Letter from T S Davies

Letter from T S Davies

Letter from T S Davies to his friend Jack Smith describing flying training and forthcoming posting to Halifax bombers.

1943-05-09

Envelope and three handwritten sheets

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EDaviesTSSmithJ430509

[postmark] [postage stamps]
Mr. Jack Smith
283, Car Bank St,
Atherton,
Nr Manchester,
[underlined] Lancs. [/underlined]
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
[R.A.F. crest]
No. 2 (TRAINING) SERGEANTS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
ABINGDON,
BERKS.
[underlined] 9th May \43. [/underlined]
Dear Jack,
Remember me old boy? if [sic] I remember rightly I haven’t written for about 12 months, so I’ll try & make amends, it seems ages since I was home last & I’ve almost given up hoping to see it again. Well I can say that my training is more or less finished & call myself a real pilot, all being well I should be finished & on leave inside a fortnight [sic]
It’s rather a good feeling flying a decent kite & have a crew who work together & do anything without question or quibbling. Believe me Jack you don’t know the meaning of co-operation till you fly as part an air-crew
[page break]
[R.A.F. crest]
No. 2 (TRAINING) SERGEANTS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
ABINGDON,
BERKS.
& without that vitally essential factor you wouldn’t last five minutes. I’ll retract the statement about the decent kite though. The “Whitley “has had its [sic] day & it certainly isn’t my idea of an aeroplane, I’ll be satisfied with a Halifax Mk. 1A which I shall be going on to in a few weeks.
By the way how are things going in your part of the world, [sic] I’m expecting by now you have your Matric. I’ll be sadly disappointed if you don’t get it along with B.Sc. etc. it’ll [sic] be something to brag about having a pal with such [deleted] scholastic achievements rising to fame in the mining world “all through honest toil ladies & gentlemen”.
Well go to it Jack & the best of
[page break]
[R.A.F. crest]
No. 2 (TRAINING) SERGEANTS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
ABINGDON,
BERKS.
luck, at least you have made more of it than the rest of us, being a highly trained R.A.F. pilot isn’t going to help me after this [deleted indecipherable word] lot is over, even now we amount to sweet F.A. what it’s going to be like after I don’t know. [sic]
Anyhow there’s plenty of time to worry about that after just now I’m all out to make the most of it. [sic] Well I shall be seeing you again soon, so till then cheerio and best wishes,
[underlined] Tom [/underlined]