Letter to Doris Weeks from Royal Australian Air Force
Title
Letter to Doris Weeks from Royal Australian Air Force
Description
Advising her that it is not yet possible to forward snapshots and cigarette lighter belonging to Malcolm Payne to her as he is classified missing and therefore legally alive. Goes on to explain what further action is likely.
Creator
Date
1944-10-20
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
One-page typewritten letter
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
EWinterbottomHDWeeksD441020
Transcription
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
ROYAL AUSTRLIAN AIR FORCE,
OVERSEAS HEADQUARTERS
KODAK HOUSE,
63 KINGSWAY,
LONDON, W.C.2.
1401/E.7658/P.4.(5A)
20th October, 1944.
Dear Miss Weeks,
[underlined] Aus/417512 Flight Sergeant PAYNE, M.H. [/underlined]
A copy of your letter dated the 2nd October, 1944, in which you ask for a snapshots and cigarette lighter or case belonging to the above named Airman to be forwarded to you has been passed to this Headquarters for attention.
2. Your wishes in this matter have been noted, but it is desired to advise you that it is not at present possible to arrange for the articles to be forwarded to you.
3. The position is that as long as a member is classified as “missing” he is deemed to be legally alive and remains the only person who can give instructions regarding the disposal of any of his personal belongings. Flight Sergeant Payne’s belongings are at present held atColnbrook [sic] pending the receipt of further news regarding his fate, and if no such news is received within six months from the date on which he was reported “missing” action will be taken to return them to Australia for transmission to his next of kin.
4. Should such action become necessary, you may rest assured that attention will first be given to your request for certain articles to be forwarded to you.
5. For your information it is advised that a number of snapshots have been found amongst Flight Sergeants Payne’s belongings and also a cigarette case, but no cigarette lighter was found, and it must be assumed that he was carrying it with him at the time he was reported “missing”.
Yours faithfully
H D Winterbottom
(H.D. WINTERBOTTOM),
Flight Lieutenant,
For Air Vice Marshal,
[underlined]Air Officer Commanding.[/underlined]
Miss D. Weeks,
37, Hawthorne Road,
Bunkers Hill,
[underlined] LINCOLN[/underlined]
ROYAL AUSTRLIAN AIR FORCE,
OVERSEAS HEADQUARTERS
KODAK HOUSE,
63 KINGSWAY,
LONDON, W.C.2.
1401/E.7658/P.4.(5A)
20th October, 1944.
Dear Miss Weeks,
[underlined] Aus/417512 Flight Sergeant PAYNE, M.H. [/underlined]
A copy of your letter dated the 2nd October, 1944, in which you ask for a snapshots and cigarette lighter or case belonging to the above named Airman to be forwarded to you has been passed to this Headquarters for attention.
2. Your wishes in this matter have been noted, but it is desired to advise you that it is not at present possible to arrange for the articles to be forwarded to you.
3. The position is that as long as a member is classified as “missing” he is deemed to be legally alive and remains the only person who can give instructions regarding the disposal of any of his personal belongings. Flight Sergeant Payne’s belongings are at present held atColnbrook [sic] pending the receipt of further news regarding his fate, and if no such news is received within six months from the date on which he was reported “missing” action will be taken to return them to Australia for transmission to his next of kin.
4. Should such action become necessary, you may rest assured that attention will first be given to your request for certain articles to be forwarded to you.
5. For your information it is advised that a number of snapshots have been found amongst Flight Sergeants Payne’s belongings and also a cigarette case, but no cigarette lighter was found, and it must be assumed that he was carrying it with him at the time he was reported “missing”.
Yours faithfully
H D Winterbottom
(H.D. WINTERBOTTOM),
Flight Lieutenant,
For Air Vice Marshal,
[underlined]Air Officer Commanding.[/underlined]
Miss D. Weeks,
37, Hawthorne Road,
Bunkers Hill,
[underlined] LINCOLN[/underlined]
Collection
Citation
H D Winterbottam, “Letter to Doris Weeks from Royal Australian Air Force,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 18, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/10636.
Item Relations
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