Letter to Lewis Ellis from Gus Knox
Title
Letter to Lewis Ellis from Gus Knox
Description
Commiserates over loss of friend from whom he had had a recent letter. He had no details about the incident. Notes that Lewis was on his way home. Mentions that he had been busy and flying as well as describing some of his activities. Comments that he flew 53 hours in six days. Speculates on the end of war in Europe and possibility that personnel would be sent to his area. Continues to comment on losses and wonders if Lewis will get promotion. Continues to gossip about acquaintances. Asks what station he was on and what he was flying now.
Creator
Date
1943-10-04
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Seven page handwritten letter and envelope
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
EKnoxATEllisEL431004
Transcription
[underlined] [missing word] ACTIVE SERVICE. [/underlined]
SGT. E.L. ELLIS
1238597
54 WULFRIC
SHEFFIELD II
YORKS.
ENGLAND
[postmark]
[censor stamp]
[inserted] P/o G Knox [/inserted]
[page break]
from P/o A.T. Knox
415535.
[page break]
1/
Monday 4th Oct. 43.
Dear Lew,
In answer to your letter which arrived two days ago. I am terribly cut up to here [sic] about Les, it is really tragic to think he went that way. I had a letter from him a short while back written on the second of June and that was the last I heard from him. He mentioned then that he was night flying and not too keen about it. Of course, I have no details about what happened except for what you told me in your letter but I have written to
[page break]
II/
his mother and sympathised with her, and told her of our friendship at Paulson.
I was pleased to see you were writing from Monkton, for it means you are on your way at last. By now you will be well established in England, and getting some more hours in. My grand total is up to the 200 mark now as during the past month or so we have been pretty busy. I am on a sort of rest tour just now and taking things easy. I was away for a week at another
[page break]
3.
island operating but I am back “home” at Fiji once more. That was the hardest weeks work I have ever put in, for I amassed 53 hours in six days which is good going.
The kites are big and more or less comfortable though, and consequently it does not take so much out of you. By the way my address is now A.P.O. [underlined] 331 [/underlined] not 381, it has been altered. I will send an airgraph tonite [sic] a [sic] this surface mail takes ages to get there, from the South Pacific.
I still have high
[page break]
4.
hopes of seeing you out this way [indecipherable word] as when Germany “folds up?” they will no doubt send large quantities of men and aircraft to this Area. It would be a good trip for you anyway at the governments expense.
It was rather tough WOII Mathers "buying it” but he always was a pretty duff pilot and we always used to say he would cop it one day. It was tough on the three others though. I have been wondering whether you will get any promotion out
[page break]
5
of your stay in Canada, even a crown would be something. The R.A.F. are sure hard to get along with. Hav’nt heard from Tony for sometime now I guess he is still going strong and still “sweating” on his commission.
When I was in Toronto I got a jeweller to sent [sic] you an identification bracelet, and I have been wondering whether the blighter sent it or not as I have not heard whether you received it or not. It was supposed to go the week I left the Manning
[page break]
6.
Depot, but if he has “beaten me,” there is not much I can do about it now in any case.
By the way when you write do not mention the station you are on, or the type of A/c you are flying for the censor nearly always cuts it out.
You will have to get around that in some more subtle way. Just say one small feature about the kite and I’ll guess what it is. (This reminds me of our A/c rec. contests in the barracks at Paulson)
We are well into the summer here now and the rains have been
[page break]
7.
rather heavy, while you will be preparing for another "White Christmas,” but at Home this time. I will never forget last New Year at the Fort Garry, remember it?
Well Lew old man I think I had better end now as news is getting short so cheerio and all the best for now. KIA ORA
Yours. Gus.
Merry Xmas. & Happy New Year
43 – 44.
P/o A.T. Knox
415535
Overseas
A.P.O. 331
Wellington
N.Z.
SGT. E.L. ELLIS
1238597
54 WULFRIC
SHEFFIELD II
YORKS.
ENGLAND
[postmark]
[censor stamp]
[inserted] P/o G Knox [/inserted]
[page break]
from P/o A.T. Knox
415535.
[page break]
1/
Monday 4th Oct. 43.
Dear Lew,
In answer to your letter which arrived two days ago. I am terribly cut up to here [sic] about Les, it is really tragic to think he went that way. I had a letter from him a short while back written on the second of June and that was the last I heard from him. He mentioned then that he was night flying and not too keen about it. Of course, I have no details about what happened except for what you told me in your letter but I have written to
[page break]
II/
his mother and sympathised with her, and told her of our friendship at Paulson.
I was pleased to see you were writing from Monkton, for it means you are on your way at last. By now you will be well established in England, and getting some more hours in. My grand total is up to the 200 mark now as during the past month or so we have been pretty busy. I am on a sort of rest tour just now and taking things easy. I was away for a week at another
[page break]
3.
island operating but I am back “home” at Fiji once more. That was the hardest weeks work I have ever put in, for I amassed 53 hours in six days which is good going.
The kites are big and more or less comfortable though, and consequently it does not take so much out of you. By the way my address is now A.P.O. [underlined] 331 [/underlined] not 381, it has been altered. I will send an airgraph tonite [sic] a [sic] this surface mail takes ages to get there, from the South Pacific.
I still have high
[page break]
4.
hopes of seeing you out this way [indecipherable word] as when Germany “folds up?” they will no doubt send large quantities of men and aircraft to this Area. It would be a good trip for you anyway at the governments expense.
It was rather tough WOII Mathers "buying it” but he always was a pretty duff pilot and we always used to say he would cop it one day. It was tough on the three others though. I have been wondering whether you will get any promotion out
[page break]
5
of your stay in Canada, even a crown would be something. The R.A.F. are sure hard to get along with. Hav’nt heard from Tony for sometime now I guess he is still going strong and still “sweating” on his commission.
When I was in Toronto I got a jeweller to sent [sic] you an identification bracelet, and I have been wondering whether the blighter sent it or not as I have not heard whether you received it or not. It was supposed to go the week I left the Manning
[page break]
6.
Depot, but if he has “beaten me,” there is not much I can do about it now in any case.
By the way when you write do not mention the station you are on, or the type of A/c you are flying for the censor nearly always cuts it out.
You will have to get around that in some more subtle way. Just say one small feature about the kite and I’ll guess what it is. (This reminds me of our A/c rec. contests in the barracks at Paulson)
We are well into the summer here now and the rains have been
[page break]
7.
rather heavy, while you will be preparing for another "White Christmas,” but at Home this time. I will never forget last New Year at the Fort Garry, remember it?
Well Lew old man I think I had better end now as news is getting short so cheerio and all the best for now. KIA ORA
Yours. Gus.
Merry Xmas. & Happy New Year
43 – 44.
P/o A.T. Knox
415535
Overseas
A.P.O. 331
Wellington
N.Z.
Collection
Citation
G Knox, “Letter to Lewis Ellis from Gus Knox,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed August 12, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/43246.