R.H. Gray Lt RCNVR
℅ C.F.M.O.
53 Haymarket
London
Feb. 10/44 [dating error]

Dear Mother and Dad,

It was grand to get your cable in answer to mine the other day and then today to get and airgraph and air letter card from you and an air letter card from Phyllis. It was so good to know that you are alright because it was really the first I had heard for over three months. – I have been having an active time. I told you in my last one of these that I would be going to Doncaster and I hoped to go to see Mrs. Potts. I wired Mrs. Potts but got no answer so that I suppose it went astray or she had moved. I wrote her yesterday explaining that. I hope she gets it. I was up to Doncaster last Sunday. It turned out a bit disappointing as there was snow on the ground just half melting so it did not look as nice as it should have. But Jack’s grave, as you know, is in with a fairly large group of service graves and they all have nice white crosses up and a few flowers on each one. Being Sunday, of course, the office at the cemetery was closed and I could not talk to that caretaker that I met before. But as far as I could see everything is being well looked after for which I know you will be pleased. – As you said in your last letter I have been busy seeing people. I think I must be lucky but I have seen so many that it has been hard to keep track of them all. Amongst all my old navy friends I have been lucky enough to see both Blake and Stan. They both look well and are quite happy and keen. They send their regards to you both and could you tell their families that they are both well and seem quite pleased with their jobs – I do not yet know what I shall be doing but I certainly hope they will send me somewhere soon now as this place London is entirely too expensive. Still it is nice to be in civilization again.

Ralph Norris has asked me down for the weekend. I don’t like to go as his sister is about to have a baby but he was insistent.

All my love to you both,
Hampton.

[Editor’s note: Gray wrote the date as “Feb. 10, 1944” on the first page of this letter and this date has been repeated in an annotation on the front of the envelope. But Gray also wrote the date as “March 10” on the back of the envelope directly below his return address. This later date of March 10^th is more likely to be the correct version as it is supported by the postmark date of “12 MAR 44”]