To Jessie from Harry Redgrave

To Jessie from Harry Redgrave

A letter and envelope from Harry Redgrave to Jessie. Harry writes about life at Redbrae including that his course has finished and he is spending a lot of time flying. He recalls funny stories from the classroom and is organising Jessie’s trip.

1940-04-26

Three handwritten sheets and an envelope

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[postage stamp]
[postmark]

Mrs H.C. Redgrave,
“Redwood”,
Oaken Grange Drive,
Prittlewell,
Southend on Sea
Essex

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Redbrae
Monkton
Ayrshire
Wed. 26.4.40.

Dear Jessie,

Thanks for all my letters today and tell Gwen and Pam I will try and find a page or two for them over the week end.

You will be pleased to hear that as a result of representations to the C.G.I. our going into huts has been postponed until after the finals. There is a possibility that we shall not have the blasted huts at all now as it would only be for three weeks and there are several other courses who could move in without the prospect of an early change.

Our course has finished now and we spend all our time when not flying in revision and the whole atmosphere of the classrooms has changed. Before everyone was quiet and attentive but now fun and games predominates. Pieces of chalk and paper fly around [smudged] the [/smudged] rooms and in between breaks the blackboards become covered with drawings and gags. Yesterday afternoon

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during break the Met instructor the one I told you was like Claud Dampier came in the classroom and placed his case on the table, and one of the chaps replaces it with one of the pupils [sic] cases who was named Wild. The fact that Wild was one of the funny men of the squad makes the story more amusing because printed on his case [deleted] w [/deleted] in red chalk was “Nurse Wild Certified Midwife. If you want the best Babies we have them”. When the instructor came in to take the class this case greeted him on sitting down and he promptly asked if Nurse Wild was here. You can imagine the fellows [deleted] discomfure [/deleted] discomforture [sic] on being handed his [smudged] neatly [/smudged] printed case. As the case is fabric covered it wont [sic] come off and he arrived this morning with it still boldly showing to all the world.

Another amusing incident was when calibrating an Air Speed Indicator which is done by pumping up a column of mercury the chap gave the instrument a terrific pump with the bicycle pump and shot the mercury right out the top of the tube all over the floor and you

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what a terrible job it is to try and pick it up again.

You sound from your letter as if there is some doubt about you getting up here and as time is getting rather short I want [deleted] to [/deleted] you to let me know which of the week ends [sic] ending May 18 and 25 you can manage best taking into consideration how you feel about these times. Our finals are on May 5th-6th-7th and Whit Monday is on the 13th and our course dinner on the 17th so it looks as if the 25th will suit me best. I will study the cash side and see how long you can stay for and you must tell me the maximum time up to a week you can leave Pamela. Of course all that is dependent on my passing. We are due to leave here on June 1st.

Thats [sic] all for now dear and I must get down to my work. Give my love to all

Your loving husband
Harry xxxxx

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Reverse of envelope

consciensious [sic]