logo

For the descendents of Richard Dearie and his son John Russell


Henry Mossop's letters to his wife May.

Somewhere in the mouth of the Thames

Sunday 3rd December 1916

Dearest May.

I got a taxi all right left Hotel at 8.10 and in less than 5 minutes arrived at Fenchurch St Station. I gave the man 1/6 and he demanded 2/2 saying he had been waiting but was unable to say how long. I protested and whilst discussing the matter he said it will be 2/4 now. Rather than have a row I tendered him 2/2 but he was very cheeky and declined to take it so I gave him name and address and no doubt he can issue a summons, if it comes you should write to the magistrate and enclose the 2/2 and say I am away, but that I dispute the man’s claim and if necessary ask for an adjournment until my return. A policeman on the spot knows the facts and could prove the tender of 2/2. Well, Charlie turned up all right and came to Tilbury and he managed to get the authorities to let him come on the tender to the ship. He had to leave before lunch-we left Tilbury soon after but having got to where we are, we have stopped, with a large number of other vessells, and expect to stay here the night we’re still in the river. Fancy Gertie turned up at Fenchurch Street Station to say good bye and gave me a fine bouquet of white heather and carnations. I had your telegram whilst at Tilbury also one from Walter ??? Alia and Dell. I lunched at the Captain’s table and he said he had heard that the Doctor had had special instructions to look after me-who did that? The Captain, officers and crew and the doctor are all Japs. I have quite a nice cabin all to myself. There are not more than about a dozen 1st Class Passengers. But I have already made a will for one of them-no money in it-but the man who seems quite a decent sort wants to leave his little estate to the woman he divorced and who married again, and is now a widow. I don’t know whether there will be any further chance of getting news of us but if you don’t hear anything within about 5 days you may conclude we’ve passed to safer seas.

With all my love Your loving Harry.


