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4 October 1918
69 Portland Court, London
Dear Professor,
I hope you got my cheerful letter sent on July 5,1 with the best personal news. Now I have to announce that my darling wife died last month, in very tragic circumstances. She was2 only 25, and a most rare and wonderful being. It is a staggering blow to me, and although I am trying to start work again I am quite overwhelmed inside.3
I hope sincerely that you are all well, and look forward to seeing you again within a year. After the war you must come to England for a rest and change.
Yours always faithfully
Ernest Jones.
Letter missing.
The letter s here is doubly underlined and written boldly over another letter, which is illegible.
In his autobiography Jones discusses his remorse and the circumstances of Morfydd Owen's death, resulting from a severe attack of appendicitis while the two were vacationing in Wales and the effects of a hurried operation; see Jones (1959, pp. 254-256). Some of the details of Morfydd's last days up to her death on 7 September can be traced in Jones's diaries for August–September 1918 (Archives of the British Psycho-Analytical Society, London). The incident, however, remains mysterious, especially in light of the fact that the death certificate was issued on 25 September, over two weeks after her death. A forthcoming biography of Morfydd Owen by Rhian Davies may shed new light on this tragic life.