Fortis est veritas
9th Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Light Infantry
Sunday
Dear Mrs Moore
Mr Moore
Miss Moore
Master Moore
I am both delighted and desolated by your letter, desolated not to have done what was expected of me, but delighted that you should have expected it. [Large blot with caption: Please let this pass as a kiss for Riette]
I began to take a touching farewell of a young lady, saying, with [a] sigh, I am off tomorrow. She answered, without even turning pale, ‘Oh, you’ll always be turning up again’. From that moment I resolved to make no farewells; because it is quite true, I shall turn up again. Not so often as I expected; for we are a garrison. In fact, tomorrow we move into a fortress: those who have inspected it say, it is just like being in prison; I don’t know how he [sic] knew.
You will be glad to hear I am not overworked. The only work I have done so far is to walk behind the Company to Church this morning; except for a game or two of Bridge that is all the work that has been demanded of me.
A tantôt, as our Belgie’s say.
I shall see you soon.
Your affectionate friend
George Calderon
Lieut.
This letter is published by kind permission of Historic Collections, Senate House Library, University of London. It is conserved under MS978/1/2/11 in the Thomas Sturge Moore Papers.
For notes on the Sturge Moore family, see my posts of 20, 21 and 22 November 2014. ‘A young lady’ in the present letter is Kittie Calderon.
Next entry: Fort Brockhurst
