To Jessie from Harry Redgrave
Title
To Jessie from Harry Redgrave
Description
A letter from Harry to his wife Jessie. He thanks her for the scarf. With the ground waterlogged, they are not flying but are spending many hours on plotting training. Also saw a theatre show and is going to spend his day off visiting Glasgow.
Creator
Date
1940-02-05
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Three handwritten 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.
Identifier
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400205-010001,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400205-010002,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400205-010003
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400205-010002,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400205-010003
Transcription
“Redbrae”
Monkton
Prestwick
Ayrshire
5.2.40
Darling Jessie,
Thank you a lot for the scarf dear which arrived Monday. Today I received another card from Gwen and one from Agnes and 50 Players. Will you thank her for me and tell [deleted] yo [/deleted] her I will write this week if I can find time from my homework. It seems I messed you up about the scarf but I think Johnnie was right about a plain one although one or two here are wearing the coloured ones. I suggest you finish it wear it yourself it will identify you with the R.A.F. The S. Standard arrived today and did you notice in last weeks [sic]that Ben Warner had died and that one of the Sweetings had died too. Todays [sic] arrival gave me an idea of the weather you have had. You certainly had a bad time though I suppose you have thawed out by now. I hope we have seen the back of the snow for this winter.
All the boys are sitting round our table doing a paper on Maps and Charts and its [sic] most difficult to write a letter with questions being flashed across the table. The troublesome
[page break]
question at the moment is finding nine conspicuous sea marks. One of the lads had just suggested two [deleted] lightau [/deleted] lighthouses and seven buoys but we think the instructor would not like that and so the hunt goes on.
Mondays [sic] flying was cancelled because the field was waterlogged and I think it will be a bad Thursday. That means another days plotting. Im [sic] just about fed up with plotting because whilst we cannot fly we have it from 8 until 5 and by teatime I feel mentally exhausted. You have no idea how tiring it is.
Last night we went into Ayr to see a variety show at the Gaety [sic] Theatre. Every week they give one course free tickets and this week was our turn. It wasnt [sic] a bad show at least it made a chance although it meant missing our one night off. I bet you think I am full of moans but still it does do you good to get it out of your system.
You have probably got your skirt by now and I hope you like it. If you would let me know what colour jumper would go with it I will send one on after next pay day. As I cannot take you out these days I must make it up to you somehow. We have got our first weekend leave from Friday night so on Saturday I shall go to Glasgow for the day just to have a look around. In a months [sic] time I shall have another week-end and have found out that you could travel on a warrant at the same fair [sic]
[page break]
as I could so if the money is available you could get here as cheap as I could get home. Wouldn’t it be lovely if it could be done. [sic] Is it all dream? The fare costs £2.10.
There are some wireless ops training not far from here and there are some from Southend. They have come from N. Weald. I have not met any of them so do not know if there is anybody I know. There are 3 Southend boys in Prestwick who came from Cambridge I.T.W. but they are in another course and I do not know any of them so theres [sic] no one to talk over the old times with. Still they are nice chaps I am with and we have some laughs over our work.
Well ducks its [sic] eleven o’clock and I must think about bed so goodnight my love keep smiling
Always your loving husband
Harry xxxxx
Monkton
Prestwick
Ayrshire
5.2.40
Darling Jessie,
Thank you a lot for the scarf dear which arrived Monday. Today I received another card from Gwen and one from Agnes and 50 Players. Will you thank her for me and tell [deleted] yo [/deleted] her I will write this week if I can find time from my homework. It seems I messed you up about the scarf but I think Johnnie was right about a plain one although one or two here are wearing the coloured ones. I suggest you finish it wear it yourself it will identify you with the R.A.F. The S. Standard arrived today and did you notice in last weeks [sic]that Ben Warner had died and that one of the Sweetings had died too. Todays [sic] arrival gave me an idea of the weather you have had. You certainly had a bad time though I suppose you have thawed out by now. I hope we have seen the back of the snow for this winter.
All the boys are sitting round our table doing a paper on Maps and Charts and its [sic] most difficult to write a letter with questions being flashed across the table. The troublesome
[page break]
question at the moment is finding nine conspicuous sea marks. One of the lads had just suggested two [deleted] lightau [/deleted] lighthouses and seven buoys but we think the instructor would not like that and so the hunt goes on.
Mondays [sic] flying was cancelled because the field was waterlogged and I think it will be a bad Thursday. That means another days plotting. Im [sic] just about fed up with plotting because whilst we cannot fly we have it from 8 until 5 and by teatime I feel mentally exhausted. You have no idea how tiring it is.
Last night we went into Ayr to see a variety show at the Gaety [sic] Theatre. Every week they give one course free tickets and this week was our turn. It wasnt [sic] a bad show at least it made a chance although it meant missing our one night off. I bet you think I am full of moans but still it does do you good to get it out of your system.
You have probably got your skirt by now and I hope you like it. If you would let me know what colour jumper would go with it I will send one on after next pay day. As I cannot take you out these days I must make it up to you somehow. We have got our first weekend leave from Friday night so on Saturday I shall go to Glasgow for the day just to have a look around. In a months [sic] time I shall have another week-end and have found out that you could travel on a warrant at the same fair [sic]
[page break]
as I could so if the money is available you could get here as cheap as I could get home. Wouldn’t it be lovely if it could be done. [sic] Is it all dream? The fare costs £2.10.
There are some wireless ops training not far from here and there are some from Southend. They have come from N. Weald. I have not met any of them so do not know if there is anybody I know. There are 3 Southend boys in Prestwick who came from Cambridge I.T.W. but they are in another course and I do not know any of them so theres [sic] no one to talk over the old times with. Still they are nice chaps I am with and we have some laughs over our work.
Well ducks its [sic] eleven o’clock and I must think about bed so goodnight my love keep smiling
Always your loving husband
Harry xxxxx
Collection
Citation
Harry Redgrave, “To Jessie from Harry Redgrave,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/15865.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.