Letter to Mr Woolgar
Title
Letter to Mr Woolgar
Description
R Stubbs writes from RAF Scampton to Reg Woolgar's father detailing the circumstances of his son being reported as missing.
Creator
Date
1942-02-15
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.
Contributor
Identifier
EStubbsRAWoolgarLA420215
Transcription
[indecipherable crest]
Royal Air Force
Scampton
[underlined] Lincoln [/underlined]
[underlined]15.2.42[/underlined]
Dear Mr Woolgar,
As your son’s commanding officer I am writing to give you such details as are available & the circumstances in which he has been reported as missing. I am sure you will appreciate that such details are given in confidence.
The aircraft in which Sergeant Woolgar was flying took off yesterday evening to carry out a raid on an objective at Mannheim. Nothing
[page break]
was heard of the aircraft, which by the way was flown by a very experienced and capable pilot, until about six hours later when an incomplete message which was probably “Engine(s) damaged may have to bale out” was received. By this time the aircraft would have been well on its way home but over enemy occupied territory. The aircraft failed to return in the early hours of this morning and nothing further has yet been heard of it.
under the circumstances
[page break]
I am of the opinion that we have every reason for hoping that the crew of the aircraft managed to land safely in enemy territory by parachute, in which case they will, of course be prisoners of war. As you are probably aware a considerable period usually elapses before we have news of prisoners but I can assure you that you will be notified immediately any news is received.
May I say how much
[page break]
I regret that this misfortune should befall your son who has served under my command in an exemplary manner for nearly six months. During this time he has taken part in twenty two operational flights.
If I can be of help to you in any way, please do not hesitate to write to me.
Yours sincerely
[underlined] R Stubbs [/underlined]
Royal Air Force
Scampton
[underlined] Lincoln [/underlined]
[underlined]15.2.42[/underlined]
Dear Mr Woolgar,
As your son’s commanding officer I am writing to give you such details as are available & the circumstances in which he has been reported as missing. I am sure you will appreciate that such details are given in confidence.
The aircraft in which Sergeant Woolgar was flying took off yesterday evening to carry out a raid on an objective at Mannheim. Nothing
[page break]
was heard of the aircraft, which by the way was flown by a very experienced and capable pilot, until about six hours later when an incomplete message which was probably “Engine(s) damaged may have to bale out” was received. By this time the aircraft would have been well on its way home but over enemy occupied territory. The aircraft failed to return in the early hours of this morning and nothing further has yet been heard of it.
under the circumstances
[page break]
I am of the opinion that we have every reason for hoping that the crew of the aircraft managed to land safely in enemy territory by parachute, in which case they will, of course be prisoners of war. As you are probably aware a considerable period usually elapses before we have news of prisoners but I can assure you that you will be notified immediately any news is received.
May I say how much
[page break]
I regret that this misfortune should befall your son who has served under my command in an exemplary manner for nearly six months. During this time he has taken part in twenty two operational flights.
If I can be of help to you in any way, please do not hesitate to write to me.
Yours sincerely
[underlined] R Stubbs [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
R Stubbs, “Letter to Mr Woolgar,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 23, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/859.
Item Relations
| This Item | dcterms:relation | Item: John Young and aircrew |