Letter to Mrs Doreen Ellis from 199 Squadron
Title
Letter to Mrs Doreen Ellis from 199 Squadron
Description
The letter advises Doreen that he husband is missing in action. The possibility that he husband may have escaped or taken prisoner is mentioned.
Creator
Date
1943-08-31
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
One typewritten sheet
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
SEllisRHG918424v10017
Transcription
No. 199 Squadron,
Royal Air Force,
Lakenheath,
Suffolk.
31st August, 1943.
Dear Mrs. Ellis,
By the time you receive this letter you will have been informed that your husband, 918424 SGT Ellis, R. H. G., was reported missing as a result of air operations on the night of 30/31st August, 1943, and I am writing to extend to you my most profound sympathy in your anxiety for him.
He was the air gunner of an aircraft which took off that night on a mission against the enemy, but which failed to return, and I have heard nothing further of this aircraft or its crew since it left its base. Although I do not wish to raise your hopes unduly, there is always the chance that your husband may have escaped with his life and been taken prisoner of war, and I am hoping that some such news will come to hand in the near future. You will of course be informed if I should receive any further news.
The Royal Air Force Central Depository at Colnbrook, Slough, Bucks, to whom your husband’s personal effects are being sent will be writing to you about them in due course.
All officers and men of this Squadron with whom your husband was most popular, wish me to extend to you their most sincere sympathies, and should I be able to help you in any way, please do not hesitate to write.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
[underlined]Wing Commander. [/underlined]
Mrs. D.C.M. Ellis,
253 Balham High Road,
[underlined]London, S.W. 17. [/underlined]
Royal Air Force,
Lakenheath,
Suffolk.
31st August, 1943.
Dear Mrs. Ellis,
By the time you receive this letter you will have been informed that your husband, 918424 SGT Ellis, R. H. G., was reported missing as a result of air operations on the night of 30/31st August, 1943, and I am writing to extend to you my most profound sympathy in your anxiety for him.
He was the air gunner of an aircraft which took off that night on a mission against the enemy, but which failed to return, and I have heard nothing further of this aircraft or its crew since it left its base. Although I do not wish to raise your hopes unduly, there is always the chance that your husband may have escaped with his life and been taken prisoner of war, and I am hoping that some such news will come to hand in the near future. You will of course be informed if I should receive any further news.
The Royal Air Force Central Depository at Colnbrook, Slough, Bucks, to whom your husband’s personal effects are being sent will be writing to you about them in due course.
All officers and men of this Squadron with whom your husband was most popular, wish me to extend to you their most sincere sympathies, and should I be able to help you in any way, please do not hesitate to write.
Yours sincerely,
[signature]
[underlined]Wing Commander. [/underlined]
Mrs. D.C.M. Ellis,
253 Balham High Road,
[underlined]London, S.W. 17. [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
199 Squadron, “Letter to Mrs Doreen Ellis from 199 Squadron,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/28636.
Item Relations
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