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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/46460/SHarriganD[Ser -DoB]v270002.mp3
17d8d5e67eba8aa030b63b971450808f
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Title
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Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-06-16
Rights
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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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
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Hudson, JD
Transcribed audio recording
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Transcription
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Interviewer: This is an interview with Mr James Douglas Hudson on the 4th of February 2011 at his home near Lincoln concerning his wartime experiences with the Royal Air Force.
JDH: What is beginning to please me now is the increased awareness that’s arising of what happened during World War Two in Bomber Command and by those who flew in Bomber Command of whom fifty six thousand or thereabouts gave their lives without counting the cost. There has been so little recognition for all this outstanding bravery and finally more is being told and more is being how can I say made aware to a viewing public or a listening public. We’re helped with the advance in techniques of recordings that weren’t available in the days of people like Group Captain, Air Chief Marshall Cheshire and Guy Gibson. They didn’t have the facilities that we have today. So this increase in awareness by the general public and particularly the younger generation is rewarding.
Interviewer: What made you join the Air Force, Douglas?
JDH: I joined the Air Force because I wasn’t particularly happy with my peacetime, this is 1939, occupation in in Manchester in the textile shipping trade and a colleague of mine had joined Fighter Command and was having such a good time flying Spitfires and Hurricanes and I decided I would like to do the same. So I made application and I was told, this is just before the war that junior officers may be able to live on their pay. So I queried this and I said, ‘Well, what do you mean by may be able to live on their pay?’ And a cousin of mine who was a colonel in the Army said, ‘Oh yes. That’s perfectly true.’ He said, ‘But Uncle Harold,’ that’s my father, he said, ‘He’d been able to look after you there.’ I said, ‘Well, Uncle Harold it so happens,’ I said, ‘Because of the depression in the textile trade is out of a job.’ ‘In that case,’ he said, ‘He would not be able to look after you.’ And he said, ‘You’ll be very unwise to seek a short service commission.’ So instead of that I made application through the Volunteer Reserves to do weekend flying and weekend training and this was in June 1939. So a couple of months after that war was declared and I was called up immediately and my training then began at Prestwick in Ayrshire. We were called observers in those days to be renamed of course navigators.
Interviewer: Did you always want to be a navigator or did you want to be a pilot?
JDH: Initially of course I wanted to be a pilot and I was told there was a waiting list forever. But I was told that if I wished to be an air observer which now of course is a navigator I would get in just as much flying which is true. And that’s what I did. Now, I’m jumping ahead now over a couple of years because I was a prisoner of war after this for a couple of years or plus and when I came back I was given the opportunity to remuster and if I wished I could remuster and undergo pilot’s training. I refused. I said, ‘No. I was a navigator and I wish to continue being a navigator and navigation is and was my metier. Although I say it now, perhaps I shouldn’t say it I was a good navigator and my books of which I’ve written eight are based on the title, “There and Back Again.” And it’s the back again which is the important part about it. It’s one thing to get there. It’s another thing to get back and to get there and back isn’t everybody’s good fortune. In fact, fifty six thousand or thereabouts never made that. I now at the age of nearly ninety five am sitting here in my lounge at home in Heighington near Lincoln talking to this lady. I’m a very fortunate person.
Interviewer: So you did the observer’s course at Prestwick.
JDH: I did the observer’s course at Prestwick.
Interviewer: And then went to Evanton for the Bomber and Gunnery School.
JDH: Went to Bombing and Gunnery School then at Evanton and after that, after completion of the bombing and gunnery in various aeroplanes including the Fairey Battle we were moved to Bicester in Oxfordshire where I was introduced to the Bristol Blenheim and I was posted to West Raynham in Norfolk where I did two months operational flying on the Bristol Blenheim. Unfortunately, we were sent to the Middle East and I had insufficient petrol to make the journey and crash landed in Vichy French North Africa where I was taken prisoner of war for two and a quarter years.
