Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton
Title
Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton
Description
Peter Lamprey writes about his latest exploits including operations to Turin and Gelsenkirchen. He ends the letter as he has received a battle order for that night.
Creator
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Four 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
ELampreyPGuntonW[Date]-30
Transcription
Sgts. Mess.
R.A.F. Ludford Magna.
Market Rasen.
[underlined] Lincolnshire. [/underlined]
[underlined] Dearest [/underlined]
Excuses, no matter how thought out are of no avail against the righteous wrath that your diabolical neglect has raised in my breast. Here am I – slaving to keep the Hun out of the next chapel meeting and how am I treated? Anyone would think I am an overseer the way you ignore me. This will definitely be the last of the brilliant essays unless I hear from some bright minder who can put more than two words together without making a mistake. If I happen to go more than a week without letting you know the
[page break]
latest exploits of the brave boys of Bomber Command there is a squawk that can be heard in China. Just get weaving and let us have a bit of the latest news.
For some reason or other they, the big shots, have kept us on the deck for quite a while. They might be giving our jolly old paperhanger a chance to pile the bricks up again ready for us to knock down – if he can find them. It was a pity the other boys went and done [sic] Rome. I should have enjoyed helping to put a few more ancient buildings in there. These Italian do’s are just what the doctor ordered – especially if you go in fairly late. We spent twelve minutes over Turin watching the place coming up piece by piece, a bit different to
[page break]
Gelsenkirchen that we bombed at 240mph and had three holes knocked in us inside two minutes. I’d rather do two Italian trips at ten hours a piece than one Happy Valley at five. The bloody Hun is too keen and he always seems to be peeved at something. If the silly bleeders only let us alone we could wipe the place out in a week and then all of us could go to bed at night. As it is he stays up – we stay up and if they aren’t careful it will develop into one of these “Vishus [sic] circles”.
Since starting this letter I have received what purports to be a letter from the home of incurables, therefore don’t read the start of this letter as it might upset you. If you have already done so – I hope it did. If Mr. Evans
page break]
cares to repeat his statement at some future date I will show him what the oldest working gunner on the squadron can do with the oldest non-working member on the scrounge. To Bro G. I send the usual salutations and leave the old chronometer in the capable hands of one of the old contemtuous [sic].
At the present moment I am in the throes of trying to repair my lighter so if you fiddlers receive a little parcel of bits it will be another little job to keep your fingers out.
Remember me to all. The sudden halt is a battle-order for tonight just coming up. All the best.
Pete.
R.A.F. Ludford Magna.
Market Rasen.
[underlined] Lincolnshire. [/underlined]
[underlined] Dearest [/underlined]
Excuses, no matter how thought out are of no avail against the righteous wrath that your diabolical neglect has raised in my breast. Here am I – slaving to keep the Hun out of the next chapel meeting and how am I treated? Anyone would think I am an overseer the way you ignore me. This will definitely be the last of the brilliant essays unless I hear from some bright minder who can put more than two words together without making a mistake. If I happen to go more than a week without letting you know the
[page break]
latest exploits of the brave boys of Bomber Command there is a squawk that can be heard in China. Just get weaving and let us have a bit of the latest news.
For some reason or other they, the big shots, have kept us on the deck for quite a while. They might be giving our jolly old paperhanger a chance to pile the bricks up again ready for us to knock down – if he can find them. It was a pity the other boys went and done [sic] Rome. I should have enjoyed helping to put a few more ancient buildings in there. These Italian do’s are just what the doctor ordered – especially if you go in fairly late. We spent twelve minutes over Turin watching the place coming up piece by piece, a bit different to
[page break]
Gelsenkirchen that we bombed at 240mph and had three holes knocked in us inside two minutes. I’d rather do two Italian trips at ten hours a piece than one Happy Valley at five. The bloody Hun is too keen and he always seems to be peeved at something. If the silly bleeders only let us alone we could wipe the place out in a week and then all of us could go to bed at night. As it is he stays up – we stay up and if they aren’t careful it will develop into one of these “Vishus [sic] circles”.
Since starting this letter I have received what purports to be a letter from the home of incurables, therefore don’t read the start of this letter as it might upset you. If you have already done so – I hope it did. If Mr. Evans
page break]
cares to repeat his statement at some future date I will show him what the oldest working gunner on the squadron can do with the oldest non-working member on the scrounge. To Bro G. I send the usual salutations and leave the old chronometer in the capable hands of one of the old contemtuous [sic].
At the present moment I am in the throes of trying to repair my lighter so if you fiddlers receive a little parcel of bits it will be another little job to keep your fingers out.
Remember me to all. The sudden halt is a battle-order for tonight just coming up. All the best.
Pete.
Collection
Citation
Peter Lamprey, “Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed December 10, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/6540.
Item Relations
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