Halsey 6 January 1915

To listen to the audio clips, click play on the bar on the right.

My Dear Father

Very many thanks to you and Mother for your letters of 3rd and 4th respectively, and I am very glad to hear a better account of your neuritis. Also many thanks for all your good wishes. We had a good dose of weather at sea in the New Year, however we have really had two good days on end and I have been able to get quite a smart coat of paint on, which was badly needed. Thanks very much for your congrats to Grace to whom I gave your message, and he wished me to thank you. I hope to keep Dudley North as Com di…

The Formidable disaster is very sad, but as you say we must expect these awful catastrophies, and I only trust that if my ship has to go it will be in a clean fight with another ship. But of course any ship may have the bad luck to bump a mine, which are spread in hundreds everywhere now and submarines are always on the lookout for us.

So glad the Christmas tree went off so well and I should have just loved to have been there. The Russians seem to have given the Turks a good hammering and are also doing very well again in Poland, but I agree with you that it is going to be a longer business than most people imagine. I have been ashore today for a two hour walk, which has done me a lot of good. One gets very mouldy on board day after day and the monotony is great.

Much love to you all at home and I trust this year may end well for us all and that we may have a great re-union.

Believe me your affectionate Son

Lional Halsey

D/EHL F61/27