Dear John's

A

Alan P

Active member
Dear John letters to British servicemen while they served abroad was probably the low point of that particular serviceman. They just had to get on with their lives, because being far from home they could do nothing about it
I do not know if the American personnel use the same term Dear John when they refer letters from their girlfriends that their relationships were over
Most cases it was because they had found somebody else and having no feelings for the aggrieved
It happened to one of the lads in our tent, without saying a word he just nailed the letter to the tent pole and walked out.
I am pleased to say the Dear John letters were few and far between.
The overwhelming majority of British young women stuck by their men, while still in the prime of their lives
I can only speak on behalf of the British both ex and present servicemen in thanking you one and all


Alan.P.
 
When we I did my National Service then often after the ten weeks training you were shipped overseas for the remaining of your time in the forces. Now when I was in we were not allowed to write home for three months while we were waiting to take part in the 1956 Suez Landings. So not only were you far away you were no longer in touch and Dear Johns came in thick and fast. Now you could always tell when a chap got one by the look on his his face and every one sung the Dear John song. Now they were not just taking the p**s they were letting every one now that he could be in bother and to keep an eye on him.
 
In my time as a Stoker, it was common (almost obligatory) for blokes to post their Dear John letters on the Engineering Mess Deck notice board.
 
It was one of the regular reasons for guys being AWOL; either having received one, or failing to return for duty for fear of being at risk of one.
National Service was a risk to romantic relationships just as it was to career expectations, a big interruption of both. Compulsory, so a big invitation to go over the wall.

We had a couple of guys who went for a shower, wearng shorts and a towel, under guard, in one of the open-topped cold water showers at Tel-el-Kebir, a garrison surrounded by barbed wire and desert in Egypt, and were next heard of months later when they were caught at Dover.
 
Last edited:
I remember some of my friends getting them while at basic. I think 3 or 4 guys during our 11 weeks at Benning. One of them got a letter telling him divorce papers would be waiting for him upon graduation from basic.

I just got over seas about a month ago and luckily no one has received one yet. I think it's just the nature of being gone for so long. It takes a strong woman to stand by and wait a year to see you.
 
brinktk said:
I remember some of my friends getting them while at basic. I think 3 or 4 guys during our 11 weeks at Benning. One of them got a letter telling him divorce papers would be waiting for him upon graduation from basic.

I just got over seas about a month ago and luckily no one has received one yet. I think it's just the nature of being gone for so long. It takes a strong woman to stand by and wait a year to see you.
Click to expand...

:sorry: Brinktk, I didn't realize you were still logged on to the forum on my comp. I accidentally posted that under your name.
 
Everybody gets one....just one though! No worries, I'll make it up to you and you can do a dismounted patrol through Hawija with me...if you dare!
 
brinktk said:
Everybody gets one....just one though! No worries, I'll make it up to you and you can do a dismounted patrol through Hawija with me...if you dare!
Click to expand...

If I dare, really ????? :2guns: I'm gonna go straight up black ops it into your chu tonight and give you a mushroom stamp. Name the time guy. Haha
 
brinktk said:
I remember some of my friends getting them while at basic. I think 3 or 4 guys during our 11 weeks at Benning. One of them got a letter telling him divorce papers would be waiting for him upon graduation from basic.

I just got over seas about a month ago and luckily no one has received one yet. I think it's just the nature of being gone for so long. It takes a strong woman to stand by and wait a year to see you.
Click to expand...

Good luck brinktk . You hit the nail on the head. It does take a strong woman and there are plenty out there who are just the same.

AlanP
 
Alan P said:
Good luck brinktk . You hit the nail on the head. It does take a strong woman and there are plenty out there who are just the same.

AlanP
Click to expand...

I'll give credit where its do. USRedleg made this statement..apparently he didn't realize I was logge in on his computer and responded to the post accidentally under my name.

And to USRedleg....Mushroom stamp...really...? Ok Ok Ok, I'll be nice...but only because I need my vehicles dispatched.
 
While growing up I listened to the many tales told by the now dwindling British Second World War veterans.
They said that Dear John letters were quite common at that period of time.With a grumble they said, because while the young men of Britain joined the forces in the early dark days of the war. Quite a large number were posted to the Middle and Far East theatres of war. The problem came when the American servicemen arrived in numbers in 1942
They had smart uniforms with plenty of money in their back pockets and all had impeccable manners. Also they brought the Boogie woogie with them
The Americans became a magnet for the girls, hence Joe Bloggs got a Dear John letter.
Well that is what they blamed it on.

AlanP
 
I'm afraid this was an issue. In addition to the smart uniforms,as you stated, the wage difference was big, giving the American boys every pulling advantage; am I right in believing the wage and exchange rate made it about 4 times the value. I know for a fact that just post-WW11 in California I had no chance of getting lucky; the USA guys were confident and out-going, 16 year -olds appeared to all drive big cars and I could easily spend my week's wage on couple of burgers etc. In most countries British guys were well rated - Brazil, NZ and Europe were good examples. But, of course, it is true that brass-in-pocket makes all the difference.

So yes, the advantage socially of USA soldiers over Tommies was something of an issue, true to say.
 
Del Boy said:
I'm afraid this was an issue. In addition to the smart uniforms,as you stated, the wage difference was big, giving the American boys every pulling advantage; am I right in believing the wage and exchange rate made it about 4 times the value. I know for a fact that just post-WW11 in California I had no chance of getting lucky; the USA guys were confident and out-going, 16 year -olds appeared to all drive big cars and I could easily spend my week's wage on couple of burgers etc. In most countries British guys were well rated - Brazil, NZ and Europe were good examples. But, of course, it is true that brass-in-pocket makes all the difference.

So yes, the advantage socially of USA soldiers over Tommies was something of an issue, true to say.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that the US servicemen had access to rations that the British could only dream about, and food is an issue.

Remember reading an interview with a Norwegian pilot on a mixed nationality crew in the RAF bomber command during WW II.
They were 2-3 Norwegians, at least one British, an Australian and possibly a New Zeelander, plus an American tailgunner nicknamed "Tiny" (wich he off course wasn't) who volunteered before USA joined up.
The point here was that even though "Tiny" recieved a USAAF service uniform after the USA joined in, he chose to stay with his RAF crew.
But as an American he enjoyed the benefit of collecting suplies/rations from a nearby USAAF base every second week, and that day was like Christmas for the rest of the crew who was on RAF rations.

Despite taking several hits, and having numerous grueling raids over occupied Europe, the memory that stuck was "Tiny" entering the barrack with a crate of US rations every second week.
 
This was so 84RFK. The Brits were famously under-nourished; whereas the Americans tended to be well-fed and strong, big men, beefy guys.

Therefore the Brits tended to be smaller; a tendency which no longer exists, i believe, the Brits having caught up in this respect.
 
Quite a few American servicemen married British girls and after the war took them and their babies back to America.
It was a rude awakening for many of the women, because they thought life was going to be like the many Hollywood films they had watched at the cinemas.
Sadly for many they were disillusioned and returned back to Britain.
There were also quite a few who stayed in America and raised families.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top