Today, a more “recent” postcard than the others. As you probably know (if not, I invite you to read this) the old postcards I post here are from my grandfather’s collection. Most are from the first two decades of the twentieth century. Not this one. It is from 1948 and was sent not to my grandfather, but to my uncle (my father’s older brother) when he was still a teenager.
The sender is Roger, one of his best friends, whom I knew well (he is also the uncle of one of my best childhood friends) when he was most likely doing his military service.
But let’s read what he has to say before going into details:
24-11-48
Dear Bill,
It’s been 7 days since I started to discover the military profession. And, you know, it’s complicated. They keep us completely busy during the day. On Sunday, we went to the movies in town under the guard of the brigadier. I’m not free like we were in Valence. But they’re not that bad. You can find ways to feel better.
Best wishes, Roger.
Of course, the content of this message is of much less historical value than the cards written during the First World War. But it is not without interest. Personally, it is one of the only cards in my collection of which I personally know both the sender and the recipient. As I said above, even though I haven’t seen him for several decades, I knew Roger well as a child. He was in my memories one of the nicest men around at the time. And he is still alive today (so he is over 90). Unfortunately, my uncle left us 13 years ago.
Fun fact: Roger called my uncle “Bill.” On reflection, I’m surprised that none of my friends ever called me that.
Otherwise, to get back to the historical context, Roger had just started his military service when he wrote this card. He was stationed in Angoulême. According to my father, he remained in Angoulême throughout his service (which means that he was not sent to fight in Indochina).
That’s about it for this card.
Stay tuned for more. 🙂
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