Letter from Pat Hogan to Eileen Hogan
Title
Letter from Pat Hogan to Eileen Hogan
Description
Gives excuses for poor correspondence. Mentions he has now been on squadron for a month and still likes it. Catches up with her recent news and activities. Sends late birthday greetings. Mentions he has just had leave after completing five trips in a week. Writes of his activities on leave. States he was on operations again last night when his aircraft was damaged with bullet holes and strips hacked off. Catches up with news of friends.
Creator
Date
1945-02-21
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Four sided handwritten airmail 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
EHoganPJHoganE450221
Transcription
A436464 F/S HOGAN P.
RAAF AUSPO
LONDON
21/2/45
Dear Eileen,
I feel rather guilty about my failure to keep up correspondence but it hasn't been entirely my fault & I hope you'll maybe see your way clear to forgive me once more. Actually I don't really know when last I wrote you but at least I know I'm a few behind you.
No doubt you've heard from home that I've now been on a squadron for a month or so & like it very much here. The do treat us exceptionally well.
Glad to know you had such a grand leave in Sydney. No I didn't see Sydney. Strangely enough I suppose it is alright for a start but sightseeing bores me these days particularly in this country where they try to sell you the same dilapidated old ruins everywhere you go. I suppose you are again settled
[page break]
down to work again by now. Pardon me for not writing sooner to wish you birthday greetings but it is better late than never so here's all the best. Maybe the cable got there anyway.
As a matter of fact I've just had nine days leave myself. Being very weary indeed – we had done 5 trips in the last week before it – I set off for [indecipherable word] Kemp's farm in Somerset & there had 4 or 5 days of rest, fresh air & good tucker. Thence I had a couple of days in London where I saw a couple of shows & went along to the Hammersmith Palais one night. It is about the largest dance hall in London & you may have heard their bands for they both made quite a few records – Lou Preager & Sydney Simone - & they are both hot stuff.
Rog. & I then started on our way home, [deleted] calling on [/deleted] intending to go on to Leicester Notts or Leeds to finish up. We were passing through Bedford at lunch time so stayed there when we found we could get accommodation at a very nice appointed pub.
[page break]
We got back after 10 1/2 hrs travelling & changing onto numerous trains & buses. You've no idea how isolated it is out here. We were back on ops. again last night & had rather a shaky do. None of us got scratched but there are cannon & bullet holes all through the kite & in places there are great strips hacked off. Old Bill Bullen was very lucky for there are holes all through & around his turret. Still we were all in one piece so why worry.
I had a letter from Brendan [illegible word] & he was very down in the dumps indeed. He'd just lost his skipper at least half a dozen other chaps with whom we'd trained also “went in” from his squadron. Maurice McNamara also got the chopper from there. Still I'm being very cheerful aren't I?
I must also write Doreen & Dan from whom I received letters yesterday. Everyone seems quite well & hapy at the moment. Kev did fairly well with he Inter. By the way while I think of it don't bother to send me any further parcels for they are no longer necessary as we get all we want her – besides the old egg & bacon before & after each op.
Regards &O best wishes for the present.
Your loving brother Pat.
[page break]
AIR LETTER
Miss Eileen Hogan
27 Heygarth St.
Echuca Vic
Australia.
Sender
A436464 F/S HOGAN P.
RAAF AUSPO
LONDON.
RAAF AUSPO
LONDON
21/2/45
Dear Eileen,
I feel rather guilty about my failure to keep up correspondence but it hasn't been entirely my fault & I hope you'll maybe see your way clear to forgive me once more. Actually I don't really know when last I wrote you but at least I know I'm a few behind you.
No doubt you've heard from home that I've now been on a squadron for a month or so & like it very much here. The do treat us exceptionally well.
Glad to know you had such a grand leave in Sydney. No I didn't see Sydney. Strangely enough I suppose it is alright for a start but sightseeing bores me these days particularly in this country where they try to sell you the same dilapidated old ruins everywhere you go. I suppose you are again settled
[page break]
down to work again by now. Pardon me for not writing sooner to wish you birthday greetings but it is better late than never so here's all the best. Maybe the cable got there anyway.
As a matter of fact I've just had nine days leave myself. Being very weary indeed – we had done 5 trips in the last week before it – I set off for [indecipherable word] Kemp's farm in Somerset & there had 4 or 5 days of rest, fresh air & good tucker. Thence I had a couple of days in London where I saw a couple of shows & went along to the Hammersmith Palais one night. It is about the largest dance hall in London & you may have heard their bands for they both made quite a few records – Lou Preager & Sydney Simone - & they are both hot stuff.
Rog. & I then started on our way home, [deleted] calling on [/deleted] intending to go on to Leicester Notts or Leeds to finish up. We were passing through Bedford at lunch time so stayed there when we found we could get accommodation at a very nice appointed pub.
[page break]
We got back after 10 1/2 hrs travelling & changing onto numerous trains & buses. You've no idea how isolated it is out here. We were back on ops. again last night & had rather a shaky do. None of us got scratched but there are cannon & bullet holes all through the kite & in places there are great strips hacked off. Old Bill Bullen was very lucky for there are holes all through & around his turret. Still we were all in one piece so why worry.
I had a letter from Brendan [illegible word] & he was very down in the dumps indeed. He'd just lost his skipper at least half a dozen other chaps with whom we'd trained also “went in” from his squadron. Maurice McNamara also got the chopper from there. Still I'm being very cheerful aren't I?
I must also write Doreen & Dan from whom I received letters yesterday. Everyone seems quite well & hapy at the moment. Kev did fairly well with he Inter. By the way while I think of it don't bother to send me any further parcels for they are no longer necessary as we get all we want her – besides the old egg & bacon before & after each op.
Regards &O best wishes for the present.
Your loving brother Pat.
[page break]
AIR LETTER
Miss Eileen Hogan
27 Heygarth St.
Echuca Vic
Australia.
Sender
A436464 F/S HOGAN P.
RAAF AUSPO
LONDON.
Collection
Citation
P J Hogan, “Letter from Pat Hogan to Eileen Hogan ,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 24, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/31923.
Item Relations
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