Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Title
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Description
He writes of his flying training and domestic arrangements.
Creator
Date
1944-03-05
Temporal 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
EGortonHGortonLCM440305
Transcription
TEL. SILVERTONE 252
OFFICERS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
[deleted] SILVERSTONE [/deleted] [inserted] Turweston [/inserted],
[deleted] NR. TOWCESTER [/deleted] [inserted] Nr. Brackley [/inserted],
NORTHANTS.
[Royal Air Force crest]
Saturday.
Dearest,
I’m beginning this letter tonight, but I’ll not finish it until after I’ve been to Brackley tomorrow.
I’ve just looked up the trains from Marylebone to Brackley, & they are as follows:
London: 1.50 3.30 4.54 4.45 6.0 8.30
Brackley: 4.8 5.6 6.48 7.17 8.22 10.55.
You may not find this route any better, but you’ll be able to decide from these times.
I did another dual trip today – high level bombing at 10,000 ft. The temperature was -20oC, & I had an icicle dangling from my oxygen mask.
Sunday 7.30 p.m.
I had to give up writing at this point last night, because the other members of the hut kept talking, but I’ll try & cope tonight.
I felt as miserable as sin at tea time today. I borrowed a
[page break]
3
cycle & went to Brackley after lunch – 20 – 25 minutes ride.
After a bit of a search I found the temperance hotel but the place looked so lousy I didn’t try it. Then I went to the Red Lion & thought it looked too much of a pub. The Crown looked O.K., but they simply laughed at the idea of a room for next week-end. Then I tried the other two & several more places without success, & came away feeling very gloomy about the whole business.
As a last resort I rang up the Crown just before dinner, and asked them if they’d got a double room on Monday March 13, and to my surprise they said yes. So the position is that you can come tomorrow week, but before that there’s no room.
I don’t know if I have told you that there’s a spare bomb
[page break]
4
aimer on this course. He’s waiting for a crew that’s short of a bomb aimer, & for the time being is acting as my bomb aimer. It’s very lucky for me, as the main thing we do here is bombing, apart from circuits & bumps. So it means that I shan’t have to hunt around for a bomb – aimer when I want to fly.
He was saying yesterday that he’s arranged a 48 for next week-end. Frankly I don’t believe he’ll get it, but if he does there seems to me no reason why I shouldn’t get one too.
This is all very much in the air at the moment, but if it does come off, I propose that we spend it in London. Then you could wait there until Monday (perhaps buy yourself a costume?) and come to Brackley then.
All this is just to prepare you in case the unexpected comes off. Of course I’ll ring you
[page break]
5
up if anything like that should happen, but personally I don’t expect it.
Another matter you need to consider is this. The system at this place is to pay little attention to the junior course, & concentrate on getting the senior course finished. That is why I’ve had very little to do this week, but by the time you arrive I may be having more flying than I want. It’s nothing for them to start you off at 7.30 a.m., keep you going till, say, 2.0 p.m., & then put you on night flying the same night. In addition, you may be on several nights running. A lot, of course, depends on the weather we get, but it’s been very good this week.
Anyway, I’m getting cheesed with the R.A.F., because
[page break]
6
I want to see you again! It’s only an existence, not living, when I’m not with you. Every day I keep wishing the war was over so that I can live with you in our own house (if that’s ever possible! I doubt it sometimes).
I suppose you’ve heard nothing of our utility furniture, have you?
All my love,
Harold.
Darling,
I can employ all your energies agreeably. With any egg [deleted] stick [/deleted] stir your essence, beating well by your muffin.
The above was meant to be a cookery recipe (imaginary) but it didn’t work out well at the end. Still, see if you can decipher it!
[inserted] I AM LONGING TO SEE YOU [/inserted]
OFFICERS’ MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
[deleted] SILVERSTONE [/deleted] [inserted] Turweston [/inserted],
[deleted] NR. TOWCESTER [/deleted] [inserted] Nr. Brackley [/inserted],
NORTHANTS.
[Royal Air Force crest]
Saturday.
Dearest,
I’m beginning this letter tonight, but I’ll not finish it until after I’ve been to Brackley tomorrow.
I’ve just looked up the trains from Marylebone to Brackley, & they are as follows:
London: 1.50 3.30 4.54 4.45 6.0 8.30
Brackley: 4.8 5.6 6.48 7.17 8.22 10.55.
You may not find this route any better, but you’ll be able to decide from these times.
I did another dual trip today – high level bombing at 10,000 ft. The temperature was -20oC, & I had an icicle dangling from my oxygen mask.
Sunday 7.30 p.m.
I had to give up writing at this point last night, because the other members of the hut kept talking, but I’ll try & cope tonight.
I felt as miserable as sin at tea time today. I borrowed a
[page break]
3
cycle & went to Brackley after lunch – 20 – 25 minutes ride.
After a bit of a search I found the temperance hotel but the place looked so lousy I didn’t try it. Then I went to the Red Lion & thought it looked too much of a pub. The Crown looked O.K., but they simply laughed at the idea of a room for next week-end. Then I tried the other two & several more places without success, & came away feeling very gloomy about the whole business.
As a last resort I rang up the Crown just before dinner, and asked them if they’d got a double room on Monday March 13, and to my surprise they said yes. So the position is that you can come tomorrow week, but before that there’s no room.
I don’t know if I have told you that there’s a spare bomb
[page break]
4
aimer on this course. He’s waiting for a crew that’s short of a bomb aimer, & for the time being is acting as my bomb aimer. It’s very lucky for me, as the main thing we do here is bombing, apart from circuits & bumps. So it means that I shan’t have to hunt around for a bomb – aimer when I want to fly.
He was saying yesterday that he’s arranged a 48 for next week-end. Frankly I don’t believe he’ll get it, but if he does there seems to me no reason why I shouldn’t get one too.
This is all very much in the air at the moment, but if it does come off, I propose that we spend it in London. Then you could wait there until Monday (perhaps buy yourself a costume?) and come to Brackley then.
All this is just to prepare you in case the unexpected comes off. Of course I’ll ring you
[page break]
5
up if anything like that should happen, but personally I don’t expect it.
Another matter you need to consider is this. The system at this place is to pay little attention to the junior course, & concentrate on getting the senior course finished. That is why I’ve had very little to do this week, but by the time you arrive I may be having more flying than I want. It’s nothing for them to start you off at 7.30 a.m., keep you going till, say, 2.0 p.m., & then put you on night flying the same night. In addition, you may be on several nights running. A lot, of course, depends on the weather we get, but it’s been very good this week.
Anyway, I’m getting cheesed with the R.A.F., because
[page break]
6
I want to see you again! It’s only an existence, not living, when I’m not with you. Every day I keep wishing the war was over so that I can live with you in our own house (if that’s ever possible! I doubt it sometimes).
I suppose you’ve heard nothing of our utility furniture, have you?
All my love,
Harold.
Darling,
I can employ all your energies agreeably. With any egg [deleted] stick [/deleted] stir your essence, beating well by your muffin.
The above was meant to be a cookery recipe (imaginary) but it didn’t work out well at the end. Still, see if you can decipher it!
[inserted] I AM LONGING TO SEE YOU [/inserted]
Collection
Citation
Harold Gorton, “Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed October 7, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/9216.
Item Relations
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