A devoted widow is using a treasure trove of more than 900 love letters sent by her soldier husband 60 years ago as inspiration for a poetry book.
Great-grandma Valerie Dewey, 82, and then fiance Arnold were both 21 when he was posted to the Far East.
They kept their love alive for three years by sending mail 6,000 miles between Hong Kong and Britain.
Valerie, who re-read the letters after her “ever loving boy” died this year, said: “I would write to him every day without fail and sometimes I’d make up poems to send to him.
“He wrote back to me every day too without fail. I have 900 letters from him and every one is so precious.
“They talk about things of a past time and bring them back to life.
“In a world of mobiles, emails and text messages, letter writing were our only form of communication.
“These letter are 60 years old and reading them brings back beautiful memories.”
Valerie added: “He was a wonderful man – and I have the letters to prove it.”
The couple were married for almost 59 years.
Arnold suffered dementia in later life and the book, in his honour, will raise funds for Alzheimer’s sufferers.
