Letter to Les Pickford's Father from Air Ministry
Title
Letter to Les Pickford's Father from Air Ministry
Description
The letter accepts that Les is a prisoner of war and blames the mis-reading of a Red Cross report.
Creator
Date
1941-09-10
Temporal Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
One typewritten sheet
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
EShreweSGPickfordF410910
Transcription
[crest]
AIR MINISTRY,
LONDON, W.C.2.
10th September, 1941.
TELEPHONE: HOLBORN 3434 Extn 443
Any communications on the subject of this letter should be addressed to:-
THE SECRETARY,
and the following number quoted:-
P.359494/41/P.4.Cas.
Sir,
I am directed to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that your son, Sergeant Leslie Pickford, Royal Air Force, is a prisoner of war, and has not died of wounds as previously stated. This regrettable error arose through the mis-reading of a report from the International Red Cross Society, which stated that your son was a prisoner of war. I am to offer you an expression of the department's sincere apologies for the anxiety caused you.
I enclose, for your information, a copy of a pamphlet on communications with prisoners of war.
I am, Sir,
Your Obedient Servant,
E G. Shrewe
for Director of Personal Services.
F. Pickford, Esq.,
41, Broadley Road,
Kingsway,
Manchester.
[crest]
AIR MINISTRY,
LONDON, W.C.2.
10th September, 1941.
TELEPHONE: HOLBORN 3434 Extn 443
Any communications on the subject of this letter should be addressed to:-
THE SECRETARY,
and the following number quoted:-
P.359494/41/P.4.Cas.
Sir,
I am directed to confirm the telegram in which you were notified that your son, Sergeant Leslie Pickford, Royal Air Force, is a prisoner of war, and has not died of wounds as previously stated. This regrettable error arose through the mis-reading of a report from the International Red Cross Society, which stated that your son was a prisoner of war. I am to offer you an expression of the department's sincere apologies for the anxiety caused you.
I enclose, for your information, a copy of a pamphlet on communications with prisoners of war.
I am, Sir,
Your Obedient Servant,
E G. Shrewe
for Director of Personal Services.
F. Pickford, Esq.,
41, Broadley Road,
Kingsway,
Manchester.
[crest]
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Air Ministry, “Letter to Les Pickford's Father from Air Ministry,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed January 18, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/42546.
