Henderson County Boy Sees London Go Wild
The following letter, addressed to Mr. C.S. Fullbright, will be of interest to the many friends of the writer, who is the son of R.C. Clayton of Cane Creek. Young Clayton, who was formerly in the employ of the People’s National Bank, was working in Richmond, Va., at the outbreak of the war and enlisted in the Navy. He is a nephew of Mr. Fullbright and of Mr. W.A. Young.
U.S. Naval
Headquarters
London, England, Dec.
3, 1918
Dear Uncle C.S.
Enclosed herewith is P.O. Money Order for $100 which you may
add to my account in your Savings Department.
Well old Chappie (London stuff), how are you making out
these fine days? I am jolly well at present. The only thing that bothers me is
the fear of the bally Flu. It may seem extraordinary, but I haven’t taken it
yet (Yes, I knocked on wood. What’s that? No, I didn’t hit my head). It is
still pretty bad here although not as severe as a month or so ago. I hope none
of you people have had it. A great many of our boys here have had it and one of
my friends died with it about a month ago. My health is pretty good, I haven’t
missed a day at work since I came on account of sickness.
Well, I suppose things are somewhat different over there now
since the World nightmare is over, though of course it will take some time to
recover completely and things get back to normal. There is no noticeable change
here except that the people are much more cheerful and the streets are lighted
at night where it used to be almost total darkness. You should have seen this
place on Nov. 11th. The people went wild. They thronged the streets
by the million and celebrated in every conceivable way. Everybody was carrying
flags, some waving them high, some with them tied around their heads and necks
and the buildings were all decorated with them. They shouted, whistled, blew
horns, and when an automobile, taxicab or truck ventured into the street it
would immediately be swamped by the human tide that would climb up on them, bon
fires were made in the streets and squares, fireworks were used, guns were
shot, bands played and the joy of the people knew no bounds. It went on this
way for a whole week, every night the mob would start and then you would hear
the din. I did not think it was in these people here. I had never seen them in
any kind of demonstration and I had an idea that they didn’t care for that sort
of thing, but they surely did turn loose this once. You could see an English
Captain marching along the street with an American sailor arm in arm with their
hats exchanged and ridiculous sights of this kind were common. It is surely a
great relief to know it is all over and that we will all soon be getting back
to God’s country.
I guess I will be here for 3 or 4 months yet, as long as
headquarters is here. I am in the communication department here and it will
probably be the last to leave. As the censorship is all off and we are allowed
to seal our letters, it is now all right to tell you something of the nature of
my work. I am in the Radio Receiving station here, where we receive by wireless
messages sent from the United States and Europe. It is very wonderful and
interesting to get communications in this way. It seems strange and kind of
uncanny to one who doesn’t understand it to see the operators receiving
messages and press from signals made 3,000 miles away by wireless. It is a
great success as it is, but it has wonderful possibilities for development and
improvement. Another very interesting thing is the radio telephone, which is
like the wireless telegraph except that instead of the signals made by a key,
the human voice is transmitted, so that you could telephone me right here, if
you had the proper equipment. It looks as if there is no limit to what can be
done by people. While President Wilson is on his voyage over here he will be in
constant communication with Washington and this side by wireless.
I would like to get a trip to France while I am over here,
but I don’t see any immediate prospects. If I do get a chance to go over on
duty or on leave I will certainly jump at it.
Cecil is still on this side aboard the U.S. Wilkes. Haven’t
seen him yet, hope he can get furlough and come to London.
Time certainly flies over here. I can’t begin to realize it
will soon be Christmas. The weather is very warm here considering the season.
It is warm today in the office with no fire. It is always damp and frequently
foggy and smoky, but rarely ever any frost or ice and no snow. I had rather
have the cold over home though, for this weather is very conducive to colds and
general bad health unless one takes the very best care of himself.
Well, I must close and do a little work. Write when you get
a chance. Give my best to all the folks and say of my friends around there see
you and wish everybody a happy and merry Christmas for me.
Sincerely,
W.R. Clayton
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