Letter from Reg Jaques to a female relative
Title
Letter from Reg Jaques to a female relative
Description
Letter to Brenda dated 15 December 1943 from RAF Elsham Wolds relating life on the station and mentioning shopping for gifts in Scunthorpe, a bout of flu, a shortage of coal and upcoming leave.
Creator
Date
1943-12-15
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Four page handwritten document
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.
Identifier
EJaquesCRBrenda431215
Transcription
[RAF Crest]
R.A.F STATION
ELSHAM WOLDS
BARNETBY
LINCS.
15.12.43.
Dear Brenda,
A happy Xmas to you, Phil and the three kids. I cant wish you a Merry Xmas cos there isn’t going to be much to be merry on. We’ll leave it at wishes for Xmas 1944 when I feel sure Jerry will be whacked and we shall have lots more good things to be merry with.
I had a day off last week a great privilege as we are supposed to work every day for 6 continuous weeks and then have six days leave. So I took the train to Scunthorpe to try and do a bit. I was shopping with a very diplited [sic] book of coupons. I was more concerned with the kiddies than the grown ups, but toys are
[page break]
fantastic prices, and then I spotted these handkerchiefs and they solved my problem, if they are not to small. So put them in the kiddies stocking, will you. I tried to get a tablecloth for you Phil, and this is the best I could do. The size of it has given me much mirth: however I suppose better to cover one end of the table than none at all. Why don’t you be like us and do without tablecloths? We have polished tabletops and use mats for hot plates. I don’t know whether it is the effect of the polished tops or the air, but I eat like a horse and find the food very good. [deleted] A [/deleted] Two weeks ago I had five days in Sick Quarters with flu, but am OK again now and yesterday [indecipherable word] played a game of soccer, though I could feel my lungs were rather tight. Two other members of the crew were admitted to Sick Quarters yesterday so we are not doing much flying as you can guess.
[page break]
RAF Crest
R.A.F Station
ELSHAM WOLDS
BARNETBY
LINCS.
Am writing this in my billet – a wood hut. Russell Fry and I share a room in it, size about 9’ x 15’. The stove is just beginning to show signs of life – I sleep [indecipherable word] by 10 pm it may be [deleted] warm [/deleted] glowing brightly or it may be out. Because of the shortage of [deleted] coke [/deleted] coal we have to burn coke and the stove objects to coke. Without – a fire these huts are jolly cold places, so there’s little wonder so many are ill with colds and flu. I hope you have all managed to escape its epidemic.
I’m due to 6 days leave on Tuesday 22nd to 27th inclusive so will be [indecipherable word] for Xmas dreaming of Turkey and probably eating a bit of bully beef.
We had a show at camp last night by ENSA, “Twelfth Night” but because of fog, all the
[page break]
costumes and scenery were stranded on the road. Very sporting by the camp with the company put on a free modern version of the play, dressed in their everyday dress with a few improvisations. It was very funny. We had to use our imaginations quite a lot as had the actors too, and the effect at times sent the actors into hysterics. So that they couldn’t act. The audience caught this hysteria too and some of the waafs nearly split their sides with laughter.
It was a grand break. We are three miles from the nearest village, with no bus service so we don’t see much life and most of our flying is done at night so we look forward to leaves now more than ever.
Well, I do hope you manage a big xmas dinner and that Santa fills 3 pairs of stockings right -up to the top. My regards to Phil, yourself
xxx for 3 smart girls (not) grown up
[symbol] Reg.
R.A.F STATION
ELSHAM WOLDS
BARNETBY
LINCS.
15.12.43.
Dear Brenda,
A happy Xmas to you, Phil and the three kids. I cant wish you a Merry Xmas cos there isn’t going to be much to be merry on. We’ll leave it at wishes for Xmas 1944 when I feel sure Jerry will be whacked and we shall have lots more good things to be merry with.
I had a day off last week a great privilege as we are supposed to work every day for 6 continuous weeks and then have six days leave. So I took the train to Scunthorpe to try and do a bit. I was shopping with a very diplited [sic] book of coupons. I was more concerned with the kiddies than the grown ups, but toys are
[page break]
fantastic prices, and then I spotted these handkerchiefs and they solved my problem, if they are not to small. So put them in the kiddies stocking, will you. I tried to get a tablecloth for you Phil, and this is the best I could do. The size of it has given me much mirth: however I suppose better to cover one end of the table than none at all. Why don’t you be like us and do without tablecloths? We have polished tabletops and use mats for hot plates. I don’t know whether it is the effect of the polished tops or the air, but I eat like a horse and find the food very good. [deleted] A [/deleted] Two weeks ago I had five days in Sick Quarters with flu, but am OK again now and yesterday [indecipherable word] played a game of soccer, though I could feel my lungs were rather tight. Two other members of the crew were admitted to Sick Quarters yesterday so we are not doing much flying as you can guess.
[page break]
RAF Crest
R.A.F Station
ELSHAM WOLDS
BARNETBY
LINCS.
Am writing this in my billet – a wood hut. Russell Fry and I share a room in it, size about 9’ x 15’. The stove is just beginning to show signs of life – I sleep [indecipherable word] by 10 pm it may be [deleted] warm [/deleted] glowing brightly or it may be out. Because of the shortage of [deleted] coke [/deleted] coal we have to burn coke and the stove objects to coke. Without – a fire these huts are jolly cold places, so there’s little wonder so many are ill with colds and flu. I hope you have all managed to escape its epidemic.
I’m due to 6 days leave on Tuesday 22nd to 27th inclusive so will be [indecipherable word] for Xmas dreaming of Turkey and probably eating a bit of bully beef.
We had a show at camp last night by ENSA, “Twelfth Night” but because of fog, all the
[page break]
costumes and scenery were stranded on the road. Very sporting by the camp with the company put on a free modern version of the play, dressed in their everyday dress with a few improvisations. It was very funny. We had to use our imaginations quite a lot as had the actors too, and the effect at times sent the actors into hysterics. So that they couldn’t act. The audience caught this hysteria too and some of the waafs nearly split their sides with laughter.
It was a grand break. We are three miles from the nearest village, with no bus service so we don’t see much life and most of our flying is done at night so we look forward to leaves now more than ever.
Well, I do hope you manage a big xmas dinner and that Santa fills 3 pairs of stockings right -up to the top. My regards to Phil, yourself
xxx for 3 smart girls (not) grown up
[symbol] Reg.
Collection
Citation
Reg Jaques, “Letter from Reg Jaques to a female relative,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 18, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/5633.
Item Relations
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