19 th December 1916

Dearest May,

On Monday the 11th we received instructions to proceed from Southend and we arrived in the ????? and soon after obtained leave to proceed to Plymouth at 10pm all passengers were required to sleep in their clothes, so that they may at once take their appointed place should necessity arise. At first it is very difficult to get any proper sleep under those conditions, but those regulations remain in force till we are out of what is called a danger zone which extends to the Canary Islands to the West of which I am glad to say we now are. By the 11th we found a fairly big sea running and up to Sunday 17th it increased and of course fiddles(1) had to be used and we saw little of the ladies. Very fortunately the rough sea and the rolling and pitching of the ship did not worry me, but the young passenger Doctor has not got over it yet. Yesterday and today the weather is glorious and getting very warm. I have had to change to thin underthings and my dark flannel suit-as we get nearer to the equator my new duck suits will be required. The Captain, Chief Engineer, Purser and the rest of the Officers are a very nice set. All Japanese as are all the stewards and crew all have more or less knowledge of English mostly less. The Passengers on the whole are a very poor lot, the best were a Mr and Mrs Cassani, scotch, who had only been married a month, the wife was young and accomplished, unfortunately she was taken very ill in the channel and after being dosed with morphia was landed at Plymouth and went straight into a hospital there, they hope to come East in the next boat but one, so I may see them at Singapore. There is a Mrs Koch, a massive woman who thinks she can play bridge, and who “supposed I had not read Dalton(2), “ though I have not touched a card on board. There is no temptation to as none of them have the least idea how to play. I can’t trace any accent but it’s a German name and there’s one thing they’re good at and that’s grub. Then there’s Mrs Reid, almost as bad, who takes a delight in abusing the Government and saying all their acts are governed by German influences-the usual talk about Mrs Asquith and finally that we must be beaten in this war; she is S.African and thinks if the colonies were to have the running of the war it would be an easy affair. I had a dust up with her; lost my temper and told her she was unpatriotic. For the sake of peace later in I expressed my regret, but the incident did no harm for its stopped her from repeating such stuff. Mrs Hilder is quite a nice woman, a widow of about 45 who is going out to S.Africa to be married, full of kindness and common sense-the only other lady is a Mrs Tyan the wife of a Chinese holding some official position in China. She is young, some pretensions to prettiness, but in my opinion is hopelessly vulgar. I believe she sings but since we have been in rough seas she has been really bad-she has a boy of about 8 with her, a Chinese said to have been adopted by her husband, very clever, very impertinent and who has once shown his vile temper, he is very fond of a Pekinese dog who is much attached to the boy. Of the men there is an engineer named Braidwood returning to his work in S. Africa a typical colonial whose chief hope is for circumstances to arise so that tens of thousands of blacks may be wiped out by machine guns as he fears that the whites will be overwhelmed by the blacks whose natures are of the vilest, this view seems to be the one held by the vast majority of the whites in the colonies and as such must be respected On general subjects Braidwood has a knack of saying quite ordinary things and then bursting into a giggling laugh as if there had been real wit or humour in his words which there wasn’t! The Irishman Doherty the young Doctor unfortunately is a bad sailor and is not yet himself. He has been at the war for a year, and I believe is proposing to start a practise near Kuala Lumpur. He comes from Belfast and I think is a Catholic as the name of Sir Edward Carson(3) is to him like a red rag to a bull. He is however full of fun, and with any ships passengers except ours would be most popular. But the Koch and Reid combine don’t at all approve of him and his friend Davies and express pious horror of their upbringing and the almost certain damnation of the twins as they call them. They are not in the least alike but they generally come to meals together, the latter always before the combine have got anywhere near the antipenultimate course. Davies is a Welshman, a planter and a white man-he has been for some years in Malay having given up hope of becoming a medical because the family finances would not permit the expense. So off he went to the East: and doubtless stuck to work with visits home few and far between. He now has hopes of greater interest in rubber than acting as manager for a company. He knows the Russells I think Archie best and of course speaks very highly of the whole family. He too is absolutely satisfied of the necessity keeping the inferior races who work in his country at arms length and to a sense degraded, as he knows that any attempt to ameliorate their condition and surroundings, would be looked upon by them as evidence of weakness-they only understand strict and stern discipline. 21st Dec I have seen the Doctor once or twice and again today-the amount of sugar is very small-he finds the same results about the heart as Dr Young-the pulse is still irregular and high, and the swelling of the leg in the day time just the same, he talks of improvement by rest and recommends me not to play deck games. I have come to the conclusion that it will be better to return via America, that journey is more broken and quicker- avoids to a large extent the tedious delay of the Channel and completes the circle of the earth enabling one to visit every continent. 30th January (sic) With the increased heat I developed a kind of prickly heat with spots all over, they did not irritate but at night threw me into a violent perspiration, it lasted three nights, I procured some medicine from the Doctor and I am happy to say all sign has gone and for two nights have slept splendidly only awakened by the arrival of the ice water and shaving water, we shall be at Cape Town in about 5 days, only stopping about 5 hours, but I hope to have time to visit the Rhodes Memorial, post the letters and see what sort of a town it is. You might tell Gertie that I find her friend the rear Admiral has retired and been created a Baron but I shall try and present her letter of introduction. One day is much like another here-sleeping-eating and resting, as to No 2 it certainly is excellent and varied food but wants more exercise to fully appreciate it. I never saw so many dishes-I’ll bring some menus home-as to No 3 it mostly with a book. I have not read so much for years. I have read some of Gerty’s Life Understood (4) but it is most difficult and if I read more than a few pages at a time my mind is in a whirl-but you had better not tell her that, she seemed to think it was so smooth and soothing. Unless anything unusual occurs I don’t expect there will be anything worth adding so I’ll say goodbye but I have not given you my address in Japan. I expect to leave Singapore in the Kitano Maru due to sail from there on February 11 and arrive in Japan on March 1st she will probably be late (we are more than 10 days behind our scheduled time) but a letter addressed to me C/o W.A. de Havilland Esq. 2&3 Mitsu Bishi Buildings Yayesucho, Tokyo Japan Will find me (D.V.)

With heaps of love and all good wishes for the New Year not forgetting Freda and Theo nor Madeleine, George and John Believe me Always

Your loving husband Harry

(1) a device to keep dishes from sliding off a table at sea.

(2) in 1908 prominent Bridge & Whist author William Dalton published a book on Auction Bridge .

(3)Sir Edward Henry Carson (1854-1935) led the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in opposing Home Rule plans for the whole of Ireland, eventually succeeding in ensuring Northern Ireland remained part of the union.

(4) Life Understood by Frank Rawson, a onetime Christian Scientist who had been expelled from the church, and went on to become an influential leader of New Thought in England.

