Letter from David Boldy to his father
Title
Letter from David Boldy to his father
Description
Letter from Leading Aircraftsman David Boldy to his father about his mother and Steve, driving a friend’s Buick and Cynthia and Lisa getting engaged. They went to Mussel Bay for New Year’s, and tried surf riding. He has sent, and will send more photographs as he has a camera. He is attending air navigation school and learning aerial photography too.
Creator
Date
1941-01-10
Temporal Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
Six page handwritten 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.
Identifier
EBoldyDABoldyAD410110
Transcription
[TOC H TALBOT HOUSE crest]
923995 LAC BOLDY. D.A.
No 45, Air School,
R.A.F.
[deleted] Infantry Training Centre [/deleted],
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
S. Africa.
10th January 1941
My darling Dad,
Thanks very much for your letters, the cable & the £2. It was very sweet of you.
As we got some back flying pay a short while back I bought a few things I need badly such as a decent Khaki shirt a shorts & a pair of shoes. The Khaki shirt & shorts are very well cut indeed. I had no difficulty in [deleted] changing [/deleted] cashing the cheque.
I have had several letters from Mum lately, one from Steve & one from my friend Darnie (in Rhodisia) who wrote to England still thinking I was there. Mum forwarded the letter.
You must not worry if you don’t
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
hear from any of us sometimes, as very often letters take some time. I received one from Mum the other day which was posted three weeks before one I received a week ago. I am so glad to hear the car you got from head office is so nice.
Please [deleted] congratul [/deleted] give my best wishes to Cynthia on her engagement. I hope she will be very happy. Liza the girl who was in Naini, I expect you remember her has also become engaged to a young Scotsman. She was a very swell girl.
I have done quite a bit of motoring the last three afternoons. I went in a friend’s car, an old tourer buick. It is jolly good. She is something like the dodge we had but of course not in anything as good a condition. Still she is a good bus & we get a kick out of her.
My friends and I went to Mossel Bay for New Year. Just the Tuesday & Wednesday. We put up at a hotel. I had a very enjoyable time. As there
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
[TOC H TALBOT HOUSE crest]
Infantry Training Centre,
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
194
was no room in any of the hotels we had two ghastly rooms at the back. we called it the Ritzy Rooms but it didn’t interfere with our fun.
I thought of the three of you at midnight. D.V. there will be better days ahead soon.
On the Wednesday I did some surf riding. It was great fun. You hold the surf board a sort of thin plank and wait till an enormous breaker comes along. As it hits you on the back side you leap forward on to the surf board pressing it hard against the body. If successful you then shoot off towards the shore & are taken right up. incidentally during the whole operation you are never out of your depth.
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
In the later afternoon we swam again this time at a sheltered inlet known as the point. We had a jolly good time and came back that evening looking as brown as [deleted] t [/deleted] berries.
I took a number of photographs while we were there. I ordered a whole heap of copies to-day & will send them on to you in a couple of days. At the latest in a week. I hope you received the last lot. I sent. They were sent by Air Mail so shouldn’t have taken long. They are fine snaps and you will like them. All three I am sending you shortly are also fine photographs. I at first regretted having bought the camera as the first spools were all utter failures. Since then however I have taken another four spools & they are all excellent. Actually all that really was the matter was that I hadn’t quite got the hang of the various shutter speeds etc. on the camera.
I am getting on with the flying. We know quite a bit of navigation now. We have also started photography from the air & should be night flying shortly.
[page break]
[underlined] 3 [/underlined]
[TOC H TALBOT HOUSE crest]
Infantry Training Centre,
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
194
The flying is interesting, though you get so used to it that one gets quite bored sometimes especially when you are not flying the machine yourself. Still I enjoy it.
The weather lately has been the damned limit. Four days ago the temperature was 1060 in the shade & about 1300 in the sun. we were absolutely grilled. This continued for three days. Great clouds accumulated, the heat was intense. Everything was quiet & then the storm came. There was torrential rain (just as in India) and a terrific wind. One of the lecture rooms had its roof blown off. All the charts etc were ruined (in that room) also One of the [deleted][indecipherable][/deleted] billets last its roof. But everything ended happily. It became much
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
cooler & to-day we have all felt chilly as the temperature this morning was 590.
Quite a considerable drop.
Mum mentioned that Phil [indecipherable] had sent me a birthday card. Please thank him for me & give him my love.
Lately we have been to a couple of films. The other night we saw “Mr Smith goes to Washington.” I had seen it before in London with Mum & Steve. It is a jolly good show.
At first we were not having too good a time here but now all know a number of people we have had a really good time for Xmas & the New Year. At the moment however most of our friends have gone to Mossel Bay for the holidays. They should be coming back shortly.
