Letter to Mr W P Perkins from officer commanding 214 Squadron
Title
Letter to Mr W P Perkins from officer commanding 214 Squadron
Description
Offers sympathy on him learning that his son was missing in action. Mentions he was an air gunner in an aircraft that took off on 20/21 March 1945 and no message had been received from aircraft and it failed to return. Explains possible outcomes and notes that request not to publicize fact was to avoid his chance of escape to be prejudiced.
Creator
Date
1945-03-21
Language
Format
One page typewritten letter
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
ERogersDDPerkinsWP450321
Transcription
No. 214 (F.M.S.) Squadron,
R.A.F. Station, Oulton,
Norwich, Norfolk.
21st March, 1945.
Dear Mr. Perkins,
I am writing to offer you the sincere sympathy both of myself and the whole Squadron in the anxiety you have experienced since learning that your son, Sergeant Walter Perkins, is missing from air operations.
He was an Air Gunner in an aircraft which took off to operate against the enemy on the night of 20/21st March, 1945. No message was received from the aircraft, and it failed to return. Nothing has since been heard of it or of any of the crew.
There is a possibility that your son may have escaped from the aircraft by parachute, or in a forced landing in enemy territory, in which case he would be a prisoner of war, and news of this would not reach us perhaps for many weeks. The International Red Cross would be the first to receive any further news, and they would pass it immediately to the Air Ministry. The Air Ministry would then communicate with you direct, thus avoiding any unnecessary delay.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty of your son was included with the object of avoiding his chance of escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he was still at large. This is not to say that any information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
The personal effects of your son are now in the custody of the Committee of Adjustment Officer of this Station, who will be writing to you soon regarding their disposal.
I feel most deeply for you in this anxious time. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. We all join with you in hoping and praying that your son is safe.
Yours very sincerely,
D.D.Rogers
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 214 (F.M.S.) Squadron. [/underlined]
Mr. W.P.Perkins,
Mansfield Lane,
Galverton,
Nottingham.
R.A.F. Station, Oulton,
Norwich, Norfolk.
21st March, 1945.
Dear Mr. Perkins,
I am writing to offer you the sincere sympathy both of myself and the whole Squadron in the anxiety you have experienced since learning that your son, Sergeant Walter Perkins, is missing from air operations.
He was an Air Gunner in an aircraft which took off to operate against the enemy on the night of 20/21st March, 1945. No message was received from the aircraft, and it failed to return. Nothing has since been heard of it or of any of the crew.
There is a possibility that your son may have escaped from the aircraft by parachute, or in a forced landing in enemy territory, in which case he would be a prisoner of war, and news of this would not reach us perhaps for many weeks. The International Red Cross would be the first to receive any further news, and they would pass it immediately to the Air Ministry. The Air Ministry would then communicate with you direct, thus avoiding any unnecessary delay.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty of your son was included with the object of avoiding his chance of escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he was still at large. This is not to say that any information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
The personal effects of your son are now in the custody of the Committee of Adjustment Officer of this Station, who will be writing to you soon regarding their disposal.
I feel most deeply for you in this anxious time. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. We all join with you in hoping and praying that your son is safe.
Yours very sincerely,
D.D.Rogers
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 214 (F.M.S.) Squadron. [/underlined]
Mr. W.P.Perkins,
Mansfield Lane,
Galverton,
Nottingham.
Collection
Citation
D D Rogers, “Letter to Mr W P Perkins from officer commanding 214 Squadron,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 15, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/31689.