 

 



13th January 1917

Dearest May

I think I mentioned that we reached Cape Town on the 5th, there Mrs Hilder and Mrs Reid and Mr Braidwood left and Davies the doc and I explored the town and very much enjoyed the change. The town is very finely situated at the foot of the mountains with the bay of great beauty bounding it on the South. The streets are wide and many of the buildings imposing. There is a good service of trams with high fares compared with ours. We breakfasted at our hotel and having motored out to Rhodes’ House and back we lunched at the Mount Velron Hotel which is the swagger hotel of the place we had to have lemon squash to drink as no alcohol could be served in consequence of the Australian Troops being in the town en route for England. Everything was very dear-we left at 4 o’clock p.m. and found a good many new passengers but with one exception they were all for Durban only the exception was a Belgian going to Singapore M Badilleaune, who is now quite an addition and what is more is popular with all. The run to Durban was, as usual it is said, very rough especially on the 6th and the new ladies were not seen at all. The weather improved by the time of our arrival in Durban in the afternoon of the 8th it was right for all-we expected to be here for 24 hours as we had to take on some 2000 tons of coal-at first we lay to a buoy in the harbour, so most of us went on shore in a motor boat. Davies and the Doc took two rooms at the Marine Hotel and the Belgian and I dined there and we all went to the theatre to see “The woman in the case” and the B and I returned to the ship to sleep: the next day there being no sign of our coaling B and I spent the day in the town-Durban is by far the best modern city I have ever seen splendid wide streets and fine public and private buildings the Town Hall is worthy of the first city of the Empire-just beyond the Town rises a fine sloping hill dotted with the most beautiful private houses, with wonderful gardens containing tropical plants, trees and vegetation and each of them has a view of the magnificent bay upon which the town abuts. On this hill there is a Zoological Garden with an excellent collection of wild animals. On the other side is the beach, an ideal place for children with perfectly safe bathing for them within a semi circular grille which breaks the waves and is not more than about 4 feet 6 deep in any part and incidentally keeps out the sharks, there were many 100 of nice looking children enjoying it and the sand is perfect for them. Nearby is the best swimming bath one can imagine, open air, very large, and splendidly managed. B and I thoroughly enjoyed our swimming and diving. We dined at the Royal Hotel and found it excellent and quite reasonable and a good band after dinner in a large alcove adjoining-then returning to the ship. We both felt tired next day and decided to spend it on board but we were shifted to a coaling station and at 6.45 the work commenced. The situation was impossible, the noise awful and every port hole, door, crevice had to be made airtight, so I just put a few things in a bag and went ashore and took a room at the Royal very comfortable. Next day I heard from the agents that we could not sail until Friday so stayed another night-we all returned to the ship on Friday morning and I shall never forget the horrible mess the place was in-in spite of every precaution including the erection of canvas screens the whole was covered with coal dust. It was no use attempting to clean it whilst alongside the coaling station, it had to wait until we were at sea, soon after it was done a big wind- ½ a gale got up-it was fearfully rough-I was sitting in my cabin when I found seas were spraying through my open port, and I had no sooner shut it and fastened it when a great sea burst against it and I found water on the floor. The Chief Engineer came and told me it was not safe and the stout cabin doors had sometimes been shattered by the power of the waves, so they found another cabin for me on the lee side. And although the storm raged for some hours after I retired I slept like a top and by the morning (this morning) the sea although not smooth is delightful. We have one more passenger for Singapore, Ashcroft by name, a tall good looking man. I believe his work is insurance.

21st January

Ashcroft is an acquisition, he is fond of games and with the Belgian and Davies and the Doc they have some good deck tennis and billiards. We are in great heat again, since leaving Durban our course is about E.N.E. and we shall be on the line again in less than a week. It is ever so much hotter in this Indian ocean than it was in the Atlantic. Today the sea is like a pond and of course no wind if we were not moving at 12 miles an hour it would be unbearable. The others are sleeping on the deck at night now, I really think I shall have to follow their example as my night attire and sheet were soaked before I had been an hour in bunk. The only thing in the nature of an event that has occurred since leaving Durban is that about a week ago a swimming bath was erected on the fore deck. It is quite a good size and full nearly 6 feet deep, the men bathe at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and it has been a great blessing. I have no bathing dress, but a pair of shorts and a jersey has to do in its place. The ladies hours are 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. but Mrs Koch and Mrs Tuan (Chow its pronounced) do not bathe, but the two ladies in the 2nd class take advantage of their opportunities and enjoy it. Our two live entirely in their own society relieved only by the little beach imp and the young fool of a purser. We have daily confirmation of the younger woman’s commonness and vulgarity but none of the men passengers are on speaking terms with her or the old enough to know better companion. We are expecting to arrive at Singapore on the 31st. I shall send a marconigram when near Penang giving dates of arrival on Singapore so that if Hilda is all right Phil may be able to come and meet me if he can’t manage it I suppose I’ll have to stay a day in Singapore and then take the boat to Port Swettenham, Kuala Lumpur is only an hour or two from there by rail. If we arrive at Singapore on the 31st we shall be 18 days late, and unless the Kitano is also late I may not be able to get that boat on, but I shall try as I am sure the climate of the Federated States will not suit me. We have not seen a ship for many days so unless anything unusual occurs- (very unlikely)! I’ll say good bye, hoping to have a letter from you at K.L.

