no security and no job after the war and I will have to act pretty quickly in order to achieve anything. I am 26 today and “time waits for no man.” Still financially I should be O.K. and it is just up to me to do the right thing with the money. As I told Mother I think I have learnt my lesson at university and what happened there will not happen again. – It is getting very hot these days, in fact it is the hottest part of the year. You just perspire all day and night as well and if we were particularly fastidious we would be changing clothes about four times a day. But we are all in the same boat so no one bothers any more. – I have just come back from a very fine leave spent on a farm near Molo (halfway between Nairobi and Kisumu) I won’t go into it here because I have written a detailed account to Mother and Dad telling them about it and I expect you will see the letter. I have come back to work even fatter than before but feeling better all the same. – I was glad to hear from you that Mother and Dad are both well. I keep telling Dad not to work too hard but it is difficult for him to do anything else since he has no help in the store. I have often wished that they could both get away more often and have a proper holiday but I suppose noone is left to look after things – Much love to Jane and Ed,

Love,
Hampton.