After 4 weeks of not receiving any word from John, Mary has received 3 postcards and a letter. She hopes Mrs Evans has also received word from Ifor by now. She discusses the sorry state of how their mail is treated and the parcel situation. Then Mary moves on to writing about their sons situation as prisoners in Germany and describes how she is occupying herself, as well as helping others. For example she provides some details or a recent neighbours nervous breakdown.
Mary is sending thanks for the newspaper cuttings Mrs Evans has sent. She is concerned that she has not received any postcards of late from John, fearing especially that he has tried to send too many and his cards are being held back. Mary is also sorry to hear that Mrs Davies is ill. Still she remains optimistic that nothing is seriously wrong. Mary also brings up the subject of all the young men that are being killed and wounded in the war.
Mrs Harold is returning an enclosed newspaper cutting from Mrs Dale on the treatment of British prisoners. She is especially worried due to stories appearing in the paper about starvation but acknowledges they can't believe everything that is written in the papers.
Mary sends thanks for the newspaper cuttings Mrs Evans sent her. She finds it funny that they had both sent each other the same cuttings at the same time. The reason for the stoppage of the post from the prison camps, she understands to be the result of some prisoners attempting to send more postcards than the 2 a week they are permitted.
Mrs Harold is pleased to have Mrs Evans letter of the 27th. She is grateful to her for passing on the news that her boy is well and in good company. She writes that her son has been examined by a Doctor, that 2 Englishmen and he were found unfit for military service and may be let out of prison. Mary Harold has been very anxious about her son who is 25 and a teacher of German. She mentions a recent death in the family; her eldest son died 2 weeks previously in Huddersfield.
Writes that due to unpleasant enquiries he received from the Home Office, he has decided he must discontinue forwarding letters between relatives and friends. The authorities believe it may be abused to the disadvantage of England. He writes that the British Legation will be willing to receive and forward letters.
Mr Dale writes to inform Mr and Mrs Evans that he has been included in the list of prisoners transferred from Ruhleben to Holland. He has taken this opportunity to send Ifor's parents a few lines informing them that their son is well and in good spirits. He writes that he wishes there was some hope of Ifor being transferred soon, but it would appear that the exchange was limited to those who had suffered either mentally or physically. He says that in his case he is physically fit but writes that not all is as it should be; Mr Dale expects to get better treatment now he is in Holland. Mr Dale is finding the Hague a very pleasant place and will be going to see an opera (Madam Butterfly) for the first time in 4 years. He says that Mr and Mrs Evans need not be anxious about Ifor as Ruhleben is a very different place to what it was 1914-15. Though he writes that most of the improvements have been implemented and paid for by the interned themselves. The best that can be said of the Germans is that they left them alone. Mr Dale goes on write about Ifor's work in the camp school, claiming that everyone that has ever had anything to do with him has nothing but the highest opinion of his abilities. He hopes to pick up his friendship with Ifor again in the near future.
Says all is well and that he is migrating to another place (provides address-difficult to read). Asks if Ifor is still in Bavaria. "Allied forces" is written across the top left hand corner of the card.
Michele writes that she has received a postcard from Ifor and in the belief that he cannot write to his parents directly, is passing word to them that he is well. She recommends that if his parents wish to try writing to Ifor that they should do so in German.
She writes that she sympathises with Mrs Evans having her only son taken from her and that she knows she sympathises with them also. She hopes their sons have met each other. She writes that as Ifor is musical he must have taken part in the xmas performance. Mrs Darnell says that she is getting regular postcards now and her boys are well though they long for home; it is especially difficult for her eldest who had just become engaged shortly before leaving home.
He hopes to learn that ILE has been freed. He was sorry to hear ILE was still being held by those damn Germans. ILE is a brave boy for telling his parents not to worry about his fate. This does not surprise the writer in the least about ILE. He will not let himself be beat down. He knows that to fight these enemies, he must preserve his physical and moral strength. He is also helped by the fact that he is not alone. He and his friends mutually support each other. One has inner resources to fall back on when one is young. ILE will be freed and the writer hopes that ILE's mother will not have long to wait anymore before this happiness will come to pass. The writer has received good news from George [his son]. Nothing dangerous. Georges would have preferred to have been an interpreter, but the medical service is one of the few services where one is not allowed to change one's post once assigned to it. There have been many ill this last month, but he is in good health. He hopes to talk to her again soon about ILE.
Her cousin Borgmastaren Pettenson has received a postcard from Ifor L. Evans dated 11 October 1914. The card requested that his parents be informed that he is quite well and that he requests that they send £150 (3000 marks) to the American Consul as security for his release. He is currently in Nuremberg.
Writes that she regrets not being able to supply further information. She states that other Englishmen have been released after a short arrest and cannot say why Ifor has been detained. Louise writes that the prisoners at Nuremberg are being well treated so Mrs Evans does not have any cause for concern. She cannot suggest a means of communicating with Ifor or sending the money requested. However she provides the details of the American minister at the Hague who may be able to help.
Dear Madame, I thank you that you have had the good thought of writing to me. We all have the greatest sympathy for your poor Leslie. We are also very sad to hear that he has been a prisoner of the accursed Germans for the last two months. Remain confident, Madam, that your disquiet will soon be settled and a prisoner exchange will allow you to be reunited with your son as soon as possible. We wish this from the bottom of our hearts and hope for speedy negotiations and a good result. I thank you for your interest in the fate of Georges. He is a nurse and has not been sent to the front. We hope he will escape danger. I have told him what has happened to his friend Leslie and he will write to you as well. [Address of son]. As for us we are well. Our land has not received an unwelcome visit from the Germans, but we have left it nonetheless. My husband, my daughter and I are spending several weeks in Chartres where I have family as well. Please keep us informed of any new developments, which we anxiously await. I hope this letter will be faster than yours. I only received it this morning and am replying immediately. We are well aware of your anguish and send you our best wishes.
He thanks her for the letters she has sent, they give 1st hand evidence of German methods. He writes that he cannot understand why Ifor has been rearrested and hopes he is freed again soon and able to continue with his studies. He writes that the war must have upset all his plans for the winter, others Mr Rees says that he thinks Ifor would have had a good chance of landing a Scholarship. -- Mr Rees write of another Mr Evans he knows studying his PhD in Berlin, he describes how he is pessimistic of being able to finish.
Encloses a letter he has received from Mr Thorne which details the Hague agreement under which the Dutch have undertaken to provide accommodation for prisoners of war.
