Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Title
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Description
He writes of flying activities, lectures and social activities at RAF Cark. He also writes of arrangements for his leave.
Creator
Date
1943-08-28
Temporal Coverage
Coverage
Language
Format
Five handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM430828-01
Transcription
OFFICERS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE,
CARK,
NORTH LANCASHIRE.
TELEPHONE GRANGE 390.
28/8/43
Dearest,
It’s 11.15 a.m on Saturday, & I am going to cycle to the village to post this and “Passed to You Please”
My journey here was quite pleasant, & I arrived at Cark station at 12.30 – train late, as usual.
Last night I was O.C. night flying, but it was exceptionally easy – just two Nav planes to send off on one detail, & I was in bed by two o’clock.
Tonight it’s the Mess dance, but I don’t feel very keen about it. I don’t want to drink or to dance, & there’s no one there that I’m particularly keen to talk to, so I’m very doubtful whether I shall go. Anyway,
[page break]
.2
I’ve had two late nights together, & I don’t fancy a third.
The weather was good yesterday, so I hope you had a pleasant journey home.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the short time we had together. It really has made a new man of me. I was feeling very cheesed before, but now I feel refreshed & able to carry on again. Of course, I am much luckier than you, because my life is mapped out for me in a way that yours isn’t. I know I have to carry on in the R.A.F., & it’s much easier to accept the inevitable, when it is made pleasanter by 48s & leaves, than it is for you to settle down to a dull job you don’t want & aren’t compelled to stick to.
[page break]
3
Sunday 10.30 p.m.
I think the weather yesterday & today has been about the worst we’ve had – low cloud, almost continuous heavy rain, & strong winds. I’m writing this in bed, as I got soaked coming back from the Mess, even though I’d waited over an hour for the rain to stop.
I went to the Mess dance last night – to get some food, as we’d had a high tea at 5.0 p.m., & I was feeling hungry. I got there at 9.0, had a few drinks & talked to a few people, ate until I was full & was back at the billet by 10.30, - quite a successful evening.
I tried a new thing today – lecturing to the pupils on the Theory
[page break]
4
of Flight. The C.F.I. had given me some lecture notes to use, but as I knew so little about the subject – enough for my own needs but not enough to lecture on, I was reduced to reading out the notes. I expect the pupils were bored, but fortunately the privileges of my superior rank prevented them from doing anything about it!
I had a game of squash after lunch & at 4.0 p.m it was not raining, so I was able to cycle to Grange for the tea party. We had the usual Westwood spread, & I ate so much that I didn’t want any dinner.
I’ve been thinking about my leave. Wyver suggests taking the full 12 days in case something happens – posting etc., which prevents my having a 48. Let me know what you think about that.
My latest suggestion is as
[page break]
5
follows. I get a warrant to Aber, call at home the first night, i.e., the 15th, collect some old clothes & travel down to you on the 16th by your usual train. After the week-end, we both get return tickets to London, and spend 4 days there, then go back to Aber & I return on the Saturday or Monday according to whether we have 10 or 12 days. (The old clothes are so that I can potter about on the farm when you are busy.
Alternatively, if I can get away early on the 15th – in time to get the 4.0 o’clock train from Crewe, Mother could post the clothes on with your frock.
Let me know what you think.
All my love,
Harold.
ROYAL AIR FORCE,
CARK,
NORTH LANCASHIRE.
TELEPHONE GRANGE 390.
28/8/43
Dearest,
It’s 11.15 a.m on Saturday, & I am going to cycle to the village to post this and “Passed to You Please”
My journey here was quite pleasant, & I arrived at Cark station at 12.30 – train late, as usual.
Last night I was O.C. night flying, but it was exceptionally easy – just two Nav planes to send off on one detail, & I was in bed by two o’clock.
Tonight it’s the Mess dance, but I don’t feel very keen about it. I don’t want to drink or to dance, & there’s no one there that I’m particularly keen to talk to, so I’m very doubtful whether I shall go. Anyway,
[page break]
.2
I’ve had two late nights together, & I don’t fancy a third.
The weather was good yesterday, so I hope you had a pleasant journey home.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the short time we had together. It really has made a new man of me. I was feeling very cheesed before, but now I feel refreshed & able to carry on again. Of course, I am much luckier than you, because my life is mapped out for me in a way that yours isn’t. I know I have to carry on in the R.A.F., & it’s much easier to accept the inevitable, when it is made pleasanter by 48s & leaves, than it is for you to settle down to a dull job you don’t want & aren’t compelled to stick to.
[page break]
3
Sunday 10.30 p.m.
I think the weather yesterday & today has been about the worst we’ve had – low cloud, almost continuous heavy rain, & strong winds. I’m writing this in bed, as I got soaked coming back from the Mess, even though I’d waited over an hour for the rain to stop.
I went to the Mess dance last night – to get some food, as we’d had a high tea at 5.0 p.m., & I was feeling hungry. I got there at 9.0, had a few drinks & talked to a few people, ate until I was full & was back at the billet by 10.30, - quite a successful evening.
I tried a new thing today – lecturing to the pupils on the Theory
[page break]
4
of Flight. The C.F.I. had given me some lecture notes to use, but as I knew so little about the subject – enough for my own needs but not enough to lecture on, I was reduced to reading out the notes. I expect the pupils were bored, but fortunately the privileges of my superior rank prevented them from doing anything about it!
I had a game of squash after lunch & at 4.0 p.m it was not raining, so I was able to cycle to Grange for the tea party. We had the usual Westwood spread, & I ate so much that I didn’t want any dinner.
I’ve been thinking about my leave. Wyver suggests taking the full 12 days in case something happens – posting etc., which prevents my having a 48. Let me know what you think about that.
My latest suggestion is as
[page break]
5
follows. I get a warrant to Aber, call at home the first night, i.e., the 15th, collect some old clothes & travel down to you on the 16th by your usual train. After the week-end, we both get return tickets to London, and spend 4 days there, then go back to Aber & I return on the Saturday or Monday according to whether we have 10 or 12 days. (The old clothes are so that I can potter about on the farm when you are busy.
Alternatively, if I can get away early on the 15th – in time to get the 4.0 o’clock train from Crewe, Mother could post the clothes on with your frock.
Let me know what you think.
All my love,
Harold.
Collection
Citation
Harold Gorton, “Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 16, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/9124.
Item Relations
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