With very best love and a kiss from

Your loving husband Harry

 

 

 



The Grand Hotel de l’Europe Singapore

15th February 1917

Dearest May,

You will have heard from Hilda of my most enjoyable visit to Kuala Lumpur, Phil drove me to Port Swettenham* yesterday afternoon and the SS Klang brought me here this morning. I expected to have to spend a day or 2 here, but strange to say the Kitano Maru was up to time and had already arrived, so I have to go on board almost at once. Phil and Hilda were anxious that I should stay longer with them, and only agreed to my leaving by this boat on condition that I visit them on my return voyage-by that time they will have become settled in their new home here at Singapore. I promised to do so unless my correspondence or cables in Japan made it necessary I get back to England without any delay. It looks as if the Admiralty would soon be getting the submarine menace more under control. It seems a great pity that the Japs won’t arm their passenger ships. It would surely be better to make a fight of it if attacked. Perhaps they will now. I’m feeling quite well. I don’t think there is much to worry about as regards sugar, but the pulse seems about the same though I have suffered no inconvenience and had no pain or palpable palpitations. I do hope you won’t worry and that things will go on alright with you. Has not every one up to 60 to be registered for war work. I wonder what they will expect me to do. I’ve had a cable from Syms “All well” You must excuse the scrawl. Just off.

With all my love and looking forward to our reunion.

Believe me always

Your loving Harry.

* Port Klang is the main port of Malaysia and was originally known as Port Swettenham when it was founded under British colonial rule in 1893.

 

 

 


30TH April 1917

Dearest May,

We expect to be in Colombo in a few hours and letters posted there go by P & O and reach home a fortnight earlier than we do. There are quite a nice lot of passengers on this boat, and all are on good terms with one another. There is a good deal of musical talent and a few quite good bridge players-deck games are constantly being played by both sexes. At Penang I called at Crabb and Watts office and found he had, within an hour returned from England after nine months’ absence, that was lucky for of course he gave me a good time, and I had to get to the ship in a sampan (the last launch had left) in a little sea, which is quite exciting. It was very hot up to yesterday when we met a symoon, a S.E. wind with heavy rain and thunder and lightening and its still wet and rough today-but it gives one a chance of throwing off the prickly heat. We have just been stopped by a government tug with two mine sweepers, and given a new course for this is about the place where two passenger ships were sunk some few weeks ago, it was thought that some mines were laid by a Swedish ship directed by Germans. If this rain continues it won’t be much fun going ashore at Colombo but as we stay 24 hours I hope to see something of the Town-our next stop is Delagoa Bay* (Portuguese) where we coal, and we miss Durban and proceed to Cape Town, our last port before London. I shall see Mr Joseph Mossop, Allen’s father at Cape Town, he will be expecting me and we will try and fix up the connecting link in the pedigree. I did not insure my effects on this journey, they would not do it for less than ten guineas per cent which I thought unreasonable. I have a few things of interest which I hope to bring home but it would not be a tragedy if they were lost and I got home without them. So hoping to see you in about five weeks, and with all my love-till we meet again-then and always

Your loving Harry

*Delagoa Bay -now Maputo Bay, in Mozambique.

