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Letters from Leslie Cairns while with 11th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and 137/166th Newfoundland Field Regiment in North Africa, August 1942; January - October 1943

 File — Box: CLX-A-1542
Identifier: Coll-1657/4/11

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

One folder containing letters send to and from Irene J. Young, Leslie G. Cairns and "Mother", manuscript, 23 January to 19 October 1943, while Leslie is with 11th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and 137/166th Newfoundland Field Regiment in North Africa.

  1. There are nineteen letters sent to Irene J. Young from Leslie G. Cairns describing his experiences in North Africa and his application, interview and acceptance to transfer to the Parachute Regiment as well as discussing returning home for training. His letters cover topics such as how war has changed him both in physical appearance and as a person; congratulating Irene on her University finals and job in the Foreign Office, and wishes to know more about her work; descriptions of living in the desert; and in one letter he asks Irene if she will wear her engagement ring again, admitting that he never took signet ring off.
  2. There are two brief and incomplete letter card notes to 'Mother', August 1942.
  3. There are two letters written to Leslie G. Cairns from Irene J. Young, with the address and date removed, sent around September 1943. In the letter she wishes Leslie luck, discusses "education" and quotes some lines of verse. The second letter was sent to Leslie from Irene on 4 October 1943. She asks Leslie to send a photograph of himself. On the letter is a stamp suggesting the letter was returned to her since the address was unknown.
  4. There is one letter is sent to Leslie from Mother on 19 October 1943, also containing a stamp reading "undelivered" and "returned to sender."

Dates

  • Creation: August 1942; January - October 1943

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Some material is restricted due to Data Protection legislation. Please contact the repository in advance.

Full Extent

2 folders

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Originally from accession: SC-Acc-2016-0052

Related Names

Subjects

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
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