Letter from Major Anthony Ryshworth-Hill to Valerie Erskine Howe, 16 June 1944

Major Anthony Ryshworth-Hill (1914-1984) of the South Lancashire Regiment met his sweetheart Valerie Erskine Howe (1920-2003) in Oxford. During World War Two (1939-1945) she was a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and the couple corresponded via a series of letters.

In this letter from 16 June 1944, Anthony seeks Valerie's hand in marriage: 'Valerie, shall we become in engaged in a sort of distant way so that we are sort of linked together until we next meet? How would that suit you?'

From a collection of letters sent by Valerie Ryshworth-Hill (nee Erskine Howe), to Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Ryshworth-Hill, while serving in the ATS, 1942-1945.