Letter to Mr HP Arrowsmith from Air Ministry
Title
Letter to Mr HP Arrowsmith from Air Ministry
Description
The letter refers to Les Arrowsmith being reported missing following an operation in a Lancaster to bomb Duisburg on the night of 21-22 May 1944.
Creator
Date
1944-05-28
Language
Format
Two typewritten sheets
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
EAirMinArrowssmithHP440528-0001,
EAirMinArrowssmithHP440528-0002
EAirMinArrowssmithHP440528-0002
Transcription
Telephone No.: GERRARD 9234
Trunk Calls and Telegraphic Address “AIR MINISTRY,” LONDON
P.417460/2/P.4.A.2.
AIR MINISTRY,
(Casualty Branch),
73-77 OXFORD STREET,
LONDON, W.I.
28 May, 1944.
Sir,
I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your son, Flight Sergeant Harold Leslie Arrowsmith, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations on the night of 21st/22nd May, 1944, when a Lancaster aircraft in which he was flying as air bomber set out to bomb Duisburg and failed to return.
This does not necessarily mean that he is killed or wounded, and if he is a prisoner of war he should be able to communicate with you in due course. Meanwhile enquiries are being made through the International Red Cross Committee, and as soon as any definite news is received you will be at once informed.
/If any [sic]
H.P Arrowsmith, Esq.,
11 Park Lane,
Old Knebworth,
Herts.
Elsham Wolds [illegible words]
[page break]
….
If any information regarding your son is received by you from any source you are requested to be kind enough to communicate it immediately to the Air Ministry.
The Air Council desire me to convey to you their sympathy in your present anxiety.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
J A Smith
Trunk Calls and Telegraphic Address “AIR MINISTRY,” LONDON
P.417460/2/P.4.A.2.
AIR MINISTRY,
(Casualty Branch),
73-77 OXFORD STREET,
LONDON, W.I.
28 May, 1944.
Sir,
I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your son, Flight Sergeant Harold Leslie Arrowsmith, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations on the night of 21st/22nd May, 1944, when a Lancaster aircraft in which he was flying as air bomber set out to bomb Duisburg and failed to return.
This does not necessarily mean that he is killed or wounded, and if he is a prisoner of war he should be able to communicate with you in due course. Meanwhile enquiries are being made through the International Red Cross Committee, and as soon as any definite news is received you will be at once informed.
/If any [sic]
H.P Arrowsmith, Esq.,
11 Park Lane,
Old Knebworth,
Herts.
Elsham Wolds [illegible words]
[page break]
….
If any information regarding your son is received by you from any source you are requested to be kind enough to communicate it immediately to the Air Ministry.
The Air Council desire me to convey to you their sympathy in your present anxiety.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
J A Smith
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Air Ministry, “Letter to Mr HP Arrowsmith from Air Ministry,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/11896.
Item Relations
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