Previous letters pages can be found here.

Letters page from Volume 3, issue 7.
March 30th – April 12th, 1955.

OUR

LETTER PAGE

A letter from Sibylla Edmonstone, Blanefield.
Dear Enid Blyton,
I am delighted to hear that I have won the second prize (in my age group) in the Club Competition. I would be very pleased if you would give the £3 to the Sunbeam Society for the Blind Children.
Yours truly,
Sibylla Edmonstone.

(Thank you, Sibylla-you are truly kind! But all the same you are going to have a prize -the one for the best letter on this page!)

A letter from Edwin Dale, nr. Stone, Staffs.
Dear Miss Blyton,
I thought you might be interested to know that we have got a black and white blackbird at our farm. She has been with us for over a year. Last year she had three lots of young birds.
Love from
Edwin Dale.

(I am interested, Edwin. We had a blackbird with a white wing, once and one of her young ones had two or three white feathers and stayed around our garden for years. But now we do not see him. Please tell me next Spring if yours is still about.)

A letter from Vivienne McGuim, Rathfriland, N. Ireland.
Dear Miss Blyton,
I had the flu and I had some medicine which I didn’t like. Daddy and Mummy gave me a penny each time I took it. I am sending you the money which is three shillings and sixpence for the Children’s Home.
With love from
Vivienne McGuim.

(You must have been quite sorry to stop taking your medicine in the end, Vivienne. It was very kind of you to send all your pennies to the Children’s Home, thank you!)

A letter from Susan Chapman, Bedford.
Dear Miss Blyton,
I also have a little kitten called Sooty. I hope you are well. I hope your little Sooty is well, mine is. I hope your little dog is well, too.
Love from
Susan Chapman.

(My little Sootie is very well, Susan, and he sends you and your little Sooty a very loud purr!)

Four letters this week, so no illustration.

Although Blyton chooses a variety of different letters, there are definitely common topics for children to write in about.

There’s the ever popular ‘how I/we raised funds for the blind children’ and we have two of these this week. The two this week are particularly selfless – giving away a prize they won, and giving away their medication bribe! (It’s good to see that 1950s parents weren’t above bribes – a couple of years ago Brodie got a little matchbox-type vehicle every time he got his eye drops done, which of course he kept and did not give away to the less fortunate).

There are also two letters of another common topic – wildlife and animals. Edwin gets what must be the longest response from Blyton yet – she was indeed very interested in his not-all-black blackbird. I expect Susan is quite young as hers is the sort of letter that might not seem worth a stamp to most people – but Susan obviously wanted to share something with Blyton and it’s nice that Blyton took the time to appreciate it.