Evening star., 1943-06-20
Mrs. Hardwicke
Has Testimony
Of Their Love
Canfeen Mother Shoes
Stacks of Letters
From Fighting Fronts
Rv Villa Grnv Martin.
NEW YORK.

If you are interested in what it is
beyond patriotism - that has
caused so many people of the thea
ter and movies to work in the can
teens here and elsewhere, you should
look over the letters Lady Hard
wicke, wife of Actor Sir Cedric, is
receiving from grateful servicemen,
One night every week her trim
figure Is feet 2, LOT pounds; friends
call her "PiXie'D can be seen hurry
ing about New York's Stage Door
Canteen. Two nights a week she
keeps things humming at the Brit
ish Merchant Navy Club, down by
the Battery, and whenever any Of,
flcers' club about town makes last
minute call for name" performers,
she responds.
In her hotel rooms, where she Is
living while Sir Cedric is in Cali
fornia making another picture. let
terS from "the lads" covered tea ia
bles and stood in 6-inch piles on the
floor.
They were classified-the answered
and as yet unanswered. There
seemed no other way to reduce them
to simpler terms. They were of all
sorts: The Articulate and Self-poS-
sessed, the bashful and awkward;
the heartfelt confession of an eX-
coal miner, now chief cook on a
small cruiser: I'VE had a good time
in Boston, too. Got sloshed a bit
but didn't let the side down"
One boy devoted page to his
ordeal in travelling on an American
Pullman: you can have no idea of
the embarrassment it is for sensi-
tive EngliShman to sleep on train
in mixed company for the first time.
I found myself surrounded by wom-
en-, and sfivered at the thought that
there might be female in the bunk
directly above me.
There wasn't. But since that
polygamous journey, I have been
living here in monastic seclusion."
A Royal Navy petty officer who
had reached New York after his
ship was sunk, wrote to thank her
for helping him recover his balance
and nerve:
my wife and small son have a
number of people whom they pray
for nightly. I have written them to
ask them to include your name"
A Mother Was Grateful.
From somewhere on the Mediter-
ranean: st have written home a
small book telling of how good you
were to us in New York. It is great
city and it has become my firm in
tention to visit it again after the
war-perhaps even to settle down
there if I can find position and
this is something for an English
man, who is very attached to his
country, to say"
From the wife of a sublieutenant
In the Royal Navy:
THE record of a conversation that
you and my husband made is, fear,
more funny than it was intended.
1t was badly cracked on the way
over with the result that you both
say everything three or four times
and Laurie says, 'EggS-to have eggs
again at least a dozen times"
From the young wife of a RAF
flyer: Thank you so much for the
vitamin parcel which arrived safely.
1t ought to be good baby with all
these things helping it along"
Occasionally letter pops up with
the situation, Hello Pixie, darling"
This is not from fresh young serv-
iceman but Lady Hardwicke's 26-
year-old brother, Charles Pickard,
who, she insists, is the family celeb
rity right now. He is one of the best
known young flyers in England, hav-
ing won the Distinguished Flying
Cross, the Distinguished Service
Order Bar (twice) and Czecho-
Slovakian Military Cross.
Charles makes no claims toward
being an actor but he was such a
hit in the documentary movie, Tar
get for Tonight" where he was F.
for-Freddie," that he has received
several movie offers.
Lady Hardwicke's older brother is
also flyer, and her two sisters drive
ambulances. One of them was on
her way to America to be in a play