Letter from Mervyn Adder to his brother Alex

Letter from Mervyn Adder to his brother Alex

Letter and explanatory note. Catches up with news of friends. Writes of visit by his parents to Scarborough and describes activities including dinner at the Victoria hotel. Mentions receiving inoculation and being confined to barracks. Writes of completing three cross country runs and doing a maths exam.

1942-05-16

Five page handwritten letter and printed note

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SAdderM175073v10033, SAdderM175073v10032

1459790 AC2. Adder M,
‘D’ Flight
2 Squadron.
No 11 I.T.W
Scarborough

Saturday

Dear Alex,

Many thanks for your letter and am pleased to hear that you wangled that seven days leave and also managed to see Joan.

I had Mother and Father over to see me last Sunday and I think you are right when you say you think they have guessed where you spent the other part of your leave, for Mother said she had heard a rumour that you were still knocking about with Joan. I don’t know whether you ought to confirm it for Mother feels very strongly about it.

I am pleased to say that I receive a lot

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of letters from Mary and they are very nice ones too, [deleted] and [/deleted] I look forward to them very much. She mentioned in her last letter that she is going to be a bridemaid [sic] next month for a chap in their office, [deleted] and [/deleted] she said she would send me some photographs of it, which I am looking forward to seeing very much.

To come back to the folks visit we had a grand day together, it was a nice day and we all had a very good time walking all over Oliver’s Mount and along part of the sea front. I took them up some steep slopes, [deleted] and [/deleted] down some tricky paths, which Dad took in his stride for he ran down them and enjoyed himself immensely – the big show off, of course Mother was less sure but she enjoyed it.

We had dinner at the Victoria Hotel, Dad liked it very much for he could get a glass of Guiness both before and during his

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dinner. It was funny really, [deleted] for [/deleted] the waitress came round to see what drinks we wanted after dinner, Mother didn’t want anything, I had coffee, and Dad with one of his grins said he would like a Guiness not expecting to get one he was highly delighted when he found he could have one with his dinner. By a strange coincidence I met Ray Forester, his sister and Bob Baxter’s sister who were in the lounge when we went in, Ray asked after you and he knew you were at Blackpool.

I intended going home this Sunday but we have had another inocculation [sic] this morning and are now confined to barracks and are on light duties for 48 hrs, which has put the tin hat on my chances of going home for a few hours. I think however I am going home the following Sunday which I see is Whit Week.

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We have had three hellish cross countries this week. Although they were different courses we still had to run round, or over Oliver’s Mount, which is certainly a very good training ground. One of the runs we had in pouring rain, I don’t know whose bright idea it was, and the paths were very slippery coming down the mount (ain), [deleted] and [/deleted] it was very funny to see them all slipping down on their backsides that is if you yourself kept your feet.

We had our Maths Exam on Wednesday and it was a ‘piece of cake’ believe me. Our Gas Exam took place on Thursday the sergeant who took us for Gas tried to get the questions beforehand but couldn’t, it was the first time he hasn’t managed to get the ‘gen’ and he thinks they are tightening things up a little. He is a jolly good chap and tried right up to a quarter of an hour before the

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Exam to get the questions anyhow I think I did al [deleted] l [/deleted] right.

I don’t think I have anything else to tell you at the moment Alex except that I have a rotten cold and my arm is damned stiff so will sign off here wishing you all the best and keep temperate.

Cheerio
Mervyn.

P.S I would like the ‘gen’ regarding your course or prospective course.

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16 May 1942

Mervyn had just arrived in Scarborough for flight training. He wrote this to Dad who was in Blackpool.

He describes a lovely day spent with his parents. They had gone walking on Oliver’s Mount, had dinner (lunch!) at the Victoria Hotel (see attached) and tea at the Odeon (see attached) It’s nice to hear about Granddad in his prime, running down slopes and drinking Guiness, which I didn’t even know he liked. His diary records that they caught the 6.15 bus back to Hull.

Joan is mentioned again! Seems that 21-year-old Dad had gone somewhere with her without telling his parents. I wonder why Gran felt strongly about it? Just being her usual awkward self I suspect.