Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife

Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife

He writes of the loss of 60 B-17s, the new chief flying instructor and about returning to operations.

1943-10-20

Four handwritten sheets

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EGortonHGortonLCM431020

Cark. 20/10/43.
Dearest,
It’s 10.30 a.m., & I’ve just dressed, so I thought I would write to you before doing anything else.
I trust you won’t mind the writing paper. I’ve used up all the Cark notepaper, & I don’t want to buy another box, as it took me 6 months to finish the last lot. I’m going to use this sort of paper as I’ve several old exercise books that I don’t want now.
Although I got up late, I wasn’t flying last night. I was on at midnight, & it was cancelled so I decided to have my sleep out, as there is nothing to do this morning.
We had a long talk from the new C.F.I. yesterday afternoon. He’s full of ideas about getting a lot of work done, but I think this aerodrome, and the weather, will prove too much for him. For instance, it’s a week since we did any night flying. He probably thinks it’s exceptional, but he’ll learn.
He said that we were short staffed
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as regards instructors, but that he wouldn’t stop Ops. postings if we could cope as we were. That means I’m pretty certain to go in November. I haven’t filled my form in yet, but I expect to do it any day. One of the October postings went to Grantham yesterday, so I expect to go in a month’s time.
You ask if I still want to go on Ops. I can honestly say that I am keener than I have ever been, & the sooner I go, the better I shall be pleased.
I hope you get the parcel O.K. I wondered afterwards if I was foolish in including the cream bars, but perhaps they won’t be so crushed as to be uneatable. Don’t wash the shirt & socks. I can easily send the to the laundry when they’re mended.
You remember us discussing the case of Artemus Jones, who won an action for libel? His obituary was in the papers the other day. He had been a well-known Welsh barrister, and became a judge in N. Wales. That’s how you heard of him, I expect.
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I hope the Aga people come as they have promised. I should think you’ve got the worst over, now that Wheeler has finished knocking the house about. Your dining room will be changed a good deal, won’t it, with the cooker there? What has happened to the table & the apples?
All power to your elbow in buying things for our house! It gives me just as much a thrill as it does you. It’s amazing, though, isn’t it, to think of all the odds & ends one needs! I tend [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] to think that a house is furnished if it has a bed & table & chairs etc.
Don’t worry about your glass ring. If I can have given you five minutes pleasure through it, I am amply repaid for the making. I won’t promise you another one, however, as I think I’ve no more perspex left.
Talking about those 60 Fortresses, the head of the Army Air Corps said that someone must have warned the Germans in advance of the attack, & that was
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why they lost so many.
I can’t think of anything else I want to say, so I’ll put this letter in an envelope & post it.
All my love, darling.
Harold.
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