Hal Cohen Letter - November 23, 1943
Item
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Title
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Hal Cohen Letter - November 23, 1943
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Description
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Tues. A.M. Nov. 23, 1943
My Dearest Bevvy -
Last night we had another little party here but I’ll
tell you about it in my next letter. I wrote quite a
long letter to the folks in Jersey. I’d hate to think
that any of the letters would get lost especially when
it takes so long for me to write one.
I’ll start my experiences in London with Sun.
morning. A guide left the Rainbow Club with a small
group of us to go on a walking tour. Our first objective
was the changing of the guards at the Palace. On the way
we passed Marlborough (excuse spelling) House where Queen
Mary lives. Across the way is the old St. James Palace
that was acquired by Henry VIII. It was used by the
following monarchs until Buckingham Palace was built.
I’ll have to take time out now as we are going to visit
an airdrome this afternoon. Should be very interesting.
Here I am back again. Enjoyed the visit and saw
many aircraft that I had never seen before. Sorry, but
that’s all I can tell you about it.
Now back to London again. We reached Buckingham
Palace and had a good view of the guard change. Thought
I could stop in to see the King and compare notes but
it seems his secretary slipped up on making the date
and the King wasn’t in.
The old guard (Scotch) stood at attention in the yard in
front of the Palace until the Coldstream Guard slow
marched up to relieve them. It’s hard to describe the
slow march. The man extends his left foot sharply
forward and then slowly drops it to the ground. Does the
same with the right and continues first left then right etc.
They halt a distance from the old guard and the office
of the old guard turns the key over to the new.
By the way, they are accompanied by their respective
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bands which play when they march up and then
while they are assigned to various posts. It’s all
very impressive, although not as much as it is in
peace time, because now they wear battle dress.
Across from the Palace is a huge statue of Queen
Victoria seated in her throne. It is huge and is composed
of 2300 tons of marble. I’m sending some picture post
cards and you’ll see it on one of them.
On our way to the Abbey we stopped to see the Westminster
Roman Cath. Cathedral (about 4 blocks from the Abbey). I was
struck by the tremendous size of the tower, something
like this - It was hundreds of feet high and
seemed to reach way up in the sky.
(doesn’t lean the way I’ve drawn it)
Then we came to Westminster Abbey. Hon, there’s no
describing the awed feeling one gets when entering this
old building.
Just over the entrance is a monument of William Pitt
who was Britain’s youngest Prime Minister at the age
of 24. To the right is a little room for the dead soldiers
and sailors of the last war. In the main Cathedral, about
20 yds. from the entrance is buried the “Unknown Warrior.”
(similar to our unknown soldier) There’s a huge plaque above the
grave which is set even with the floor and surrounding
it are hundreds of poppies. In each corner is
a large candle stick with a burning
candle. Hanging on a pillar close
by is the Congressional Medal of Honor that Gen. Pershing
bestowed on it.
Further in the huge room, there are two main rooms,
were the stones above the graves of Chamberlain, Isaac
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Newton, Livingston, Faraday etc. Then there are various
corners - Poet’s Corner (all poets buried there) Statesman’s Corner
(all statesman) Scientist Corner, etc. A sermon was going
on so I couldn’t see all the corners. All the way forward
is the altar where the coronation takes place. I believe
14 monarchs have been crowned there. Just outside is
the “Cloisters” where are are buried notables and nobility. They
are under the stone walk which serves as tombstones. Seems
funny to walk over the graves. Some date back for hundreds
of years and many stones were so old and worn that all
that was left of the original inscriptions are some faint
scratches. To one side is the little room in which the
monks prayed. It dates back to 1040 A.D. There are many other
sights that I didn’t have time to see. You really have to
spend a few days there to see everything. So we moved
on. Just down the street is a statue of Geo Washington.
Interruption again. I’m now sitting in our Rec. Hall waiting
to see “Shadow of a Doubt.” I’ll continue till the picture starts.
Uh, uh, lights out -
Wed. Nov. 24, 1943
Dearest -
The pictures were very good. Saw one that showed what
would happen to a “Lidice” in Wales. “Shadow of a Doubt”
was very good.
I suppose you’ve noticed that my letter writing consists of
a few sentences every chance I get. Guess I’m trying to do too
much at the same time.
Now for London again - All of the government buildings are
in the same area. Big Ben is at the corner of the Parliament bldg.
It’s quite large. The hour hand is 9’ long and the minute
hand is 14’. So you see it is a sight.
Other sights were 10 Downing St. Scotland Yard, The “Cenotaph”
which is a War Memorial, sometimes called the “Empire Memorial”
the Earl Haig Statue which caused quite a fuss because many
people felt the house’s head didn’t extend enough, and
Nelson’s statue in Trafalgar Sq. At the base are four
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huge lions which were cast from the battleship Royal George.
There’s also a small building covering a statue of King
George I. A sign on the door reads - “Closed on Sunday,
not open during the week.”
To complete the trip I saw Abe Lincoln’s statue
and one dedicated to Edith Cavell.
There’s more I did on Sunday. Went to a concert and
heard Moiseiwitsch play some Chopin. Pretty good but
it took him a long time to warm up.
I think I’ve covered enough for one letter so I’ll say
good - bye for now. Please excuse the jumpiness
of the letter.
Your loving hubby
Hal
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Contributor
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LeBourveau, Emma
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Coverage
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World War II
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Creator
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Harold Cohen
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Date
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1943-11-23
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Format
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Written Document
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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Keene State College
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extracted text
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