Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife

Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife

He writes of his social activities, purchasing a car and the weather.

1944-05-21

Seven handwritten sheets

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EGortonHGortonLCM440521

TEL. SILVERSTONE 252
OFFICERS MESS,
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION,
[deleted] SILVERSTONE. [/deleted]
[deleted] NR. TOWCESTER, [/deleted] [inserted] Scampton, [/inserted]
[deleted] NORTHANTS. [/deleted] [inserted] Lincoln. [/inserted]
[Royal Air Force crest]
Sunday 21/5/44.
Dearest,
Doesn’t it seem a long time since I saw you off at London Road? It seems difficult to believe that it’s only four days ago.
Have you any idea of when you are thinking of coming to this district (assuming that you are still of the same mind)? There’s no doubt about it that Lincoln really is dreadfully crowded.
Blunsdon came up here with his wife & after four failures found a bed at what he described as a very poor place & had to pay 25/9 for their two bed & breakfasts.
Next morning he started the door to door stunt and was lucky enough to find a woman who would take them in. He has now gone off to the Con unit after
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only a fortnight here, and his wife is going to stay in Lincoln.
I went to Lincoln yesterday for coffee & lunch & a matinee. While there I looked in the Lincolnshire Echo, & saw an advertisement of an Austin 7 1934 model, for £35. What do you think of it? I am going round with Freddie this evening to have a look at it, & I’ll add a postscript to this letter to let you know the result. If it is in good condition, it ought to be what we are looking for. It is at a village called Cammeringham, which lies about 3 miles to the N.W. of here.
The weather has been horribly cold [deleted] I [/deleted] since we’ve been here, & I’ve got a cold in the head, as I hadn’t the sense to put anything extra on, and none of the rooms are heated. You are much luckier than I in that respect, as you can have your
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rooms as hot as you like.
I haven’t seen the M.O. yet about my complaint, which indeed has practically disappeared, but shall do so tomorrow.
I’ll leave this letter now till after dinner, as I am just going to write to Bob and thank him for the scent & send him your love (?)!
9.0 p.m.
I have just come back from dinner and am feeling quite excited about the car. Freddie & I found the place quite easily; it’s the home of the village wheelwright & carpenter & general handyman. He bought the car three weeks ago because he’s in the home guard & has to take three others with him to the meetings.
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Unfortunately he’s now been told he’s got to take an extra man, so he’s got a Ford ten so that he can put five in it.
The Austin [deleted] l [/deleted] was laid up for 3 years before he bought it, and he had to put a complete new back axle in it. It isn’t licensed, so he couldn’t take me on the road, but it ran up & down the paddock O.K.
The tyres are worn, [deleted] and [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] but serviceable; the spare wheel definitely needs replacing. He said one can get motor cycle tyres to fit the Austin without a permit.
The coachwork seems in surprisingly good condition considering it[deleted]’[/deleted]s age. The fabric roof has been repaired and may need covering with American cloth – that remains to be seen when it is wet. The upholstery is quite sound – nearly as good as
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your Austin, but the floor carpets have gone for a burton, & have been replaced by sacks. The windscreen is O.K. The paint on the bodywork is in good condition except for one or two scratches & the wheels, which need scraping and re-painting.
The steering is O.K., & so are the brakes. The engine seemed to me, & Freddie agreed, to run very smoothly, & it started without any trouble.
Altogether, I think myself it’s just the car we’ve been looking for. It’s not smart & needs touching up here & there, but the essentials – engine & bodywork, seem very sound, & I think it’s the sort of car that would last the rest of the war.
He reduced his price to
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£30 when I discussed the matter & Freddie agrees with me that it’s well worth the money by present day standards.
I told him I couldn’t decide to buy it until I’d got in touch with you, as you might have one in mind, so he agreed to wait until I told him whether you [inserted]’d[/inserted] [deleted] wante [/deleted] bought one or not.
Would you mind writing back as soon as you can & letting me know whether you think we ought to buy it? If you don’t think we ought to get it, I can easily tell him that you’re buying one, & he can sell it to someone else.
I hope you don’t think I’m throwing the responsibility on to you, darling. I’m quite willing to take that if you don’t know of anything better, & don’t object to my buying it. It’s just that
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I didn’t want to take such a big step without consulting you as far as possible.
I hope you are well, darling. I’d very much like to see you again.
All my love,
Harold.