Private Papers of H H Kassman – Airgraph and Letter from Kassman to Mother, Drawing by Jack ‘Dan’ Daniel, June 5, 1941
Date:
05.06.1941
Location:
טוברוק, פלשתינה
Personality:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, H. Henry Kassman
Organization:
הצבא הבריטי
Archive:
Imperial War Museum (IWM)
Folder Number:
Gunner HH Kassman 1-6.1941
Description
Airgraph and letter from Gunner H. Henry Kassman to his mother, drawing by Jack “Dan” Daniel, from within a file of Kassman’s correspondence between 1941-1943 compiled by his daughter in 2010. File’s contents are primarily typed letters and other correspondence, occasionally reproduced (often in addition to the typed version), and also include photographs, diary entries from Kenneth Rankin’s book Top-Hats in Tobruk, some other written materials, and some explanatory material. For further information, please see the folder summary. For all posts about this collection, please click on the “H. Henry Kassman” tag in this post.
Pages 23 and 24: Airgraph to mother, dated May 30, 1941. Discusses further mail difficulties: mother has received only two Air Mail communications from Kassman, while he and Alec (his brother) have been writing regularly for five to six months. They are still receiving mail from her that was sent in November.
They heard [Franklin D.] Roosevelt’s (complete) speech on the wireless last night [likely Fireside Chat 17: On An Unlimited National Emergency, of May 27, 1941]. Opinion of his oratory skills (overall positive). It was “certainly the type of speech for which we have all been waiting, even if it was intended mainly for American consumption.”
Letter to mother, dated June 5, 1941. Discussion of holidays (non-Jewish, likely statutory holidays in England given the one not immediately recognizable as Christian is August Bank Holiday). Last Friday, they again changed something which the censor crossed out (one word) and thus can no longer swim and also have no wireless. Some description of being on duty.
They have received a lot of mail. Discussion of cricket, including memories of cricket season and summer holidays. The North African desert stands in strong contrast. Anecdote of a visit to a Swiss Alpine village in 1939. More discussion of mail, and also of leave. Kassman thinks it unlikely they will get any leave for months. “If we do go back for a short spell, I shall make an effort to visit Tel Aviv.” Estimation of the cost of air fare from Cairo. “It almost seems fantastic for us to have been in the Middle East without visiting Palestine.”
Asks about news of the Goodmans [potentially maternal relatives] and Bunny (the brothers’ former nanny, Irish). Mentions Edgington of the Welsh, Dr Winter, Aunt Addie, and Uncle Bert (childhood name for a cousin, Bert Joseph).
Reproduced drawing, captioned: “Drawing of my father by Jack Daniel ‘Dan'” [father is Kassman; this typed document was compiled by his daughter in 2010]. Shows two soldiers sitting with water and a boat in the background, with pages scattered around them. One with glasses, likely Kassman, has a speech bubble reading: “…speaking personally, my first love is musk – you know, Buster [sic] there are times when they play Mendlesohn that I can literally smell the flowers—” Captioned (by artist) “Conversation Piece – Tobruk 1941”.
2 pages typed, 1 reproduced drawing. Dated May 30, 1941 and June 5, 1941.
