Letter from Terry Ford to his family

Letter from Terry Ford to his family

A letter from Terry Ford to his family, where he writes about the accommodation in Stratford. He also lists some of the places he visited whilst in London – Tower of London, Tower bridge, Big Ben, Westminster abbey, the Mall and Buckingham Palace before heading through Green Park to Piccadilly.

1942-04-02

Four handwritten sheets

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.

EFordTAFordAG-[Mrs]-M420402-0001,
EFordTAFordAG-[Mrs]-M420402-0002,
EFordTAFordAG-[Mrs]-M420402-0003,
EFordTAFordAG-[Mrs]-M420402-0004

1585520 AC2 Ford T.A.
“B” Flight, 3 Squadron,
R.A.F
“Shakespeare” Hotel.
Stratford–on–Avon
Warwicks
2–4–42
Dear Mum, Dad & Moira,
I have now been here for a day & a half & I think I am going to like it. The discipline is certainly tighter but there are many advantages.
The hotel is an old Tudor place & has low ceilings heavy wooden beams & washed walls. There is a postcard of it at one of the shops, but I could not get it to–day, as it is early closing day.
The town is very small & picturesque with the river, where we can go rowing. The Shakespeare Memorial Hall is a big place by the river. There is a Shakespeare festival starting on the 4th & I shall go to see some of the plays if only for the experience.
There are cafes & pubs every few yards, although I have only had 1 1/2 pints of beer ever since I have been in the RAF
I’m afraid I have been separated from my particular pal Roy Barrolet, & several others who have not been posted yet. Only 20 out of 50 were
However I have some pals here. John Fisher
[page break]
my old room–mate & several others.
Its funny how unreal the past seems. It seems as though I have been in the RAF for years now, instead of less than 3 weeks, and London seems ages ago although we only left yesterday.
We had to fill in usual forms yesterday, and then looked round the place. Had a glass of beer in a very cosy little pub. Unfortunately we have to be in by 10 o’clock. Most chaps already on the course seem to swot a lot. Afraid there is absolutely no chance of a leave until the end of the course which is 10 weeks at the moment, but may be speeded up. THERE IS NO FLYING ON THIS COURSE as you probably know.
We did some drill or square–bashing on the green by the river in the sun then P.T. in the park this morning. It was quite enjoyable. We played rugger this afternoon. I played full back for the flight v “C” flight. We lost heavily as we have never played to–gether before I was complimented on my game however, which is a good thing, as they take a lot of notice of sport. I got a bash on the nose, which made it bleed copiously for most of the game. It stopped about 1/2 time however, but I got another bash a bit later & it started again. I now also realize that I have a bruised rib a scratched chest & knee & scratches on my wrist. It was a hard game & apart from these minor ailments I feel fighting fit. [deleted] W [/deleted]
We have now duffed our greatcoats & now wear our tunics, with blanco–ed white belts.
[page break]
Well I think that is all about Stratford I will now tell you what I did at London.
On Sunday we went to the Tower where we were lucky enough to join [deleted] take [/deleted] a party being taken round by a beef–eater. He told us all the gory details & if ever a place was history the tower is.
We also the Tower Bridge go up. We then had a marvellous tea the Central Y.M.C.A. Tottenham Court Road. [deleted] The [/deleted] We then went round past Big Ben & Westminster abbey onto St. James Park & on to the Mall & down to Buckingham Palace. We then went through Green Park to Piccadilly. The whole of this enjoyable day only cost us 2/0, as the forces can buy a 1/– ticket to travel anywhere in London by bus or tube all day.
On Monday [deleted] us [/deleted] Roy & I went to a cinema in Camden town to see “Dumbo” It is very good & you’d love it Feeto.
On Tuesday we were inspected by the Group Captain and unfortunately just as he was inspecting our flight, the band, which was only 5 in front of us started playing “You’d be far better off in a home” and winking a us We all started grinning but luckily the G.C. didn’t say anything
I have had a letter from John which was very welcome.
Well I think that is about all for now I hope that you are all well also relatives & friend
[page break]
remember me to them. I shall be glad to hear from you.
Could you spread y address about as I don’t want people writing to me in London.
Love to you all.
Terry
Fisho
XXXX.
P.S. We shall be very busy when we actually start on the course so I can’t guarantee to write such detailed letters in future.
[page break]