Letter from Geoffrey Beckett to his parents

Letter from Geoffrey Beckett to his parents

Writes of visit to London and mentions plans for future leaves. Talks of other visits and activities. Mentions seeing several shows in London. Postscript mentions short detachment to RAF Hendon which allowed visit to London West end.

1940

Two page printed (transcribed) letter

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622136 A.C. Beckett
Block 3 Room 3
R.A.F. Wittering
Peterbro’. Northants
Monday 21st 1940.

Dear Mom and Daddy.

Well it’s a nice day here anyway. We came back to this ‘perishing joint’ yesterday. From 9.50 – 12.10, we both strolled in the morning sunshine through Hyde Park, down past Rotten Row and by the Serpentine.
Thanks for your card Mom, I’m afraid the Easter this year will not be quite as good as it might be. How I wish it were peace-time, as I should be home on leave and having a jolly good time. I suppose you and Daddy will be out “somewhere” this morning, as you usually do at these holiday times.
I was unable to get down to Clacton this weekend, of course, though I suppose Andrew and Joan will be down there now. I had visions of having a jolly good time with them, but I suppose it will have to wait until a bit later. I don’t know when I shall take my next leave. I may take a 48 hour pass soon, to come home.
I had a very nice weekend with Barbara and Jim. She seems very happy about her little bebe’-to-be. She still seems like the ‘school girl Barbara’, though Jim says she is a bally fine cook. And how they can eat. Streuth! On the Saturday night, about 9.45, we decided to cook egg and chips. Then the Sunday dinner was terrific, but it all went.
We went a walk before dinner, to Croydon Airport and round the heath – part, on the opposite side of the road. I tried to get to Bert Browns one night, but could not get there. I got off a bus at Harrow-on-the-Hill, but a bus bloke told me to get on a number ‘18’. I found out that they went towards Uxbridge and [underlined] not [/underlined] towards Greenford. So after a lot of trouble and walking, I got the buses back. It is rather difficult to get there from Hendon and I could not get away before 7pm, from the camp. You need a good few hours to do it properly.
We have been to all London’s best shows and seen all the latest and best pictures!!
On Saturday afternoon we finished up with Vic Oliver, in “Black Velvet”, at the London Hippodrome. Jolly great it was.
Then we also saw “The Little Dog Laughed”, at the Palladium. The “Prince of Wales Revue”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, at the Haymarket Gaumont, “The Wizard of Oz”, at the Metropolitan near Victoria, “Ninotcka”, with Garbo, at the Empire, Leicester Square.

[page break]

Dominion Theatre, “”Mr Smith goes to Washington”. That’s a film I think Pop might like, about a young chap fighting his way up through the American Senate, in Washington.
I had a ‘Horlicks’ and an American ‘Hamburger’, one night at ‘Daley’s’, in Leicester Square.
On duty again at 12.30 today!!
Well, cheerio for a while Mom and Pop, will be seeing you soon.

All my love.
Hope you are improving Pop
Love Geoff.

(I think Geoff may have had a short Detachment to R.A.F. Hendon and taken advantage of this to sample the bright lights of the West End. He was a bit down about being back at R.A.F. Wittering.