was a gramophone and a whole bundle of records which we played and played over and over again ,and so once more we were able to enjoy a good tune and hear some new songs. But the real relief from our visit by the Red Cross was the knowledge that at long last, somebody somewhere at last knew of our existence and we were therefore not totally isolated any longer. At Christmas 1944 all the men and women were allowed to congregate together in the large hall and stage a concert. All sorts of acts were performed. The Cape Coloured Afrikaners played the Piano singing South African songs, the Geordies put on an act, and old father Yates recited a poem with such force that the plate of his false teeth fell out but with a huge lunge he caught them in mid air to everyone’s cheers and delight. It was another of the small benefits that had resulted from an easier regime following the visit of the Red Cross six months before. On occasions Mother would like many of the other Mums would feel very blue and get very depressed and sometimes her anxieties would overflow and come to overwhelm her as was natural with any human being under so much stress. But she had friends who would rally to her help and so I enclose a comforting letter written by David Millar Chief officer of the Kirkpool which I conveyed to her on one of my daily visits . It was so kind, considerate and touching that I have included it here. in full as it gives such a vivid picture of life at that time.
“Dear Mrs Charnaud,
I hope that you won’t think it presumptious on my part in writing you this chit and it’s just possible that it may help you a little. I know perfectly well that when I am feeling low and depressed I find nothing so stimulating as the knowledge that I have friends, people who think about me and care about me; it gives one such a grand feeling, particularly when we are stuck here, a small community on our own in this far off corner of the world. I shall never forget the day when those Red Cross parcels arrived here and the reaction I feel, joy, relief and gratitude, those emotions were singing up inside me and almost choking me, not for the material comforts which they brought, but for the message of hope and encouragement which they brought from the outside world and the certain knowledge that we had not been forgotten, and what a grand feeling it was to know that we had been remembered and that people outside were thinking about us and trying to help us. I guess most of us felt like that when the Red Cross Representative arrived here in person that was better still and confirmed the knowledge which the parcels had given us. Only on two previous occasions have similar emotions, the first was after waiting for what seemed a lifetime, the nurse came and informed me that a son had been born to me. I wonder if that makes you smile, I was quite a youngster then, only 24 and it made a tremendous impression on me. He is a fine healthy boy of seven now, and the second occasion was when my ship was sunk by the German Raider in the South Atlantic and I was picked up badly wounded from an over-pivoted and sinking lifeboat when we thought all hope was gone. We certainly have all of us had some experiences crowded into the past two years, haven’t we, but I would like you to know Mrs Charnaud how tremendously I have admired the splendid spirit and the splendid courage which you women have shown throughout all our misfortunes, you’ve set such a grand example to we men and I feel quite sure it has done more than anything to imbue us too with some of that splendid spirit which will enable us to carry on until the final chapter. This latest news which we have just had from the Representative of the protector power representing our interests in Japan seems to have caused some of you ladies great distress. After what you have been through it is not un-natural as it takes very little these days to affect us one way or the other, but surely things are not as black as