Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton

ELampreyPGuntonW430826.pdf

Title

Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton

Description

Peter Lamprey writes that they are off operations as their rear gunner is ill. The wing commander has been unable to find a replacement so Peter has taken advantage and gone out on the town. He concludes with catching up with friends’ news and friendly banter.

Date

1943-08-26

Temporal Coverage

Language

Format

Envelope and four page handwritten letter

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

ELampreyPGuntonW430826

Transcription

postmark]

[postage stamp]

Mr. W. Gunton.
Machine Room.
Waterlow & Son’s [sic]. Ltd.
Twyford Abbey Road.
Park Royal.
London. N.W.10.

[page break]

[numerical calculations]

[page break]

Sergeant’s Mess.
R.A.F. Ludford Magna.
Market Rasen.
Lincolnshire.

Dear Unk and Others.

You will no doubt be pleased to hear that so far I have managed to dodge the column on the last two efforts. The rear-gunner has developed a bad attack of boils and cold feet and is now in dock. So, for a day or two, we are on our spines cheering the brave boys as they take off for adventures unknown. How long this admirable state of affairs will last is doubtful as the Wing-Commander has been appologising [sic] to the skipper for being unable to find us another R.G. He says he is looking for another but they are unfortunately (?) in short supply. I wish to hell he wouldn’t be so keen, this sort of operating is all I want until the supply of sticky targets run out. There is no future in these Berlin trips and a few more like the last will not only see the end of Berlin but the end of Bomber Command.

[page break]

However with my inherent adaptability I am making the best of a bad job. This means going to town at every available opportunity. The beer round this quarter is not so hot but the women make up the deficiencies. With the dark nights setting in, one can get down to business and still catch the bus back. The speed with which some of them get their trousers down shows a wonderful intuition into the wants of us poor aircrew. I am sorely afraid that if we lay off flying much longer they will have to lift me into the kite the next time I go. Either that or be driven in with a gun. The N.F.S. have a big training centre here and are the girls well trained or are they?

From the sound of your last letter you are not only pinching a ride on the tailboard of the war-chariot but are definitely dragging your feet. It has come to a sorry pass when they pay you overtime for standing on the car-park cheering a bunch of boys starting off on their night-work at day-rates. At this point it would not be out of place to remind you that it is co-operation and not congratulation we are angling for. A bit of missionary work is indicated in the firm I am working for so that the night-work

[page break]

3.

can be cancelled. Mr Hunt had to curtail his holiday I suppose to get in on the half-night’s overtime? That would, of course, be the one occasion when he was well in evidence and getting in the old mans [sic] way.

Cherry Ransom is evidently grasping the facts of life fairly well and seems to be doing himself a bit of good. If he can only fall sick very time an overseas draft appears over the horizon he should live in comfort and luxury until I get this war finished.

I must get the skipper to put the kite down at Sutton Bridge one morning when we are air testing and have a look at one of my most successful pupils. As for Mr. Maloney: I can almost hear the choppers whistling for him. When they fall he will be overseas so fast he will never know he had a rest in England. Charlie – I should imagine – has got an injury that, with care, should keep him sick for the duration. It isn’t given to every man to have these opportunities and he should do right by the chance. Cocky Warren seems to have got this war taped and if he is a bit nippy with his footwork the only chance of overseas service will be if they torpedo [deleted] e [/deleted] England and he takes to the boats.

You will notice by the foregoing that life has taken a turn for the better and I am getting

[page break]

a bit more of the essentials of life. Don’t let this stampede anybody into joining this racket however. The path to the exalted position I now occupy is long and stony and I am afraid all the best members of the chapel are in this squadron. Should Bro. G. really insist on coming in I am ready to give him a few lessons on the rifle and modern tactics so that the old firm will put up a fair show.

Hoping this finds you as it leaves me at present, doing F.A. and happy. Remember me to all at home.

Love from your nevvy. [sic]

Pete.

Collection

Citation

“Letter from Peter Lamprey to W Gunton,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/6616.

Item Relations

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