Letter from Bill Akrill to his mother

Letter from Bill Akrill to his mother

Bill writes to his mother mentioning no leave over Christmas and about his excitement at being selected to go to an Elementary Flying Training School near Aberdeen and if he makes the grade, the opportunity to go to the USA, possibly California. He also includes a letter to his Aunt Mary catching up with news and thanking her for the present..

Four page handwritten letter

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EAkrillWEAkrill[Mo][Date]-03

No. 1436220 L.A.C. Akrill W.E.
A Flight No 4 Squadron.
No.6. I.T.W. RAF.
Friday dinner. Aberystwyth.

Dear mum,

Havn’t [sic] got a letter yet this week-end. Expect it will turn up tonight or tomorrow but I thought I’d better give you the gen. we’ve just got. Afraid I don’t get any Christmas leave but if all goes very well I’m hoping I’ll be home about the end of January for a few days at least before sailing for the United States!

Yes we got to know yesterday that 25 of us were being posted & this morning we got all the gen. Imagine our excitement

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waiting for the list to be read out! Luckily my name headed it so my suspence [sic] wasn’t for long. Joe is coming with me but unfortunately poor old Max is out. Don’t know much yet but we leave here on the 30 [underlined] th [/underlined] for an EFTS near [underlined] Aberdeen [/underlined] of all places. We’re there for 3 weeks flying &c and on what is called a grading course. If we’re O.K. we expect to go to the U.S.A. possibly California. Gosh! What an opportunity!!! If [underlined] only [/underlined] I survive E.F.T.S.!!

Well must get this posted & then you [underlined] may [/underlined] get it tomorrow. I wouldn’t broacast [sic] the glad news too much. Anything may happen yet. You might let Dave know. Love [underlined] Bill [/underlined]

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Dear Mary.

I’d just finished writing mum’s letter when Max came in and said there was a parcel so I’d just time to get it & extract the book & stuff the rest in my pocket to examine in signals where I’m writing this. I’m glad you got me a knife. I’ve been wanting one. The manual will come in useful now too!

It’s a lad job about the beast. It’s not often ours get on the road. You can certainly kill Lucy. Our Christmas menu is just the same as Sundays except that we can have beer! Well I’ll have a good tuck in when I get embarkation leave. Expect there’ll be a few p—s left.

I seem to be jumping out of

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the frying pan into the fire Aberystwyth to Aberdeen - or at least about 6 miles from it. Indeed to-goodness, och-aye! I don’t know whether my dialect will be Welsh or Scotch or American by the time I’ve finished.

Glad you had a good time at Warsop. Talking of mistletoe there seems to be plenty about this year. You should see the girls chasing around the town with it!

Well I’ll get this posted in coming break. Thank you for the present & the manual. Havn’t [sic] had my fizzog done yet. I’ll [underlined] try [/underlined] to get out of the inter-squadron run tomorrow to get it done.

P’raps you’ll tell Dave the news? Love to all [underlined] Bill [/underlined]