To Jessie from Harry Redgrave

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Title

To Jessie from Harry Redgrave

Description

A letter and envelope from Harry Redgrave to Jessie. Harry writes about life at RAF Warmwell including his training, an air raid exercise and his social life. Jessie and Pamela have left their home in Southend and is staying with relatives in Teddington.

Creator

Date

1940-06-03

Temporal Coverage

Spatial Coverage

Language

Format

Three handwritten sheets and an envelope

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

ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400603-0001,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400603-0002,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400603-0003,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400603-0004

Transcription

[postmark]
[postage stamp]

[inserted] [place names] [/inserted]

Mrs. H. C. Redgrave,
c/o Mrs Bough,
26 Queens Road,
Teddington,
Middx.

[page break]

743047 L.A.C. Redgrave H.C.
Hut D1
R.A.F. Station
Warmwell
Nr. Dorset
Mon 3 June

Dear Jessie,

I hope you have got over your journey of Saturday and are beginning to feel resigned at leaving the bungalow. We have just finished our first day of training and I am going to spend the evening writing and resting.

Yesterday evening a party of us walked down to the local which is apparently the only place apart from Weymouth and Dorchester to go to. Tom probably knows it quite well [sic] the “Frampton Arms” and the next nearest pubs are three miles away which would involve a walk of nearly six miles to get any sort of a change of scenery during weekday evenings. I think the ENSA and NAAFI hold a number of shows hear [sic] so maybe it wont [sic] be too dull. Theres [sic] one on tonight The Pilgrim Players doing “Tobias and the Angel” but I am so hard up I just cant [sic] afford to go.

There was an air raid warning hear [sic] last night and about [deleted] haf [/deleted] half past twelve we had to get some clothes on and find our way to our shelter in pitch dark and only half awake and sit underground in the pitch black for about forty five minutes. Talk about a to do. [sic] We cussed

[page break]

2
like the devil and made no end of noise getting out of our huts and yet when the all clear was sounded and we got back the huts the lad in the next bed to mine was still fast asleep and knew nothing about the raid.

The food here has been very good up to now and now I getting [sic] a bit more used to it the huts [deleted] arne [/deleted] are not so bad. Unfortunately there is never any hot water in the wash places and no baths only cold showers. If it keeps as hot as this it wont [sic] be too bad although I must say I don’t think a lot of shaving in cold water.

Getting down to more serious things you must tell me a lot more about how things were left in Southend. Did you tell the building society or Mr Tickett. [sic] If not I must explain things to the A.R. and ask Mr Tickett to pick up my byke [sic] before it is pinched. [smudged] Do [/smudged] the corporation know anything about the rates. It seems you are going to have a lot to write to me in the next few days. Tell me all you can and I will try and fix things up the best I can.

I think you must give up any thoughts of living round this way unless you care to get in touch with Joyce and arrange some means of living between here and Hamble together where the saving in living costs would enable Tom and I to visit you on Sundays or for you and Joyce to go to see your husbands near their stations. Theres [sic] absolutely no living accomodation [sic] near hear [sic] as we are miles out in the country.

[page break]

3
Our course may be cut to six weeks and there is a possibility of a week end [sic] leave at the end so keep smiling dear. I may be with you sooner than you think. Rather a lot of chaps leave this station for places out East such as Singapore and Egypt so you must be prepared for me to be leaving the country altogether soon darling but wherever I go dear you know I shall always be with you in my thoughts and dreams.

Pamela looked very well on Saturday and I hope she is being a good girl at Teddington. I wonder whether she realy [sic] remembered me. All the chaps thought she was a fine baby and a credit to you. I’m glad she is too young to understand all the troubles besetting the world just now and hope she is spared any of its horrors. Where has Gwen gone to and how is my nephew Robert.

Give my love to Aunt Nellie and Uncle Frank and my cousins and tell [inserted] them [/inserted] I will write very soon. I hope Mums [sic] bronchitis is getting better and that she is not upset by the move. Will you ask Joyce for Toms address.

Its time I had my shave and made my bed so I must pack up now. All my love to you and Pamela and I do hope everything turns out for the best.

Always your loving husband
Harry. xxxxx

Citation

Harry Redgrave, “To Jessie from Harry Redgrave,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/15899.

Item Relations

This item has no relations.