17th February 1917

Dearest May

This is a large ship and quite full. I managed to secure a small single berth cabin which has many advantages, but this particular one up to the present does not suit me the reason is the strange noises of creaking and knocking never cease, its something in the construction of that part of the ship and appears to be taking place on the other side and touching the partition against which the bed stands. A very bad night the first night-and last night the second, I went to bed at 9.30 but failing to get off to sleep by 2 a.m. I sent for the Doctor, and after a talk he very kindly gave me his large cabin for the rest of the night and I slept very well and did not get up for breakfast. Where the Doctor slept I cannot say, it was not in my cabin and the ship does not seem to have a single vacant berth, so I’ll have to get used to the noise or sleep on deck if its warm enough. I was glad to find Mr and Mrs Cassani on board, they were the bride and groom who left the Iyo at Plymouth in consequence of Mrs Cassani’s illness, she recovered in a few weeks and is in splendid health now. One of the passengers asked me if I was connected with a W Mossop who is a solicitor at Hong Kong, of course I do not know who it is but if I can I shall give him a call and see if any connection can be traced. 19th February I am quite accustomed to the cabin now and sleep quite well. Wonderful weather ever since we left Singapore, bright and warm with a nice breeze. We shall reach Hong Kong tomorrow and stay about a day so I can post these. I do hope you are getting on all right and that the latest regulations have not had the effect of giving you uncongenial war work, so little news comes through, we don’t know at all what is happening. I expect you had my letter posted in Cape Town in time to enable you to get a letter to me in Japan, and I am very anxious for news. Goodbye dear, trusting to get safely back in spite of all the wickedness of the greatest Huns in history, and with much love Not forgetting Frieda and Theo or Madeleine George and John

Always your loving Harry.

 

 

 

Tsukiji Seiyoken Hotel Tokyo Japan 7th March 1917

Dearest May,

The Kitano Maru reached Kobe (Japan) on the morning of Wednesday 28th February, on arrival I met the Chief Engineer of the Iyo Maru who with his wife is staying in that town. He asked me to dine with them at 6 o’clock. I was fortunate in securing a room at the Tor Hotel, the last one. It is a fine hotel on a hill-we went up to it in a motor. Soon after I came down in a rickasha and obtained some money from the bank then made arrangements for securing berths for the return journey. I was able to get a berth in a cabin on the Myayaki to Singapore sailing on the 17th inst from Kobe and also a berth in the Kitano Maru sailing about 10 days later from Singapore to London. That will give me about 10 days with Hilda. These are the first two ships leaving Japan for England to be armed. I believe there will be a gun forward and a gun aft so if we find a hostile submarine we shall not be sunk without a struggle. I left Kobe next day for Kyoto for centuries the Capital of Japan I stayed at the Myoko Hotel charmingly situated on a hill about 2 miles from station and saw many wonderful temples and other interesting sights including a journey in a subterranean tunnel in a small boat. I spent two days there and then took the train to Yokahama, arriving there about 8 p.m. I found the hotel which had been recommended to me was closed, so I had to choose one. I went to the Grand the only other one I knew of. It was a long way from the station but finely situated within a few feet of the water of the splendid harbour. I had had the most intense toothache all day-a dentist at Kobe had put in a temporary stopping, but the pain in the train was so bad I had to dig the stopping out and dose it with brandy, the dentist told me it would require a week’s work to make a job which would last and I expect I shall have no chance until I get to Singapore, happily it has not worsened very much since I left Yokahama. I think I mentioned in my card that Mr McGovern to whom Gerty had given me a letter had left Kyoto a week or so before I arrived. I found that he had been converted to Buddhism and was taking a dangerous journey I think to Thibet, disguised on behalf of some society in England. By the bye I saw in the paper here today that Gerty’s friend Mr Rawson, the author of Life Understood (at all events it appeared to be that man) was being prosecuted by the Crown for something connected with the man’s teachings. You might keep the reports of the case-he may turn out to be another of the Spring from types. On Monday the 5th I arrived here and have been using my letters of introduction. I first went to see Mr de Havilland and was very disappointed to find no letters there. I thought I was sure to have one at least from you, I suppose something has miscarried, my letter posted at Cape Town on 5th of January giving that address may have never reached you or yours may be delayed or lost. Mr de Havilland has promised to send any that arrive in time to me at Singapore. I have just had a call from a Mr A.R.Paget he is a friend of Allen J. Mossop of Shanghai, he heard from him and at once looked me up and he has arranged for me to visit him at his home at Oiso next Sunday-from there I shall go on to Myanoshata for a few days. Everyone is most hospitable. Nothing from Lyons since his cable at K.L. as he has not written or cabled here I suppose I may assume he will not be required to leave the work in London till, at any rate my return. I am sending this via Siberia which is in the ordinary way a very quick route but how the mails now go from Russia I don’t know if the Bergen boats are not running. I saw Myabara, (now Baron with a seat in the house of Peers) yesterday, he was most interested in the Fox family and their doings especially the little fairheaded May. He has 3 young children (besides his 2 grown up girls) aged about 10,9,7, quite nice. This is a huge city of over a million inhabitants, but I think I shall have seen all that is worth seeing by Saturday. There is one shop nearly like Harrods, enormous, I went over it and had to buy something, (though not asked to buy at all) and I bought a piece of material, quite representative of Japanese ladies colouring. It would make a most attractive Serang, perhaps Hilda could make it up. This will be the last letter as the Kitano Maru will be as quick as the Mail so its good bye until I get home which will D.V. be about the end of May, we go via Colombo and the Cape-and meantime the best of luck be with you and with all the love in the world.

