Letter from Geoffrey Beckett to his mother
Title
Letter from Geoffrey Beckett to his mother
Description
Relates details of journey and meeting and talking to RAF lad who had acquaintance in common. Comments on lack of weekend passes. and discusses future plans. Continues with gossip and finding money in his pocket. Mentions writing to friend and family. Includes transcribed version of this letter with addendum commenting on value of letters as social history.
Creator
Date
1939-01-23
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Two page handwritten letter and printed transcript
Conforms To
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
SBeckettG622136v10017, SBeckettG622136v10018
Transcription
R.A.F. Cranwell
Jan. 23rd 1939.
Dear Mom.
Well having waited for 1 3/4 hours in Grantham I caught the 8.45 bus and got “home” 9.25. I started talking to a [inserted] R.A.F. [/inserted] lad at 7.30 who had been to Ilkeston. He asked if I knew Arthur Noon from Heanor. I said I had been at school with him, & often spoke to him. He is now in the R.A.F. and is this chaps cousin. I walked from one end of the town to the other and found [inserted] it [/inserted] to be quite o.k.
A chap came round & said to-day that there were no week-ends this week. I shall still apply and hope to get one. Still as we arranged, expect me when you see me. I shall first apply to the Ft. Sergeant, then to the Warrant Officer, the Padre or even to the Squadron Commander. They can only say no. I shall of course tell them how my weekend was mucked up. If they refuse they will be forced to suck a BLOOD Orange.
Will write to Jim Garden during the week & let him know about this weekend. He is coming over by car on Sat. 28th. Our half term which we should [inserted] hope to [/inserted] get is from Feb. 24th – 27th inclusive.
By the way. When I took my coat off [deleted] on [/deleted] last night I found in my inner pocket 2 half
[page break]
crowns. I don’t know who put them there. I’m darn certain I didn’t. I have no stamps so will spend 2/- of it on a book & will save the rest.
I have a feeling it was Pop who it in, [sic] though I may be mistaken. Anyway, thanks very much for it. It will make it possible for me to put some away this week towards my half term & Easter Holidays & train fares.
Must write to Peter, & Dorothy & Jean. Then during the week to Granny & Auntie. Well cheerio. Must close now (6 p.m.) & get those letters written. Hope to see Jean & Gris (?) next [inserted] Sat. & [/inserted] Sunday. Will come in sacking i.e. uniform. It will please Pop I know. Well goodbye & thanks all of you for a very nice 19 hours. They help to keep one going.
Love – Geoff xxxx.
[page break]
R.A.F. Cranwell
Jan. 23rd 1939.
Dear Mom.
Well having waited for an hour and three-quarters in Grantham, I caught the 8.45 bus and got “home” at 9.25. I started talking to an R.A.F. lad at 7.30, who had been to Ilkeston. He asked if I knew Arthur Noon, from Heanor? I said I had been at school with him and that I often spoke to him. He is now in the R.A.F. and is this chap’s cousin. I walked from one end of the town to the other and found it to be quite o.k.
A chap came round and said today that there were no ‘weekends’ this week. I shall still apply and hope to get one. Still, as we arranged, expect me when you see me. I shall first apply to the Flt. Sergeant, then to the Warrant Officer, the Padre, or even to the Squadron Commander. They can only say “no”. I shall of course, tell them how my weekend was ‘mucked up’. If they refuse, they will be forced to suck a BLOOD orange.
Will write to Jim Garden (authors father) during the week and let him know about this weekend. He is coming over by car on Sat 28th. Our half term, which we hope to get, is from Feb. 24th – 27th inclusive.
By the way. When I took my coat off last night, I found in my inner pocket, 2 half-crowns. I don’t know who put them there. I’m darn certain I didn’t. I have no stamps so will spend 2/- of it on a book and will save the rest.
I have a feeling it was Pop who put it in, thought I may be mistaken. Anyway, thanks very much for it. It will make it possible for me to put some away this week towards my half term, Easter Holidays and tram fares. Must write to Peter, Dorothy and Jean, then during the week to Granny and Auntie. Well cheerio. Must close now (6 p.m.) and get those letters written. Hope to see Jean and next Sat and Sunday. Will come in ‘sacking’, (uniform) It will please Pop I know. Well, goodbye and thanks all of you for a very nice 19 hours. They help to keep one going.
