"Although full of Nazi propaganda they were very decent fellows..."

Dear Sir,

May I first excuse myself for the late arrival of this letter, as I have very little to write about. The holidays have not been very eventful, the only "high spot" being the fortnight spent at the Anglo-German Camp at Llanddulas, near Abergele. The camping ground was well-situated, climbing and sea bathing both being near. Here we became acquainted with nine members of the Hitler Youth party. Although full of Nazi propaganda they were very decent fellows and were the cause of many long discussions. We quickly became the best of friends and went climbing, bathing and visiting Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, etc. together. The end of camp came much too soon and we left with both parties looking forward to the Christmas camp in Bavaria. The rest of my holiday has been spent in Bolton and my time has been spent in playing cricket, football, tennis and ping-pong. The latter part of it has been rather dismal, as my two friends; Leman and Schofield have both taken the "big leap" and started work and I shall not be too sorry when Friday morning arrives,

Yours Sincerely,

K. Coates

From the Mass Observation Worktown Holiday Competition 1937

 

 

Some holiday dreams from 1937

These are responses to a competition advertised in the local paper in 1937, which asked for correspondents to describe how they would spend their ideal holiday. The responses were collected for a  Masss Observation book on holidays, as yet not produced. Documents from the past are innately poignant;even the the idiosyncracies of the typewriter used to transcribe these letters adds a filter of pathos. The letters written by, and the information gathered from the mill workers of Bolton repeatedly express the simple desire to holiday in a quiet place, away from the sound of the mill machinery. They also talk frequently about the worry of the holiday, knowing that when you return to work that you and your family will have to manage for a week with no pay at all. The Mass Observers specifically asked the people of Bolton if they could imagine a time when they would receive pay for their holiday week: most people answered that it was inconceivable.