To Jessie from Harry Redgrave
Title
To Jessie from Harry Redgrave
Description
A letter and envelope from Harry Redgrave to Jessie. Harry writes about life in the RAF whilst based in Dumfries. He writes that they are all bored, the weather is awful and tells about an eventful trip to the cinema.
Creator
Date
1940-07-18
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Three handwritten sheets and an envelope
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
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400718-0001,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400718-0002,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400718-0003
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400718-0002,
ERedgraveHCRedgraveJM400718-0003
Transcription
[Envelope]
[postmark]
[postage stamp]
Mrs H.C. Redgrave
c/o Mrs Styles
“Emorf”
Alice Road
Dorchester
Dorset.
[page break]
[shopping list]
[page break]
Niths [deleted] field [/deleted] dale Mill
Dumfries
Thurs 18-7-40
Dear Jessie,
Well dear theres [sic] very little I can tell you other than we are still in this hell hole and doing nothing but an hours [sic] cleaning up in the morning and spending the rest of the day hanging about. Monday was the only fine day we have had and it seems that you have only to have some cloud above and sure enough it will rain in Dumfries.
I find in difficult to understand the policy of those higher up in not taking our enforced inactivity as an opportunity for some leave. Nobody has had any since Easter and are all eating their hearts out to get home yet we hang around here a nuisance to ourselves and everyone else. Somehow I think we shall leave for Group Pool on the completion of our eight weeks withal we have done nothing since the beginning of last week. It will mean having to pick a lot of stuff up at the Pool but I hope our original posting stands as it will mean leaving here at the end of next week.
Last night I went to the pictures again and saw “Angels Wash Their Faces” a picture of the “Dead End Kids” a bit exaggerated but quite entertaining. The cinemas seem to be very good, modern and well seated, and reasonable. A realy [sic] good seat can be had for ninepence, and the best in the circle are only
[page break]
a shilling. I had a novel experience last night when a woman was shown into the seat next to me and after a while began nudging me with her arm and a little later with her knee. Well I hadnt [sic] seen her face yet so I did not call the manager but certainly did not play up to her and a little later she raised a silk clad knee and place it alongside mine. All this [deleted] wast [/deleted] was most amusing and being on my own provided some free entertainment but when she put her hand on my thigh I thought it was time I ran for a policeman. The end of the film came to my rescue and when the lights came up and I saw her face I was not so interested and after the news I had seen the show round so left her flat. You see the temptations met by a lonely airman. These Scots women are the limit though and all the Norwegian soldiers stationed in Dumfries seem to be having a good time with plenty of money for women and wine. As my money is nearly all gone I shall have [inserted] to [/inserted] cut out the wine and be content with the women until next pay day.
Amongst the new billetted [sic] in the Mill is one with a piano accordian [sic] and he can play anything from bawdy songs to classics and many hours we pass singing and listening to him. He’s absolutely grand and things would be infinitely worse without him.
Last Thursday at Warmwell I had my mug pinched and so round to NAAFI I went and bought a new one sixpence and would you believe it on Monday my teddy bear suit which I am using as a pillow fell down from my top
[page break]
bunk and took my mug down with it from off the shelf and it broke into dozens of pieces. As we have no crockery here it left [inserted] me [/inserted] in a complete flap about getting any afters as I have been getting a bit of custard and fruit in my mug but I was able to use one after someone else and yesterday I went to Woolworths and got myself a new one. While I was out I went to the baths and had a lovely bath very hot and soothingly soft, which made one feel on much better terms with the world and Scotland in particular.
We have just welcomed a new arrival to our billet, a pair of pidgeons [sic] who, providing they dont [sic] drop any bombs, are welcome to stay as long as they like.
Well dinner is just ready and I have spent all morning and exhausted all my news on your letter and all that remains is to tell you how much I love you. When it comes to telling you that I find there is nothing in the world by which I can measure the completeness of my love for you darling and can only repeat I love you love you.
Give my love to all at Emorf. and kiss for little Pam
from your
Harry xxxxx
[postmark]
[postage stamp]
Mrs H.C. Redgrave
c/o Mrs Styles
“Emorf”
Alice Road
Dorchester
Dorset.
[page break]
[shopping list]
[page break]
Niths [deleted] field [/deleted] dale Mill
Dumfries
Thurs 18-7-40
Dear Jessie,
Well dear theres [sic] very little I can tell you other than we are still in this hell hole and doing nothing but an hours [sic] cleaning up in the morning and spending the rest of the day hanging about. Monday was the only fine day we have had and it seems that you have only to have some cloud above and sure enough it will rain in Dumfries.
I find in difficult to understand the policy of those higher up in not taking our enforced inactivity as an opportunity for some leave. Nobody has had any since Easter and are all eating their hearts out to get home yet we hang around here a nuisance to ourselves and everyone else. Somehow I think we shall leave for Group Pool on the completion of our eight weeks withal we have done nothing since the beginning of last week. It will mean having to pick a lot of stuff up at the Pool but I hope our original posting stands as it will mean leaving here at the end of next week.
Last night I went to the pictures again and saw “Angels Wash Their Faces” a picture of the “Dead End Kids” a bit exaggerated but quite entertaining. The cinemas seem to be very good, modern and well seated, and reasonable. A realy [sic] good seat can be had for ninepence, and the best in the circle are only
[page break]
a shilling. I had a novel experience last night when a woman was shown into the seat next to me and after a while began nudging me with her arm and a little later with her knee. Well I hadnt [sic] seen her face yet so I did not call the manager but certainly did not play up to her and a little later she raised a silk clad knee and place it alongside mine. All this [deleted] wast [/deleted] was most amusing and being on my own provided some free entertainment but when she put her hand on my thigh I thought it was time I ran for a policeman. The end of the film came to my rescue and when the lights came up and I saw her face I was not so interested and after the news I had seen the show round so left her flat. You see the temptations met by a lonely airman. These Scots women are the limit though and all the Norwegian soldiers stationed in Dumfries seem to be having a good time with plenty of money for women and wine. As my money is nearly all gone I shall have [inserted] to [/inserted] cut out the wine and be content with the women until next pay day.
Amongst the new billetted [sic] in the Mill is one with a piano accordian [sic] and he can play anything from bawdy songs to classics and many hours we pass singing and listening to him. He’s absolutely grand and things would be infinitely worse without him.
Last Thursday at Warmwell I had my mug pinched and so round to NAAFI I went and bought a new one sixpence and would you believe it on Monday my teddy bear suit which I am using as a pillow fell down from my top
[page break]
bunk and took my mug down with it from off the shelf and it broke into dozens of pieces. As we have no crockery here it left [inserted] me [/inserted] in a complete flap about getting any afters as I have been getting a bit of custard and fruit in my mug but I was able to use one after someone else and yesterday I went to Woolworths and got myself a new one. While I was out I went to the baths and had a lovely bath very hot and soothingly soft, which made one feel on much better terms with the world and Scotland in particular.
We have just welcomed a new arrival to our billet, a pair of pidgeons [sic] who, providing they dont [sic] drop any bombs, are welcome to stay as long as they like.
Well dinner is just ready and I have spent all morning and exhausted all my news on your letter and all that remains is to tell you how much I love you. When it comes to telling you that I find there is nothing in the world by which I can measure the completeness of my love for you darling and can only repeat I love you love you.
Give my love to all at Emorf. and kiss for little Pam
from your
Harry xxxxx
Collection
Citation
Harry Redgrave, “To Jessie from Harry Redgrave,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 24, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/15908.
Item Relations
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