Love – Geoff xxxx
These letters and photographs that have survived so long, are wonderful pieces of social history. The reference to travelling by tram cars… The closeness of the family, the reliance on the post and it’s speedy service, all helping to overcome the sense of isolation Geoff clearly felt at times.
Jan. 23rd 1939.
Dear Mom.
Well having waited for 1 3/4 hours in Grantham I caught the 8.45 bus and got “home” 9.25. I started talking to a [inserted] R.A.F. [/inserted] lad at 7.30 who had been to Ilkeston. He asked if I knew Arthur Noon from Heanor. I said I had been at school with him, & often spoke to him. He is now in the R.A.F. and is this chaps cousin. I walked from one end of the town to the other and found [inserted] it [/inserted] to be quite o.k.
A chap came round & said to-day that there were no week-ends this week. I shall still apply and hope to get one. Still as we arranged, expect me when you see me. I shall first apply to the Ft. Sergeant, then to the Warrant Officer, the Padre or even to the Squadron Commander. They can only say no. I shall of course tell them how my weekend was mucked up. If they refuse they will be forced to suck a BLOOD Orange.
Will write to Jim Garden during the week & let him know about this weekend. He is coming over by car on Sat. 28th. Our half term which we should [inserted] hope to [/inserted] get is from Feb. 24th – 27th inclusive.
By the way. When I took my coat off [deleted] on [/deleted] last night I found in my inner pocket 2 half
[page break]
crowns. I don’t know who put them there. I’m darn certain I didn’t. I have no stamps so will spend 2/- of it on a book & will save the rest.
I have a feeling it was Pop who it in, [sic] though I may be mistaken. Anyway, thanks very much for it. It will make it possible for me to put some away this week towards my half term & Easter Holidays & train fares.
Must write to Peter, & Dorothy & Jean. Then during the week to Granny & Auntie. Well cheerio. Must close now (6 p.m.) & get those letters written. Hope to see Jean & Gris (?) next [inserted] Sat. & [/inserted] Sunday. Will come in sacking i.e. uniform. It will please Pop I know. Well goodbye & thanks all of you for a very nice 19 hours. They help to keep one going.
Love – Geoff xxxx.
[page break]
R.A.F. Cranwell
Jan. 23rd 1939.
Dear Mom.
Well having waited for an hour and three-quarters in Grantham, I caught the 8.45 bus and got “home” at 9.25. I started talking to an R.A.F. lad at 7.30, who had been to Ilkeston. He asked if I knew Arthur Noon, from Heanor? I said I had been at school with him and that I often spoke to him. He is now in the R.A.F. and is this chap’s cousin. I walked from one end of the town to the other and found it to be quite o.k.
A chap came round and said today that there were no ‘weekends’ this week. I shall still apply and hope to get one. Still, as we arranged, expect me when you see me. I shall first apply to the Flt. Sergeant, then to the Warrant Officer, the Padre, or even to the Squadron Commander. They can only say “no”. I shall of course, tell them how my weekend was ‘mucked up’. If they refuse, they will be forced to suck a BLOOD orange.
Will write to Jim Garden (authors father) during the week and let him know about this weekend. He is coming over by car on Sat 28th. Our half term, which we hope to get, is from Feb. 24th – 27th inclusive.
By the way. When I took my coat off last night, I found in my inner pocket, 2 half-crowns. I don’t know who put them there. I’m darn certain I didn’t. I have no stamps so will spend 2/- of it on a book and will save the rest.
I have a feeling it was Pop who put it in, thought I may be mistaken. Anyway, thanks very much for it. It will make it possible for me to put some away this week towards my half term, Easter Holidays and tram fares. Must write to Peter, Dorothy and Jean, then during the week to Granny and Auntie. Well cheerio. Must close now (6 p.m.) and get those letters written. Hope to see Jean and next Sat and Sunday. Will come in ‘sacking’, (uniform) It will please Pop I know. Well, goodbye and thanks all of you for a very nice 19 hours. They help to keep one going.
Love – Geoff xxxx
These letters and photographs that have survived so long, are wonderful pieces of social history. The reference to travelling by tram cars… The closeness of the family, the reliance on the post and it’s speedy service, all helping to overcome the sense of isolation Geoff clearly felt at times.
Collection
Citation
G Beckett, “Letter from Geoffrey Beckett to his mother,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 14, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/41081.