Well Mother, what sort of home? I had a good dinner

WITH only their comrades and the horrors of war for company, the thoughts of Second World War soldiers, sailors and airmen would rarely stray far from their homes and their loved ones.

- BY PAUL BRITTON

That's why the humble pencil, pen and paper were a godsend for those fighting for our freedoms on foreign shores.

From a few simple paragraphs scribbled down on rough sheets of paper to more expansive missives composed with the rare luxury of a typewriter, letter writing was vital for morale. Notes helped ease the pain and anxiety of separation - and crucially gave hope to families desperate for good news from the war fronts.

As the nation observes the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the Express has joined forces with Imperial War Museums to reveal a fascinating collection of letters and notes sent by Greater Manchester soldiers back to their loved ones thousands of miles away.

They offer an unfiltered reality of day-to-day life at war, and capture the hopes, dreams and troubles of those fighting.

The letters are just a few of those submitted as part of a new IWM project to mark the anniversary.

Margaret Regan, 74, from Heaton Mersey, Stockport, revealed a letter her father, James Dignan, wrote to his mother, Agnes, and sister, Mollie, in 1943.

Over six pages, she said it took the ‘working class man from Ancoats’ several weeks to write while at sea. He served with the Royal Marines.

Mr Dignan, in his letter, references widespread sickness on board and ‘lousy’ stew. But he says the menu and opulence of the officers' dining room on board, compared to rank-and-file offering, ‘wouldn’t have disgraced the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

He survived the war to work on market stalls in Hyde, Denton and Stockport, selling china and crockery. A father-of-four, he died in 1995 aged 86.

His daughter Mrs Regan said: “My father writes very descriptively about his journey from England through the Atlantic around the Cape of Good Hope through the Indian Ocean to Aden, and then on through the Red Sea to his final destination, which we believe was Cairo.