Coward (Noel)

Autograph letter signed ('Noel') to Ian Pepper, reading "My dear boy, Just a note to thank you for your charming letter. I was so pleased to receive it and it was so kind of you to think of me. It is true that I am very busy here at Queen's having just opened, but I feel I must reply my dear boy and put your mind at ease. Joining the Navy might be as good a pursuit as any. I'm sure there must be some decent types in the Senior Service - the fact that I've never met any yet has no bearing on the matter if that is your intention. After that, the only advice I have left to give is to do your best and work hard. Never lose faith in yourself or your plans and don't worry about the opinions of others - I never do, they are at best irritating and at worst infuriating. I once said that I will go through life in First or Third Class, but never in Second. Take note of these wise words dear boy and follow them as best as you can. Your calligraphy is very good, which makes a change from the scrawls that I fail to decipher on what seems an hourly basis. And now I must go as my dear director Vivian is calling me to stage", two pages, folding marks, light yellowing, 4to, The Queen's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 21 April 1944, with original mailing envelope; also including a souvenir programme of 'A Song at Twilight' at the Queen's Theatre, the production Coward refers to in his letter (2)

***Ian Pepper was a 15-year-old boy from Stoke-on-Trent who wrote to various celebrities of the time asking them for advice on his future career. Apparently - and curiously- he had been advised by John Lennon to join the Navy or another branch of the armed services. He wrote to Coward to ask for his view