21 May 1945, John Charter's wartime journal

Many happy returns of the day, Mother.  We have been sending our best wishes to Betty, Chère and Mother as their birthdays have come by. We have been sending our messages over the ether for, for the last few months (March onwards I think) we have been unable to send any Red Cross cards out for the simple reason that the Japanese have run out of their supply of cards! At least, that is what they say. But cards and letters still come in periodically; last month I had a card from Aunt E (the first POW card to me she had written) dated 25th June 1942. Only 2 years and 9 months old! And one from Uncle Sydney and Winifred Morris dated 19-6-42, six days earlier! Aunt E had apparently, just heard we were safe. She says: “We have been advised to write so that directly it becomes possible letters may be forwarded!”

Many subsequent cards of hers have arrived long ere this – it is a case of, “The first shall be the last and the last first”. (Mathew 19:30)

That is what we feel about ourselves out here – we were the first British possession in the East to fall and we fear we shall be the last to be recaptured!

But this is the only card from the Morrises that I have had; it was good to see the old familiar printed Creighton Avenue address again and to hear they were all well – even though it is nearly 3 years old. Uncle was Vice President of the Baptist Union then: maybe he has been elected President since; in fact I believe the one follows the other almost automatically and so he has probably completed his year as President already. What a difficult time in which to hold the reins of Presidency; they couldn’t have had a better man for it. ((John lived with them when a student at the Architectural Association in London))

So, the Armistice was signed on 8th May and the 9th was declared a public holiday. What a grand birthday Betty must have had. How I wish we could have been with her to help celebrate. It is wonderful to feel that the fighting in Europe is now quite finished – at least, organised resistance. The early reports about Hitler having been killed and Goebbels having committed suicide and Churchill having gone to Germany seem to have been contradicted and it is not certain yet whether Hitler, dead or alive, has been found.

We read of the speedy return of British POWs from Germany; of Trafalgar Square packed with American troops as well as British on Armistice night and I really got a kick out of the thought of all their rejoicing; we could imagine the church bells peeling all over England and we longed to be there with our families.

The realisation of peace in Europe seems to have grown upon me gradually: at first, being so far away from it all, it did not seem to sink in – I couldn’t fully grasp the idea. Well, for all that we have had to put up with here, I am sure they had a much grimmer time at home and experienced many things that we have done well to miss. But one thing – a precious thing – I do envy them has been their continued and blessed sense of freedom.