5681695 Sergeant Eric COBURN, RASC Section, Royal Artillery: North Africa, Italy

T/5681695
Sgt. Coburn E
c/o Isolation Ward 'A'
104 General Hospital
C.M.F.
27-10-45

My Dearest
Thanks a lot for your letter of 20th just received. Darling am pleased to say am much better now & am up & about but am still kept to my ward which is a bit lonely as it is only the size of an ordinary room & me the only occupant. All the same expect I shall soon be able to get around the other wards as I asked the doctor today if I could & he said they would take one or two swabs of my throat & if nothing showed I would be able to get around. Dearest the news of getting out is not so bright today, the doctor told me that a new Army Order had come out that all persons in hospital suffering with Scarlet Fever would have to be kept there for 6 weeks (this is the same as in Civilian hospitals) but he said that he would try & get me away before if it was at all possible & it had been such a disappointment to me especially as I was on my way home at the time & also after so long abroad. So darling I must put my faith in him, if he is unlucky in getting me away it will mean another 26 days from today which means I should not possibly arrive home before the end of Nov. & which would also mean me losing 28 day leave after all this time abroad because according to official information my group 23 is due to be demobbed between the 7th & 20th of Dec. so I guess my luck is well & truly out, but there love suppose all will come right in the end. I note love your remarks about the letter you have had from WHP. Am pleased you have given him my address & now perhaps I shall hear from him, all the same I have just written to him explaining my illness & that when it happened I was on my way home & that I was looking forward to being able to see him & I also added to keep him quiet I hope, that I was looking forward to returning to the market & that I hoped that my job with him still awaited me. I explained to him that my release was due in Dec, so now I await a letter from him which I will let you know what he has to say. Now darling the house business seems quite alright quite near the station etc. I should be glad if & when you get the particulars re cost & rental etc. if you would send same on to me so that I can sort them out a bit. Am pleased to get Mums address as it is so long since I wrote of heard from her. Well my precious I think I have covered all the main points now & as there is no other important news will close looking forward to hearing again soon. Bye bye my pet.
Your loving husband
Eric X
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

T/5681695
SGT COBURN E
c/o ISOLATION WARD 'A'
104 GENERAL HOSPITAL
C.M.F.
27-10-45
MY DEAREST VALERIE
DADDY WAS VERY PLEASED TO RECEIVE YOUR LETTER TO HIM. YES MY DARLING DADDY IS FEELING VERY MUCH BETTER. AND HE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON NOW, AND MY, WONT WE HAVE A LOVELY TIME WITH THAT CAKE, AND WHAT GAMES WE WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY. WELL MY PET I THINK I WOULD SOONER ROLL FAGS THAN DO MUMMYS KNITTING AND AS FOR AUNTIES STITCHING, NO THANK YOU, SHE MUST DO HER OWN DIRTY WORK. MY PRECIOUS WILL YOU PLEASE TELL MUMMY THAT THE NURSES ARE ALRIGHT, BUT THE NIGHT SISTER IS THE TOPS. AND THAT I GET TEA OR SOMETIMES OVALTINE FROM HER. AND ALSO THE OTHER DAY I HAD A TREAT FROM THE DAY SISTER OF A BOTTLE OF ENGLISH BEER. AND MY IT WAS GRAND AS I HAD NOT HAD ONE FOR OVER 2 WEEKS. WELL MY DARLING ONE I LIKE YOUR DRAWING OF NANNIES AND AUNTIES HOUSES BUT I CANT SEE AUNTY NOSING OUT OF THE WINDOW, HAS SHE FORGOTTEN HOW TO? WILL YOU ASK HER FOR ME. WELL MY LITTLE PET DADDY MUST SAY BYE BYE FOR NOW AS HE HAS TO WRITE TO NANNIE COBURN SO ALL THE BEST MY DARLING, BE A GOOD GIRL. DADDY WONT BE LONG.
LOTS OF LOVE
DADDY
XXXXXXXXXXX

 

Eric underwent a Medical Examination on the 21st November 1945 which gave him the all clear to be released from hospital on the 22 November.

On the 1st December he embarked on transport to the U.K., arriving there 5th December 1945, four years, two months and nine days after leaving. He was reunited with his family on 15th December 1945.

 

View attachment 47334

 

Eric returned to his work with W.H. (Bill) Press at the Fruit Exchange in London's Spitalfields Market in January 1946. The support of Bill Press throughout Eric's Army Service ensured his loyalty and he remained with the company at Spitalfields until his retirement in 1974.

 

View attachment 47348

 

1939-45 Star
Africa Star with 8th Army clasp
Italy Star
War Medal 1939-45

Also shown in the pictures is the Medal Letter and the trusty Oxo tin he kept his precious items in.

 

Cap badge & Service(?) Badge

 

Sweetheart Ring, Sergeant Stripes and Cigarette Case remembering C platoon possibly made from recycled brass shell.

 

Just for completeness thought I would post pictures of these too. Alfred James Coburn served in the Rifle Brigade in WWI.

 

Lynda - this has been a really interesting thread and I have enjoyed reading Eric's letters home. Thank you so much for having shared so many of them here.

Jules.

 

I assume this was taken back in the UK at a later date as Eric seems to be wearing his ribbons. Can anyone tell me when the 39-45 Star ribbon was first worn? Eric received four medals- Any idea why even now his ribbon bar only has the ribbons for the three stars and not his war medal?

Eric is on the right, I am not sure who the others are, but the one at the front may be Basil who appears often in the letters.

 

As many have asked what the future brought for Eric & Gladys here is a later photograph taken at the celebrations for their 45th Wedding Anniversary in 1980. Throughout his life Eric continued to rise with the larks, a habit embedded during his market days, and would brush the floors with a handbrush so as not to wake Gladys before taking her a cup of tea at the more reasonable hour of 6:30am!

Gladys died the year after this photo was taken having struggled against breast cancer for a while. Eric survived until 1987 when his heart finally gave out. Valerie stands behind her mum in the photo.

 

Lynda
Thank you for giving me the privilage of sharing your family through the war years and to the joys of civi street.