penpals in the forces free to send "email" letters to cheer them up

GEMGIRL67

I went out with my ex boyfriend for 7 years, who was a soldier. When he was in the Iraq war in 2003 I was a member of a forum that was supporting the troops and a lot of girls ended up being pen pals with some of the guys out there. When they were all due to come home after 6 months the girls started posting on the forum saying they couldnt wait to meet up with "their man" how their man had written and phoned to say how much they loved the girls etc etc. All without meeting.

In the end, a lot of the soldiers met up with the girls, then after a while the girls started posting messages to say how upset they were cos they had found out the soldiers had been married and the wives had contacted them.

I found out a year and a half ago that my ex boyfriend had been having an affair with an older woman for months behind my back. I then went on 4 dates with another soldier last summer, who told me he was divorced but because I had been on army camps I knew everything he was telling me was a pack of lies so stopped seeing him. Months later someone I knew had worked with him and told me he was still married. He had also been seeing lots of other girls too.

julieanne123

hi

i would like to have a forces penpal but am struggling to find information on how to find one. can anyone help? i have emailed the sun but havent had a response as yet.

thanks

andycat_2

I would not waste time on this.
I contacted a few names on the list I was sent and received NO replies.
Also, I looked the names up on FB and they ALL had hundreds of 'firends' so do not think they are all poor lonely guys.

Kazipoo

andycat wrote: »

I would not waste time on this.
I contacted a few names on the list I was sent and received NO replies.
Also, I looked the names up on FB and they ALL had hundreds of 'firends' so do not think they are all poor lonely guys.

My husband was in the army, he was also my penpal, we have now been married 17 years and have 4 beautiful girls. Believe it or not, he did and still has lots of friends.... it is very lonely on tour.

ChrisSC

Hi, I'm currently in the RN - have been now for a while, just over 8 years.. I'm currently away from the UK for another several months so would appreciate a penpal or email friend... No ex-wife or wife which I know of - so no horror stories like a few of the posts before, just a friendly person looking for friendship or more, and unable to acess many other sites. Feel free to contact/pm me.
Chris

3rdtimelucky_2

Many moons ago i started penpaling age 12. I then went on to get navy and army lads to write to, just by writing a letter to the COs if i heard of a barracks or ship name and ask for my request to go on the notice board. I also started to hear about a world wide idea called friendship books (fbs). These i think started in the USA maybe war time onwards. I got married and stopped the writing as too many males.
In 2000 i thought i would like to start paling again but was out of touch with any contacts, so when reading a classy garden magazine that often got letters from abroad, i took the chance and they printed my request for gardening pals. I got about 35 replies, but like a lot of things there are those who are not really into the subject and they gave up before they began, but some lasted longer and I still have 2 who i write to. This also opened the chance to getting fbs again, when one was sent to me and i thought great i can start to swap them again.
A fb is a little home made booklet that people add their name and address to and ask for a penpal. They can add what interests they have to see if another has same. it also allows for people to ask for swapping pals, it could be like me i swap bulk fbs, collect used postage stamps and swap other things like decos. Because these go around the world i am also a bit security iffy and use a nick name and no surname that someone could misuse to forge a passport etc; Having learnt from internet penpal sites there are a lot of people wanting to get to Uk illegally and they openly write to ask for help, beg money etc; so I exclude some countries where i will not reply to anyone there. As someone mentioned earlier, as much as i am happy to have male penpals too, there are those who abuse the idea and i have had my share of weidos make contact. It is a case of using some common sense. When i see young people give out a phone number or even their email addy i do wonder what they think will happen.
The penpal world have a list of abbreviations and these are used to save on space with your small label or add on if handwritten into these booklets. These are some i use. LLP =long letter pal, NPW= new pals wanted. NSW= new swaps wanted. W/W= could be will reply or world wide. NNPW NNSW= no new pals/swaps wanted. A/S = answer some or A/A all.
Some things people like to add to/take part in are Decos, these are about 6 pages booklet that someone starts with an idea and other people fill in with their own design, so it could be a cat deco and each person will add a design with cats on a page and then decorate it with sequins thread glitter etc. The book finally gets sent home full. Some are very arty others magazine pictures stuck in.
Label bags are envelopes one adds a few address lables and takes same amount out and then makes fbs, decos, more label bags with etc for those people. Slams are question books, normally a bit mundane but lots like to add to them, there will be pages and you sign in and answer the questions on each page. It could be what colour is your dress to day or what did you eat for breakfast!!!. I sometimes see Lyrics, for people to add these to a page. Then there are exchange slips and sheets. One i use often is Forever stamp exchange. I send 50 used stamps to No 1 and add my name to the end of the list and eventually someone hopefully will send me 50 stamps too.
I also came up with an idea in 2003 called FRIBS. This means friendship book story/ies. Based on the idea of FBs with penpals as the means of travelling. Fribs are short stories started by one person who stops on a word another person can use to carry the story on with. They are small, using 1 typing A4 sheet of paper plus a decorated cover and cost basic postage rates to send worldwide. It can take about 6 people to complete the story. The fun bit is no one really knows how the story will twist and turn as each person adds to it, so long as it flows and makes sense. Because I lost the first few with sending anywhere in the world I had to set up a group to ensure as many would come home again and people can join on yahoo groups Uk so long as they are reliable, can afford the postage worldwide and have imagination. I alone have several folders of these stories i have contributed to, some are very good and the standard of English non natives use is better then our own at times. We are a small secure group and often can have up to 200 stories circulating at any time. Free membership is open to postal members too, but they may not get to choose what is sent to them as a 1 for 1 exchange with another member. Otherwise online members get a page to list all stories they have available to pass on and how the story is so far written. How much a person adds to a story is up to them but we suggest a paragraph at least or one little page. Most people doing fribs are also penpalers too. Interested or want to contact me about the fbs too, send a message to the group. If you want to add your name to an fb and want it to get circulated i can do that for you, so tell me details. When/if you get someone to contact you depends what you want from a pal and if someone thinks that you will suit them , do as i do, list some hobbies, suggest an age group, maybe what countries you want a pal in, like USA, Europe, Asia etc; say if you are short letter or long type. I will then add this to some fbs for you. I don't want to risk sending you a fb only for you to not bother with it or have nowhere to send it on to. If any members of the forces want to do some fribs with us as it is a good way to focus the mind away from reality for a short while, then we would love to have you in the group and your address will be kept within a small circle of members who know the rules about not giving any details out to outsiders, we are very loyal and family like. As for me i am now a granny so a bit too long in the tooth for a squaddie to want to write to me, pity, I am a damn good writer and can keep someone reading my letters for ages. Also i am an ex squaddie so can understand things from your point of view better then a civie would do. email fribs-contactgroup@yahoogroups.co.uk
Hope all this will get printed, see, i can't help myself i go on and on, with so much to say.:rotfl:

KatTeasy

like most things there are good experiences and bad experiences to this! you just need to use your common sense.
dont give out too many personal details and if someone says they love you after 2 letters then use your head! Dont go into it expectign to find the love of your life - yes this does happen but most of the time they want company ior a friend

I did this when i was younger and dont regret it at all. 90% of the experience was positive and as soon as something went on that i didnt like then i removed myself from it!
I know that the military personell do appreciate contact from people back home and also appreciate care parcels as they go without creature comforts to such a high extent.

please message me if in the military or can help me to start this up again.
Thanks

homealone_2

i too would like to find a penpal so any info would be great, thanks

thehat22

Can I also ask if anyone has any information that they sent it to me please?

GeeBee38

Hi emma b i would like to write, i tried to pm you but it said you pm storage was full
thank you.