12 January 1941 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford
My dearest Mick,
It seems a long time since I wrote: and it has been a rather dreary and busy time, with a foul
east wind blowing steadily, day after day, and the weather varying from bone-piercing cold to grey damp chill […]
Air Raid warnings are frequent here, but (so far) remain just warnings … I fancy things will
‘blow up’ earlier this year than last – weather permitting – and that we shall have a pretty hectic time in every corner of this island! It is also plain that our dear old friends the U.S.S.R. are up to some mischief.
It is a pretty close race with time. … I don’t suppose mere ‘citizens’ really have any
knowledge of what is going on. But plain reasoning seems to show that Hitler must attack this
country direct and heavily soon, and before the summer. Meanwhile the ‘Daily Worker’
is cried in the streets unmolested. We shall have some lively times after the War even if we win it as far as Germany is concerned.
God bless you, my dear son. I pray for you constantly. Remember me. Do you want anything
specially? Very much love from your Father.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien