Letter from Jack Hay to 'Auntie'
Title
Letter from Jack Hay to 'Auntie'
Description
Catches up with family news and speculates over future of son Ian and what help he might find for him. Comments on his current circumstances and possibility of leave, Complains about finances and state of pay Mentions journey to a hospital 25 miles away.
Creator
Date
1939-10-28
Temporal Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
One page handwritten letter
Conforms To
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
SFieldPL907804v10049
Transcription
Hqrs. 71 Wing.
R.A.F.
c/o. Army Post Office.
28th Oct. 1939.
Dear Auntie,
Got two letters of yours to answer, 16th & 22nd, but as I replied to Ian, you probably saw any news there was. Before I forget it, you might hand enclosed stamps to Sheila when you see here – I don’t know if she’s at Streatley or Pyreming. I dont [sic] know where Ian will be sent, Uxbridge is possible, so is Halton, & there are one or two new places. As a matter of fact, presumably owing to a boob on the part of some members of the gilded staff, we had a bunch of completely new V.R.’s sent out here who didn’t know even which end was the spout of a gun. I wrote to Griffith, the O.C. at Reading, however, to see if I can get a line, & if possible to get him posted to this wing. We are still in a state of masterly inactivity, but it has been officially stated that leave will start next Dec. Flying personnel (out here) are to get it every 3 months, & we ancients every six months, which brings me to Feb. before it is due. Which they tell me is the best month on the South Coast. On the other hand, if my promotion [underlined] should [/underlined] come through before that, I might quite well be sent to a home job. We are getting on with the war, however – I was called up yesterday! The pay people are in such hopeless chaos that they have no idea what they are doing, so to keep us quiet, they have paid out the sum of £25 on a/c. all round. The debtor Air Ministry trying to stave off its creditors. By the end of month, including uniform allowance, I think they will owe me damn near £125, what with all pay & allowance entitled to [underlined] if [/underlined] one gets them, less the £25 now on account. Yesterday had very nice run in sunshine to a C.C.S. hospital some 25 miles away. We passed through the old devastated area & a village which was never rebuilt. There is only a monument to show where it used to be, otherwise nothing, except overgrown shell holes & craters. Then across the river & through a very pretty little village, a change after our foul hole, hanging on the hill side. The hill rises some 800 ft, with a colossal view of some 30 miles or
R.A.F.
c/o. Army Post Office.
28th Oct. 1939.
Dear Auntie,
Got two letters of yours to answer, 16th & 22nd, but as I replied to Ian, you probably saw any news there was. Before I forget it, you might hand enclosed stamps to Sheila when you see here – I don’t know if she’s at Streatley or Pyreming. I dont [sic] know where Ian will be sent, Uxbridge is possible, so is Halton, & there are one or two new places. As a matter of fact, presumably owing to a boob on the part of some members of the gilded staff, we had a bunch of completely new V.R.’s sent out here who didn’t know even which end was the spout of a gun. I wrote to Griffith, the O.C. at Reading, however, to see if I can get a line, & if possible to get him posted to this wing. We are still in a state of masterly inactivity, but it has been officially stated that leave will start next Dec. Flying personnel (out here) are to get it every 3 months, & we ancients every six months, which brings me to Feb. before it is due. Which they tell me is the best month on the South Coast. On the other hand, if my promotion [underlined] should [/underlined] come through before that, I might quite well be sent to a home job. We are getting on with the war, however – I was called up yesterday! The pay people are in such hopeless chaos that they have no idea what they are doing, so to keep us quiet, they have paid out the sum of £25 on a/c. all round. The debtor Air Ministry trying to stave off its creditors. By the end of month, including uniform allowance, I think they will owe me damn near £125, what with all pay & allowance entitled to [underlined] if [/underlined] one gets them, less the £25 now on account. Yesterday had very nice run in sunshine to a C.C.S. hospital some 25 miles away. We passed through the old devastated area & a village which was never rebuilt. There is only a monument to show where it used to be, otherwise nothing, except overgrown shell holes & craters. Then across the river & through a very pretty little village, a change after our foul hole, hanging on the hill side. The hill rises some 800 ft, with a colossal view of some 30 miles or
Collection
Citation
J V Hay, “Letter from Jack Hay to 'Auntie' ,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed July 22, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/37262.
Item Relations
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