Letter from Norman Donaldson to his mother

Letter from Norman Donaldson to his mother

Reports on train journey to Catterick from Eastleigh. Writes about first impressions of army camp.

1942-11-05

Two page handwritten letter

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.

EDonaldsonGNDonaldsonFI421105

5/11/1942
Pte Donaldson,
63 Platoon,
Y Coy,
5 P.T.C.,
Catterick Camp, Yorks.
Dear Mama,
Well, I've arrived. Masters told Hunt “10 to 7”, & anway [sic] the train didn't [underlined] leave [/underlined] Eastleigh till 7.22, so all was well. I had a seat to London, & a taxi at once; but King's Cross was packed out with rookies going everywhere (all the courses start together) the 9.50 was full up when I arrived, & the 10.0 was soon after, but I managed to find a nook in the corridor, and I reached here only an hour after I expected. And lo & behold, I'm in the same lines as I was in August, & a mere 200yds from the hut I was in then; so I know my way about, & a fair amount of the routine. They say
[inserted down side of page] Don't spread this address round yet – I have not discovered my Army number. [/inserted]
[page break]
its a general place, but it seems pretty permeated with Signals; but I suppose that's natural being in the middle of a Signals battalion.
We've had a meal, & made our beds – we've got spring (?) double-decker bedsteads (I got the top deck, thank heavens) and we're sleeping 32 (instead of 16) to a hut, so we shall not be lonely. I've already filled in two forms about the ration books, so you might buzz them along as soon as poss. My bed is next to the Corporal's, which, while it undoubtedly gives me the protection and comfort of his care, also gives me all the odd jobs – I had 3 in the first quarter of an hour. However he's a very pleasant fellow indeed. We are waiting to be officially received at the moment.
Any news of Franc[underlined]i[/underlined]s?
Love,
[underlined] Norman [/underlined]
[inserted down side of page] P.S. I'm christened “Norman Long”! [/inserted]
[inserted] P.P.S. Gloves (& every darn thing – razor, blade, tooth- & hair-brush are issued; socks are [underlined]grey[/underlined]; handkerchiefs (khaki) wil probably be wanted. Don't send gthem till asked please [/inserted]