Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Title
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
Letter number sixteen. First letter from him as Pilot Officer J D Hudson and has moved into officers mess. Writes of celebrating with the boys previous night. Mentions daily routine in officers mess and describes new billet. Says the food was much better and there was no comparing the conditions of living now to before. Writes that he has a new service number, has received coupons and talks about how he will be paid. Hoping for 3 days leave from April 5th and discusses travel plans. Reports arrival of letters and catches up with news.
Creator
Date
1944-04-02
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Six page handwritten letter and 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.
Contributor
Identifier
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE440402
Transcription
16
[indecipherable word]
[postmark]
[postage stamp]
Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Hudson.
191. Halifax Road.
Nelson.
Lancashire.
[page break]
16
173116. Pilot Officer J. D. Hudson.
Officers’ Mess.
R.A.F. Station.
etc. etc.
2-4-44. 11.20 pm.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
The above came through yesterday & I moved into this billet today. I managed to get the necessary tape to put upon my battle dress & best uniform, and as I already had gloves, cap & raincoat I was able to move into the Mess straight away.
Last night I went out with the boys & the celebrating left me in a quiet frame of mind today. The evening has been spent quietly in the Mess. We had
[page break]
dinner in the Mess at 7.30. & stayed on to a film show. The G. Capt. & Air Commodore were both present. I gather this is a typical way of spending Sunday here. We had tea at 4.30. but I didn’t bother staying on to supper.
I share a large billet with three Flying Officer Navigators & a Gunner & it is a spotless affair. The beds are a great improvement & are like hospital beds with white quilt, sheets & blankets. The bat woman keeps the fire going & the place clean. I have a dresser, shelves & chair, bed mat & clothes horse, mirror & table. There is hot
[page break]
water on the site & baths in the Mess. What little I have experienced of the food today has been 100% on what I have had previously & this has been considered our off day. From this you will gather that there is simply no comparing the two conditions of living & to think it has taken me 5 years.
Incidentally I am writing this letter to you in bed.
You will notice I have been given a new number. Today I received 290 coupons & completed forms etc. instructing payment to be made [inserted] to me [/inserted] through the Air Force Bank which in my case is Lloyds. When I get my
[page break]
other items of clothing & uniform I present a form of authorisation to the [deleted] credit [/deleted] outfitters & they grant me credit & get payments through my bank. Should I wish I can change my bank later.
I am hoping to get 3 days leave about April 5th to get my clothing. If I am able to catch the 9. o’clock [inserted] (a.m.) [/inserted] train I shall probably do my purchasing in M/cr. on arrival. If I cannot complete it in one day it will mean a return visit next day, unless I can arrange to get the remainder of the things on the day I return. Should I find it a half day closing
[page break]
day I shall have to go to M/cr next day from Nelson. May be when I know what time I shall arrive I could [underlined] wire [/underlined] Mother to meet me. In this matter leave it to me to do what I consider to be most practicable, so don’t be alarmed if a telegram should arrive about the 5th or 6th.
I received Mother’s letter of Friday yesterday telling that Dad has to do fire watching under the new Civil Defence regulations. Does he get paid for this?
I was glad to hear that Marjorie’s son was born & that all is going O.K.
[page break]
I also received a letter from [indecipherable name] on Saturday. He is now a W/O & is stationed very near here. I expect I shall be able to meet him in town shortly.
I’ll say good-night now as I am very tired, especially as I didn’t get much sleep last night.
Hope to see you soon if only on a very short visit.
All my love & best wishes.
Douglas.
[indecipherable word]
[postmark]
[postage stamp]
Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Hudson.
191. Halifax Road.
Nelson.
Lancashire.
[page break]
16
173116. Pilot Officer J. D. Hudson.
Officers’ Mess.
R.A.F. Station.
etc. etc.
2-4-44. 11.20 pm.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
The above came through yesterday & I moved into this billet today. I managed to get the necessary tape to put upon my battle dress & best uniform, and as I already had gloves, cap & raincoat I was able to move into the Mess straight away.
Last night I went out with the boys & the celebrating left me in a quiet frame of mind today. The evening has been spent quietly in the Mess. We had
[page break]
dinner in the Mess at 7.30. & stayed on to a film show. The G. Capt. & Air Commodore were both present. I gather this is a typical way of spending Sunday here. We had tea at 4.30. but I didn’t bother staying on to supper.
I share a large billet with three Flying Officer Navigators & a Gunner & it is a spotless affair. The beds are a great improvement & are like hospital beds with white quilt, sheets & blankets. The bat woman keeps the fire going & the place clean. I have a dresser, shelves & chair, bed mat & clothes horse, mirror & table. There is hot
[page break]
water on the site & baths in the Mess. What little I have experienced of the food today has been 100% on what I have had previously & this has been considered our off day. From this you will gather that there is simply no comparing the two conditions of living & to think it has taken me 5 years.
Incidentally I am writing this letter to you in bed.
You will notice I have been given a new number. Today I received 290 coupons & completed forms etc. instructing payment to be made [inserted] to me [/inserted] through the Air Force Bank which in my case is Lloyds. When I get my
[page break]
other items of clothing & uniform I present a form of authorisation to the [deleted] credit [/deleted] outfitters & they grant me credit & get payments through my bank. Should I wish I can change my bank later.
I am hoping to get 3 days leave about April 5th to get my clothing. If I am able to catch the 9. o’clock [inserted] (a.m.) [/inserted] train I shall probably do my purchasing in M/cr. on arrival. If I cannot complete it in one day it will mean a return visit next day, unless I can arrange to get the remainder of the things on the day I return. Should I find it a half day closing
[page break]
day I shall have to go to M/cr next day from Nelson. May be when I know what time I shall arrive I could [underlined] wire [/underlined] Mother to meet me. In this matter leave it to me to do what I consider to be most practicable, so don’t be alarmed if a telegram should arrive about the 5th or 6th.
I received Mother’s letter of Friday yesterday telling that Dad has to do fire watching under the new Civil Defence regulations. Does he get paid for this?
I was glad to hear that Marjorie’s son was born & that all is going O.K.
[page break]
I also received a letter from [indecipherable name] on Saturday. He is now a W/O & is stationed very near here. I expect I shall be able to meet him in town shortly.
I’ll say good-night now as I am very tired, especially as I didn’t get much sleep last night.
Hope to see you soon if only on a very short visit.
All my love & best wishes.
Douglas.
Collection
Citation
J D Hudson, “Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents ,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/22983.
Item Relations
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