I had a game of Tennis before Xmas. The players were rotten at Tennis but very nice people. Take things easy Dad & don’t go injuring yourself through being over zealous at Tennis or anything like that.
No more now, will send the snaps & write in a couple of days. God bless you.
Your loving son Dave.
923995 LAC BOLDY. D.A.
No 45, Air School,
R.A.F.
[deleted] Infantry Training Centre [/deleted],
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
S. Africa.
10th January 1941
My darling Dad,
Thanks very much for your letters, the cable & the £2. It was very sweet of you.
As we got some back flying pay a short while back I bought a few things I need badly such as a decent Khaki shirt a shorts & a pair of shoes. The Khaki shirt & shorts are very well cut indeed. I had no difficulty in [deleted] changing [/deleted] cashing the cheque.
I have had several letters from Mum lately, one from Steve & one from my friend Darnie (in Rhodisia) who wrote to England still thinking I was there. Mum forwarded the letter.
You must not worry if you don’t
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
hear from any of us sometimes, as very often letters take some time. I received one from Mum the other day which was posted three weeks before one I received a week ago. I am so glad to hear the car you got from head office is so nice.
Please [deleted] congratul [/deleted] give my best wishes to Cynthia on her engagement. I hope she will be very happy. Liza the girl who was in Naini, I expect you remember her has also become engaged to a young Scotsman. She was a very swell girl.
I have done quite a bit of motoring the last three afternoons. I went in a friend’s car, an old tourer buick. It is jolly good. She is something like the dodge we had but of course not in anything as good a condition. Still she is a good bus & we get a kick out of her.
My friends and I went to Mossel Bay for New Year. Just the Tuesday & Wednesday. We put up at a hotel. I had a very enjoyable time. As there
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
[TOC H TALBOT HOUSE crest]
Infantry Training Centre,
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
194
was no room in any of the hotels we had two ghastly rooms at the back. we called it the Ritzy Rooms but it didn’t interfere with our fun.
I thought of the three of you at midnight. D.V. there will be better days ahead soon.
On the Wednesday I did some surf riding. It was great fun. You hold the surf board a sort of thin plank and wait till an enormous breaker comes along. As it hits you on the back side you leap forward on to the surf board pressing it hard against the body. If successful you then shoot off towards the shore & are taken right up. incidentally during the whole operation you are never out of your depth.
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
In the later afternoon we swam again this time at a sheltered inlet known as the point. We had a jolly good time and came back that evening looking as brown as [deleted] t [/deleted] berries.
I took a number of photographs while we were there. I ordered a whole heap of copies to-day & will send them on to you in a couple of days. At the latest in a week. I hope you received the last lot. I sent. They were sent by Air Mail so shouldn’t have taken long. They are fine snaps and you will like them. All three I am sending you shortly are also fine photographs. I at first regretted having bought the camera as the first spools were all utter failures. Since then however I have taken another four spools & they are all excellent. Actually all that really was the matter was that I hadn’t quite got the hang of the various shutter speeds etc. on the camera.
I am getting on with the flying. We know quite a bit of navigation now. We have also started photography from the air & should be night flying shortly.
[page break]
[underlined] 3 [/underlined]
[TOC H TALBOT HOUSE crest]
Infantry Training Centre,
Oudtshoorn, C.P.
194
The flying is interesting, though you get so used to it that one gets quite bored sometimes especially when you are not flying the machine yourself. Still I enjoy it.
The weather lately has been the damned limit. Four days ago the temperature was 1060 in the shade & about 1300 in the sun. we were absolutely grilled. This continued for three days. Great clouds accumulated, the heat was intense. Everything was quiet & then the storm came. There was torrential rain (just as in India) and a terrific wind. One of the lecture rooms had its roof blown off. All the charts etc were ruined (in that room) also One of the [deleted][indecipherable][/deleted] billets last its roof. But everything ended happily. It became much
Supplied by the Manufacturers of Croxley STATIONERY
[page break]
cooler & to-day we have all felt chilly as the temperature this morning was 590.
Quite a considerable drop.
Mum mentioned that Phil [indecipherable] had sent me a birthday card. Please thank him for me & give him my love.
Lately we have been to a couple of films. The other night we saw “Mr Smith goes to Washington.” I had seen it before in London with Mum & Steve. It is a jolly good show.
At first we were not having too good a time here but now all know a number of people we have had a really good time for Xmas & the New Year. At the moment however most of our friends have gone to Mossel Bay for the holidays. They should be coming back shortly.
I had a game of Tennis before Xmas. The players were rotten at Tennis but very nice people. Take things easy Dad & don’t go injuring yourself through being over zealous at Tennis or anything like that.
No more now, will send the snaps & write in a couple of days. God bless you.
Your loving son Dave.
Collection
Citation
David Boldy, “Letter from David Boldy to his father,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/506.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.