Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton

ELampreyPGuntonW[Date]-12.pdf

Title

Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton

Description

Peter Lamprey writes about life at Royal Air Force Hixon including the problem of getting into town for entertainment.

Creator

Coverage

Language

Format

Eight page handwritten letter

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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

ELampreyPGuntonW[Date]-12

Transcription

Sgt. Lamprey.
Sgts. Mess.
RAF. Hixon.
Stafford.

Dear Unk etc.

Once again I lift the quill and score another mark in the literary history of the world. Taking things by and large, life is just too, too divine. I have, you will notice, developed a remarkable habit of looking on the bright side of things. We have been on the deck now for days and days, and boy – can I take it. If they only keep it up, and me down, until Uncle Joe wins the war, I shall

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personally subscribe to a top-hat for him – Joe. This way of winning the war may seem just a little odd but believe you me – it has quite a lot to recommend it and I am all for it.
Otherwise life is moving along its pre-ordained path. The bright city lights continue to beckon me, and, being of a gullible nature they do not beckon in vain. In fact, it could almost be said that they are usually about three paces behind with said beckoning. Heaven give me the health and strength to keep it up while the cash lasts. To break down at such a crucial stage in my war effort would be

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[underlined] 3. [/underlined]

nothing short of a disaster.

The only fly in the ointment at the moment is the fact that they have stopped all the 'buses into town and while I can usually manage to hitch a lift in, the way back is a footsore and weary seven miles. Any moment now I expect a bill from the local council for wear and tear on their main road. I am able to judge the distance by the size of the blisters and have a nodding aquaintance [sic] with every cow in every bloody field on the way.

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I hope the mob are still hanging around at P.R. and have not yet been dispersed to their new jobs yet. However, if they can only bring in the same organised “Minders Rest Room” at the new places I think the war could carry on without a lot of undue interference. Mind you the times the war has been won in the original M.R.R. the best place to shift the mob to is Downing Street. Always provided they can fit a [corrected] cistern [/corrected] and gutter in the Cabinet room.

One of these days they are going to give us a bit of leave and will I have a rake round then – or

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[inserted] 5. [/inserted]

will I? After three months in this God-forsaken dump I could go [sic] a bit of civilisation in a really big way. If any more half-wits at the shop feel like joining up you might take a decent swing at their skulls with a good sized piece of pipe. Do them a world of good and hurt a lot less. Not but there are plenty of laughs, but they are mostly on you. There is some talk of raising our pay but I think it is only our hopes they are raising.

How is Herbert getting on these days? I though he was remustering [sic]

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to a pilot or some such damn fool thing but he should at least know better the time he has spent in the RAF. The other goons had better take my word for it and keep both feet firmly planted on the good earth. Only fools and birds fly and I have yet to see a minder with bloody feathers. I spend so much time these days with my ring twittering that it takes a week on the ground before it stops moving.

By the way – thanks for the books which arrived nice and welcome the other day. Thanks also for your letter which

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[underlined] 7. [/underlined]

arrived about the same time. Don't think for one moment that just because you fly off the handle and swamp me with correspondence that I am to be coerced into rushing into letters at short intervals. I am not in a position to write much more than I do. I can either write or fly and the big shots won't let me write. Write or go to town – well I ask you?

Remember me to all the herbs left at Park Royal. It will look a bit strange when I return there and see some

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of the fittings and fixtures missing. There will be quite a tearing noise when they move some of the loafers. Give my love to Bro. G. and tell him not to worry everything is going according to plan – the bother is we don't know whose plan it is. However I am keeping my eye on things and hope to have my war won very shortly and then I will tell him all about it.

Kiss Rusty and the old RIP for me. Give my regards to Uncle Jack and No 6 crew.
All the best
Pete.
xxxxx.

Collection

Citation

Peter Lamprey, “Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 28, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/6380.

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