Letter to Henry Simpson's father from Wing Commander D A Garner
Title
Letter to Henry Simpson's father from Wing Commander D A Garner
Description
Expresses sympathy over news of Sergeant Henry Simpson who was flight engineer of an aircraft that failed to return from an operation to Versailles.
Creator
Date
1944-06-08
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
One page typewritten letter
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
EGarnerDSimpsonHEW440608
Transcription
[crest]
From Wing Commander D.A. Garner,
Royal Air Force Station,
Kirmington,
Lincolnshire.
8th. June, 1944.
Dear Mr. Simpson,
May I be permitted to express my own and the Squadron’s sincere sympathy with you in the sad news concerning your son, Sergeant Henry Evan Wade Simpson.
The aircraft of which he was the Flight Engineer took off to attack Versailles on the night of the 7/8th. June, 1944, and nothing further has been heard.
You may be aware that in quite a large percentage of cases aircrew reported missing are eventually reported prisoner of war and I hope that this may give you some comfort in your anxiety.
Your son was a proficient member of a most experienced crew and his loss is deeply regretted.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty to your son was included with the object of avoiding his chance of escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he was still at large. This is not to say that any further information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
Any further information that may be received will be forwarded to you immediately.
Yours very sincerely,
[signature]
H.E.W. Simpson, Esq.,
Amberley,
Single Street,
Biggin Hill,
[underlined] Kent. [/underlined]
From Wing Commander D.A. Garner,
Royal Air Force Station,
Kirmington,
Lincolnshire.
8th. June, 1944.
Dear Mr. Simpson,
May I be permitted to express my own and the Squadron’s sincere sympathy with you in the sad news concerning your son, Sergeant Henry Evan Wade Simpson.
The aircraft of which he was the Flight Engineer took off to attack Versailles on the night of the 7/8th. June, 1944, and nothing further has been heard.
You may be aware that in quite a large percentage of cases aircrew reported missing are eventually reported prisoner of war and I hope that this may give you some comfort in your anxiety.
Your son was a proficient member of a most experienced crew and his loss is deeply regretted.
It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty to your son was included with the object of avoiding his chance of escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he was still at large. This is not to say that any further information about him is available, but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.
Any further information that may be received will be forwarded to you immediately.
Yours very sincerely,
[signature]
H.E.W. Simpson, Esq.,
Amberley,
Single Street,
Biggin Hill,
[underlined] Kent. [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
D Garner, “Letter to Henry Simpson's father from Wing Commander D A Garner,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/26681.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.