Letter to Mr and Mrs Geach from his station Chaplain
Title
Letter to Mr and Mrs Geach from his station Chaplain
Description
The letter to David Geach's parents expresses sadness that he is missing. The Chaplain offers his sympathy.
Creator
Date
1944-04-11
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Two handwritten sheets
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
EWestGGeachDG440411-0001,
EWestGGeachDG440411-0002
EWestGGeachDG440411-0002
Transcription
Chaplain’s Office,
R.A.F. Waterbeach
Cambs.
[underlined] April 11/44 [/underlined]
Dear Mr & Mrs Geach,
I regret it has not been possible to write before, but I do so now to express my profound sorrow, that your son, F/Sgt. D. G. Geach, is missing after operations on the night of March 24/25th. I understand the anxiety and uncertainty which you must feel. To those who were waiting up for the crews that night, it was a great grief when your son’s plane failed to return.
The trip in which his crew was engaged was a long one, over Germany and it is not unreasonable to hope that they may have escaped disaster by bailing out, and become prisoners of war. But of course there is no certainty of this, and it is not until official information comes through via the Red Cross that your terrible suspense will be ended. You may rest assured that whatever this news it will be sent to you at once.
I know that whatever has happened, your son would not have you overcome with sorrow, and you can be sure that his chief thought was less for
[page break]
his own safety, than for loyalty, and devotion to duty. Like so many other brave men, he has willingly hazarded his life for a great cause and we may be proud and thankful for his example.
During these times, I feel we can but commit ourselves and anxieties into the hands of God, who cares and suffers in the grief of His people. I believe we should hold on to the truth that wherever our loved one is there God is, and where God is he is. I do pray that you may find in God your comfort and be made strong to bear your heavy load of suffering.
With my renewed sympathy,
Yours very sincerely,
[underlined] G. West. [/underlined]
(Chaplain)
R.A.F. Waterbeach
Cambs.
[underlined] April 11/44 [/underlined]
Dear Mr & Mrs Geach,
I regret it has not been possible to write before, but I do so now to express my profound sorrow, that your son, F/Sgt. D. G. Geach, is missing after operations on the night of March 24/25th. I understand the anxiety and uncertainty which you must feel. To those who were waiting up for the crews that night, it was a great grief when your son’s plane failed to return.
The trip in which his crew was engaged was a long one, over Germany and it is not unreasonable to hope that they may have escaped disaster by bailing out, and become prisoners of war. But of course there is no certainty of this, and it is not until official information comes through via the Red Cross that your terrible suspense will be ended. You may rest assured that whatever this news it will be sent to you at once.
I know that whatever has happened, your son would not have you overcome with sorrow, and you can be sure that his chief thought was less for
[page break]
his own safety, than for loyalty, and devotion to duty. Like so many other brave men, he has willingly hazarded his life for a great cause and we may be proud and thankful for his example.
During these times, I feel we can but commit ourselves and anxieties into the hands of God, who cares and suffers in the grief of His people. I believe we should hold on to the truth that wherever our loved one is there God is, and where God is he is. I do pray that you may find in God your comfort and be made strong to bear your heavy load of suffering.
With my renewed sympathy,
Yours very sincerely,
[underlined] G. West. [/underlined]
(Chaplain)
Collection
Citation
Caplain, RAF Waterbeach, “Letter to Mr and Mrs Geach from his station Chaplain,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 27, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/18743.
Item Relations
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