Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton
Title
Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton
Description
Peter Lamprey starts with some friendly banter and comments that weather has curtailed flying. He notes that there are now many Australians and Canadians on base. He goes on to say he was glad that the rumour of a bomb hitting his previous place of employment was not true and concludes wishing all well.
Creator
Date
1943-03-15
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
ELampreyPGuntonW430315
Transcription
Sgt. Lamprey.
Sgt’s. Mess.
RAF. Hixon
Stafford.
[inserted] Mar 15th 1943 [/inserted]
Dear Unk.
Very, very funny. I am laughing my bleeding head off. My friend you can use the sand you sent me for a boring powder. Despite all things however, thanks for the letter – the “Royal” and the P.O. May heaven bless all your projects and your wife never find out. I am glad to see that all the servings [sic] members are getting by in no uncertain manner. If Cherry thinks they will let him rest on his laurals [sic] as an A.C.I. he wants to get some service “gen” in. They will badger the blasted life out of him until they kid him to
[page break]
[underlined] 2. [/underlined].
remuster to some other damned trade. As for “Spud” it is suprising [sic] that he should still be anywhere near motors, seeing that he joined as an M.T. driver.
I have never – at least hardly ever – tried to agitate the urea with Bro. George as you are so fond of accusing. If I feel like giving three cheers for the old war-horse now and again, who are you to try and get me to abuse him? Seeing that he and I have manhandled two wars alone it is about time someone else borrowed his bow and arrows and did a bit of helping Uncle Joe out.
So far life is nice and quiet, and I am all for it. Every time they try and send us up the weather goes on its knees and refuses to get up – praise be to
[page break]
[underlined] 3. [/underlined]
Allah. Still I suppose they will eventually drag me screaming into a kite and make me fly again. This bird man business is all right until some dumb cluck takes the ground away from underneath you, and then you wish you had joined the Salvation Army. I like the posters about the brave air-crew – they must be advertising the Luftwaffe. The bravest deed last week was asking for twenty Players in a stange [sic] pub.
The call of the city has had to go unheeded for quite a few days with all this standing by nonsense, but as the effects of the last visit are still apparent, and will be until next pay-day, it is a good. If they could only let a couple of the crews from here loose in
[page break]
[underlined] 4. [/underlined] the Berlin pubs there would be no need for eight thousand pounders. They can wreck a pub quicker than a land mine after about six drinks. The station is full of Aussies and Canucks and believe you me, they are as tough as Herr Rommel’s mark VI tanks, with slightly less finesse. The authorities have been clamping down on us lately owing to some slight bother with the Staffordshire Constabulary. That – we understand – is the reason for being under stand-by orders for more than three days at a stretch. If they don’t lift the order by next pay-day I am afraid the boys will carry the camp into town bit by bit and then fetch the town back to play with in their billets.
[page break]
[underlined] 5. [/underlined]
I heard – from a very roundabout source – that Waterlows had received a little present from our opposite numbers. However your letter shows that it was, fortuneately, [sic] only a rumour. Still they were near enough, no doubt, to cause a major attack of ring quivers in the fire watching department. If you people want us to unload excretus [sic] over there, you are bound to get a splash back now and then just to show we haven’t quite beaten the last brick into the deck yet.
The other news from here is of little interest so we will skip [deleted] p [/deleted] it. I hope [deleted] is [/deleted] everything is under control at your rest camp and that no more has been heard of this business of sending some of the pillars of the chapel away to
[page break]
far flung regions where they will be made to work. From what I remember, this would cause a severe attack of heart failure in anyone bar Sam ie. [sic] Deputy F.O.C.
Remember me to all the herbs and keep your legs crossed. All the best
Pete.
P.S. I hear the land army are striking for longer tools and shorter periods.
Sgt’s. Mess.
RAF. Hixon
Stafford.
[inserted] Mar 15th 1943 [/inserted]
Dear Unk.
Very, very funny. I am laughing my bleeding head off. My friend you can use the sand you sent me for a boring powder. Despite all things however, thanks for the letter – the “Royal” and the P.O. May heaven bless all your projects and your wife never find out. I am glad to see that all the servings [sic] members are getting by in no uncertain manner. If Cherry thinks they will let him rest on his laurals [sic] as an A.C.I. he wants to get some service “gen” in. They will badger the blasted life out of him until they kid him to
[page break]
[underlined] 2. [/underlined].
remuster to some other damned trade. As for “Spud” it is suprising [sic] that he should still be anywhere near motors, seeing that he joined as an M.T. driver.
I have never – at least hardly ever – tried to agitate the urea with Bro. George as you are so fond of accusing. If I feel like giving three cheers for the old war-horse now and again, who are you to try and get me to abuse him? Seeing that he and I have manhandled two wars alone it is about time someone else borrowed his bow and arrows and did a bit of helping Uncle Joe out.
So far life is nice and quiet, and I am all for it. Every time they try and send us up the weather goes on its knees and refuses to get up – praise be to
[page break]
[underlined] 3. [/underlined]
Allah. Still I suppose they will eventually drag me screaming into a kite and make me fly again. This bird man business is all right until some dumb cluck takes the ground away from underneath you, and then you wish you had joined the Salvation Army. I like the posters about the brave air-crew – they must be advertising the Luftwaffe. The bravest deed last week was asking for twenty Players in a stange [sic] pub.
The call of the city has had to go unheeded for quite a few days with all this standing by nonsense, but as the effects of the last visit are still apparent, and will be until next pay-day, it is a good. If they could only let a couple of the crews from here loose in
[page break]
[underlined] 4. [/underlined] the Berlin pubs there would be no need for eight thousand pounders. They can wreck a pub quicker than a land mine after about six drinks. The station is full of Aussies and Canucks and believe you me, they are as tough as Herr Rommel’s mark VI tanks, with slightly less finesse. The authorities have been clamping down on us lately owing to some slight bother with the Staffordshire Constabulary. That – we understand – is the reason for being under stand-by orders for more than three days at a stretch. If they don’t lift the order by next pay-day I am afraid the boys will carry the camp into town bit by bit and then fetch the town back to play with in their billets.
[page break]
[underlined] 5. [/underlined]
I heard – from a very roundabout source – that Waterlows had received a little present from our opposite numbers. However your letter shows that it was, fortuneately, [sic] only a rumour. Still they were near enough, no doubt, to cause a major attack of ring quivers in the fire watching department. If you people want us to unload excretus [sic] over there, you are bound to get a splash back now and then just to show we haven’t quite beaten the last brick into the deck yet.
The other news from here is of little interest so we will skip [deleted] p [/deleted] it. I hope [deleted] is [/deleted] everything is under control at your rest camp and that no more has been heard of this business of sending some of the pillars of the chapel away to
[page break]
far flung regions where they will be made to work. From what I remember, this would cause a severe attack of heart failure in anyone bar Sam ie. [sic] Deputy F.O.C.
Remember me to all the herbs and keep your legs crossed. All the best
Pete.
P.S. I hear the land army are striking for longer tools and shorter periods.
Collection
Citation
Peter Lamprey, “Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed May 7, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/6612.
Item Relations
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