Knickers in Norwich are said
to be orange, or yellow, or red
No wives ever roam
when the soldiers come home
you will find they are waiting in bed
Over recent weeks I have given a brief description of where the town is, what it’s famous for, and other trivia associated with the place. This week you’re not getting that. Tough! You’ll have to look up wikipedia on this link!
Instead, a brief explanation of the verse above:
During the Second World War servicemen were allowed to send Forces Mail home free of charge but they were restricted in what they could write. They could not say where they were (most did not know anyway!), what they were doing, and they were mostly only allowed to send a pre formatted and part pre printed military postal form. This meant they had to be brief in what they wrote.
This led to a much used shorthand to impart what they wanted to say. Many will know of the acronym SWALK which meant “sealed with a loving kiss”. Other acronyms can be found here.
NORWICH was (K)nickers off ready when I come home!
YOWZA!!! Lucky soldiers, indeed!!! 🤣❤️🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
I imagine there may have been a lot of disappointments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh noooooo! 🤣
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ll go for the Knickers of red
A colour to brighten up my bed
LikeLiked by 2 people
I learn something new from you every post. Knickers is the latest and most fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I learn from you too Margo, but in much better taste!
LikeLike
Lucky fellas!
I went to Norwich once years ago. I didn’t have the opportunity to do any knicker research, though.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Give me a call next time you go, I’ll lend you a uniform!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A great way to start the day, thank you for making me smile 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I try my best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Peter! There’s something VERY heartwarming about soldiers keeping the humor and the love alive in their ‘form’ letters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it hasn’t changed much. I had a friend who was in special forces, he never said where he was, but somehow I always figured it out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There were always ways to give very broad hints!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this Peter!
We still use SWAK! No loving… will have to add that one in 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
The emojis of yesteryear!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed!
LikeLiked by 2 people
And that’s exactly the way it should be! 😉 😀
Thank you for this post, Peter! I enjoyed learning about the shorthand! Growing up people used the SWAK acronym. 🙂 I think it’s cool the soldiers found creative ways to share their love and feelings in the form letters!
KWLP!!! (Keep Writing Limericks Peter!!! 😀 )
(((HUGS))) 🙂
PS…I know a bunch of knicker jokes…butt, I will forgo sharing them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, perhaps best not to expose them to the public!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀 😛
LikeLiked by 2 people
A fun limerick and an interesting explanation about the clever acronyms devised during the war. The name of Norwich will never seem the same after reading this. 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I loved learning this. Thanks for giving me a smile on this overcast humid day.
LikeLiked by 2 people