Condolence letter to Aubrey Read's mother
Title
Condolence letter to Aubrey Read's mother
Description
Letter from Officer Commanding 106 Squadron expressing his sympathy and suggesting the possibility that Aubrey had managed to bale out.
Creator
Date
1943-11-29
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
One 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
EOC106SqnRAFReadCW431129
Transcription
No. 106 Squadron,
Royal Air Force,
Metheringham,
Lincs.
REB/DO. 29th. November 1943.
Dear Mrs. Read.
I am writing to express my sympathy in the anxiety which must yours upon receipt of the news that your Son, Flying Officer A.W. Read is missing from operations.
He was the Wireless Operator of an aircraft which left here on the night of 26th, November 1943 to take part in a raid on Berlin. Nothing was heard after take-off and I regret the aircraft did not return.
There is absolutely no knowledge of what happened, and one can only assume that the aircraft was a victim of either anti-aircraft fire or fighter. In either case, however, there is a possibility that the crew were able to bale out, and that although prisoners-of-war are quite safe. We all hope that this is indeed the case.
Your Son had taken part in twenty-three bombing raids. He was a Wireless Operator of consierable [sic] ability and I know his Captain placed the greatest reliance in his work.
Once again, both personally and on behalf of the whole Squadron, I offer you my deep sympathy.
Yours truly, R E Baxter
Wing Commander Commanding
[underlined] 106 Squadron, R. A. F. [/underlined]
Mrs. C.W. Read,
55, Carholme Road,
Lincoln.
Royal Air Force,
Metheringham,
Lincs.
REB/DO. 29th. November 1943.
Dear Mrs. Read.
I am writing to express my sympathy in the anxiety which must yours upon receipt of the news that your Son, Flying Officer A.W. Read is missing from operations.
He was the Wireless Operator of an aircraft which left here on the night of 26th, November 1943 to take part in a raid on Berlin. Nothing was heard after take-off and I regret the aircraft did not return.
There is absolutely no knowledge of what happened, and one can only assume that the aircraft was a victim of either anti-aircraft fire or fighter. In either case, however, there is a possibility that the crew were able to bale out, and that although prisoners-of-war are quite safe. We all hope that this is indeed the case.
Your Son had taken part in twenty-three bombing raids. He was a Wireless Operator of consierable [sic] ability and I know his Captain placed the greatest reliance in his work.
Once again, both personally and on behalf of the whole Squadron, I offer you my deep sympathy.
Yours truly, R E Baxter
Wing Commander Commanding
[underlined] 106 Squadron, R. A. F. [/underlined]
Mrs. C.W. Read,
55, Carholme Road,
Lincoln.
Collection
Citation
RE Baxter, “Condolence letter to Aubrey Read's mother,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 23, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/31160.
Item Relations
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