Believe me always

Your loving husband Harry.

 

 

22nd February 1917

Dearest May,

On nearing Hong Kong there was a definite drop in the temperature and now though less than two days out from H.K. it is quite cold. I luckily put on my dark flannel suit today but I am feeling the want of warm underthings. They all happen to be in my trunk in the baggage room (the cabin will only hold one trunk) and access can only be obtained at 4.40 each day. We berthed on the main land that means we have to take a ferry boat to reach the town of Hong Kong which is on an island. It is an interesting city with a long front to the harbour but after a few short streets inland you come to a steep mountain that rises sharply up about 2000 feet on this are dotted many houses, some right at the top it is approached by a cable line like an endless chain which pulls up the sort of tram cars on rails. This hill is called the Peak at night the thousands of lights in the town and on the hill make a wonderful sight-there are 2 fine hotels and some good shops and buildings, one was Kelly Moalth?? Ltd (was not that Tom Brown’s firm?) but far more numerous are the Chinese shops just like those in Kuala Lumpur with their most extraordinary variety of strange articles for sale. They don’t seem very keen sellers, you may wander into the shop and walk about and its odds they don’t even ask you what you want. 23rd February Its bitterly cold now, and very dull, by putting on my thickest under things, my blue serge suit, the woolly and the heavy overcoat I was able to walk the deck for a bit. We are due at Shanghai tomorrow I am inclined to wish I had not left K.L. especially as my main biting tooth which I had seen to before leaving has gone in another place, and left the nerve almost exposed. I don’t know whether anything can be done in a day to relieve the situation, but I shall try and see a dentist at Shanghai, we stay there 24 hours. I found that the solicitor of our name traded?? at Shanghai not H.K. but as we don’t arrive till Saturday afternoon and leave on Sunday I may not be able to find him. Some passengers left us at Hong Kong and new ones took their place, but the new ones are not anything startling, and on the whole passengers, though quiet and free form vulgarity are just mostly uninteresting. I suppose this all sounds depressing, but toothache mostly lends itself to that. You won’t be able to hear from me again till I get to Japan, I expect to go from Kobe to Kyoto thence to Yokahama and Tokio at which last place I may get letters from you. I do hope that I shall hear that all is well with you and ours With all my love good bye And believe me always

Your loving Harry

 

 



Wednesday 6th December 1916

Dearest May,

Probably no letters have been dispatched since we left Tilbury. I don’t know but we at all events are where we were when we anchored on Sunday evening. It gets a little on ones nerves stopping so long in one uninteresting place, especially as we have not a single word of news since we left. We hope every day and all day that we receive the message to proceed. There may be no further opportunity of communication but in such case no news is good news, Application to Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Lloyd’s Avenue EC * is the best means of getting any information about the ship. I am reading the book Mary gave me The Pillars of Society by A.G.Gardiner**-it is excellent so far. Many varieties of food quite new to me. I don’t sleep properly yet, although the ship is as still as a house here, but after we’re away from England a bit and I’ve got sea legs on I expect it will all right. All the officers and men even the wireless operator, are Japanese, but I find the officers are very nice men and glad to talk, though their English is by no means perfect. They have a wonderful system of education in Japan. The children at the Elementary schools have to learn English. Kiss good bye and don’t worry

Always your loving husband Harry

* Since its founding in 1885, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) has become one of the world's leading shipping companies

** Alfred G. Gardiner, journalist, essayist, biographer was editor of the London Daily News from 1902 to 1919. 19th