Letter written by Private Joseph Sturgess to his young daughter, while he was stationed in India during World War I.He came from Portchester Hampshire England and called his house “Darjeeling” on returning home in 1919.

JALAPAHAR 24.5.18

My Dear Myra,
Thank you so much for your letter of the 24th March.The fogs you speak of I can well remember seeing some like it when I was Home. I am glad you got the little charm I sent you,a good thing the fever has flown from Portchester, I guess you laughed at Mr Goodall coming in late to Chapel, I suppose you and Brenda have a nice walk around the town at dinner hour, have you a dining room at the school. Tell Brenda I was very pleased with her letter and the night before her letter came we were singing a lot of my old favourites.

I would like you to see the children coming home from their school out here where I am. They carry their slates and books on their backs just as their Parents carry everything. I wish you were going to get my slipper out for me Myra tonight, never mind let’s hope it will soon be that I shall be home so that you can really get them out for me, I got a pair of slippers now they I keep under my bed because our bed is downstairs in the same dormitory as we leave we have a mess room for meals, I told Clem that I went and seen the Hipnotis on Tal. Tonight I am going to see the Pictures, the Chief picture is entitled (Two LPittle Vegabonds) Its Buckohees for me, that means that I have a very steep climb to get back to Jalapahar which takes 40 minutes to do, but I have some one to chat to it does not seem so hard or so long. It is very pleasant here in the evenings because we have the long evening’s just as you do, it does not get dark till 7p.m now I shall be sorry when we have to go back on the plains because it is so dreadfully hot down there and it will be for sometime yet. May and June is usually the hottest, and this year it is extra hot down there. So one of my pals have wrote and told me, it has rained very hard today and I saw the water running down at the rate of 40 miles per hour. It cleared off at 5p.m and I saw the snow clad mountains peeping up above the clouds that suits me better than it does on the plains looking at the scorched up earth. Now Myra I must close hoping this will find you quite well from your ever.

Loving Dada

P.S: Hope you will fit the little shawl I sent you, good night, don’t forget to cover up the rabbits.