i found a letter on the internet from hlw to a british man, written in 1964, evidently in response to a letter the british fellow had written him, asking for his recollections of a particular engagement in july 1941. hlw spoke english quite well. there were some small grammatical errors, such as might be expected of someone speaking a second language, but his meaning was quite clear. it's obvious to me that he had a very good command of emglish, more than just conversational fluency. his writing style is as efficient as the portrayals would lead you to expect...he starts off with some pleasantries, then gets down to the business of answering the man's question, ends with some pleasantries. a very nice letter; it was generous of him to reply to a total stranger asking about something that had happened over 20 years previously.
of course i'm a bit biased, but i think he'd have made an interesting pen pal. as a romantic correspondent, i can't imagine him being at all byronesque. nothing flowery and romantic from him; rather, i imagine more the sort of dry double entendre that only he and the lady would understand. to me, that's far more intimate.