Letter from Bill Akrill to Ros and Harry

Letter from Bill Akrill to Ros and Harry

Comments on photographs recently sent and catches up with family news.

Bill describes his mounting flying hours during air navigation training and the imminent start of bombing training. He can’t wait to be doing it for real on operations. Writes on use of bombing trainer simulated attacks on the Essen Crupps works and a bridge over the Dortmund-Ems canal. Bill displays his excitement at the prospect of extended summer leave. Includes an illustration of a man in flying gear jumping for joy.

1942-07-05

1942-07-06

Four page handwritten letter

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EAkrillWE[Recipient]R-H420705

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No 1436220 L.A.C. Akrill,
Hut 20.
RAF Station,
Sunday 5. 7. 42 W. Freugh.
Stranraer.
Scotland

Dear Ros & Harry,

Thanks very much for both your letters some time ago & for Ros’s & the snaps which I got last week. Afraid I havn’t [sic] written for some time but though I begin most letters “Dear Mum” I’m thinking of all of you at the time!

I guess you’ll be wanting the snaps back so I’ve had a good look at them first. I think the ones of you with the son are pretty good but it’s a pity the [sic] didn’t come out a bit clearer. I’m looking forward to seeing the young feller - and all his friends & relatives as well for that matter. At the rate he’s going on he’ll soon have a first-rate bank account! He seems to be

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Getting around as well!

I wish Harry could get his teeth out. Hope this fresh stuff will do him some good but I still can’t understand the sun-ray treatment. I should have thought he’d be the last person to benefit from that!

I got mum’s letter [underlined] Monday 6 [/underlined] Ran out of ink last night so am finishing this tonight while having a little rest - just down from stooging around the Irish Sea all the afternoon. Mounting my hours up nicely by this time tomorrow I should have 60 hours Navigation flying in. The minimum we must do is a hundred hours Nav. flying. We start bombing flying on Wednesday & have to do at least 10 exercises on that. Shan’t be dropping any actual bombs for a week or 2 - have to get wind-finding tied up first. I have bombed the Rhur [sic] on the bombing teacher

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though! Its great fun especially when you’r [sic] given some particular target - such as Crupps [sic] works at Essen. I was given, once, a beautiful bridge over the Dortmunt-Ems [sic] Canal near Essen. I pressed the bomb switch & watched the “bomb” go down Crash!! It missed the bridge by about 3 yds which would have shaken it up a bit anyway! It’s all very well bombing a picture but I’m just longing for the day when the picture becomes real & the bomb causes a bit more damage than a light on the floor. Of course it’s possible, with these big new aircraft, that I’ll not have a chance of bomb-aiming as it’s now a seperate [sic] job.

Af for leave - which is (almost) all we think about these days - it’s fixed definitely (until they decide to alter it!!) to start on Friday July 17 [underlined] th [/underlined] So with luck I should get home at dinner time on Sat. 18 [underlined] th [/underlined] Think the Crewe

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Derby route brings me into Nottm. Around 10 o’clock. I’ll see if Lincoln would be any better though I have my doubts. Oh leave! leave!!! Jumps of joy [pen sketch] oh to get away from it for a week & oh to be home for a week! No more smelly aeroplanes & no more disturbed nights & no more wondering whether you’ll get any dinner or tea. Yes there’s no place like home. But by the sound of this letter you’d think I was tired of flying & the R.A.F. Not a bit but you can’t keep at it for ever without a break.
Well I don’t think I’ve [underlined] anything [/underlined] worth writing about so until the 18 [underlined] th [underlined] Cheerio [underlined] Bill [/underlined]