Interviewer: Can you describe that? The conditions that you lived in and –
JDH: The conditions under which we lived were appalling. The food was an abomination. It was based on the food they gave to the Arab soldiers but it wasn’t so much the food itself it was the filthy conditions in which this food was served up to us. Our living conditions were absolutely appalling. Overcrowding was a very significant disadvantage. We quarrelled with each other in consequence. You, you could be the best of friends, if you get six, eight, ten, twelve, or twenty of you all in one room ongoing tempers fray. And this is what happened and I think this is one of the most difficult parts of being a prisoner of war and of course, being taken away from operation flying.
Interviewer: It doesn’t seem to have been as well organised as German prisoner of war camps in that you know you didn’t have much recreation or organised activities to take your mind off the conditions. Is that right?
JDH: Well, we, we didn’t have so much organised activities. We were, we were able to do our own thing up to a point. There were no specific facilities.
Interviewer: No.
JDH: No.
Interviewer: You had your Red Cross parcels.
JDH: Had it not been for the Red Cross parcels I often wonder how we would have survived. When the Red Cross parcels began to reach us there were certain days when we would just ignore the food that was sent up to us and just live for the time being on the contents of the Red Cross parcels. The one problem was particularly in the desert I was a prisoner in the desert for over a year in the Sahara Desert. A place called Laghouat, about three, three hundred and fifty miles south of Algiers and when the food, when the Red Cross parcels arrived we had what was called the Klim, K L I M, milk which came I think from Canada. It was powder and of course when we mixed this, when we added water to it we were running into trouble because the water wasn’t fit to drink. And I used to, they also sent us prunes and we used to soak the prunes overnight in water and then add this Klim milk which had been what’s the word? Reconstituted. And of course, we were inviting trouble and we got trouble. We got dysentery. So it was an awfully difficult situation. Dysentery was rife. Dysentery I think was our biggest problem in the prisoner of war camp and we’d no medications you see.
Interviewer: No.
JDH: No medications at all.
Interviewer: You mentioned in your book about being depressed at this time. This –
JDH: Being depressed?
Interviewer: Yes. Obviously, the conditions and your dysentery and everything else.
JDH: Yes, because there was no future. We’d been taken away from the activities which we’d trained for and that was to fly operationally. As you will read on in the books I was, I had the good fortune to be repatriated in November 1942 and after five or six months of ground duties I became rehabilitated as it were and became fit to fly again and the rest is history.
Interviewer: Let’s go back to your, your time in the North African prisons. What did you feel about escape? Did some, did you want to escape?
JDH: I escaped twice. In the first prisoner of war camp, a place called Le Kef in Tunisia, a fellow prisoner Ted Hart who was another Blenheim man he and I we shinned over, I use the expression we use in the book, the shithouse wall because that’s exactly what it was. It was a filthy latrine and we managed to get over this wall and drop on to the other side and escape into the night. And I spoke limited French but we walked throughout the night, a matter of some thirty, some forty miles I think to a place called Souk el Arba and went into a local hotel and noticed they had bed and breakfast available which was on a notice board in the reception room.
Interviewer: Were you dressed in your —
JDH: We were dressed in a huge army greatcoat which the French had given to us. They were French soldier’s greatcoats and they issued us with these as clothing to keep warm because we were up in the mountains. In the hills. And we went out with these on covering our uniform which was underneath. You had to have a uniform because if not we could have been shot as spies and we had to be very very careful to conceal it. And when we arrived in the hotel I said to the lady at the reception, ‘Bonjour madame, deux cafe s’il vous plait.’ ‘Certainement monsieur.’ And that’s how it began. And after that I said, ‘E deux chambre lit?’ ‘Certainement Monsieur.’ And she took me up to the room and was talking, showing us the room and I realised that I couldn’t keep up this pretence of being French in general conversation. So I just said, ‘Madame, [unclear] Francais.’ As though I was American. I said that we were Americans and that we were doing geological studies with the Vichy French and we had been working during the night. That’s why we were in this scruff. She seemed to accept that and after two or three days we managed to get a train which took us across the frontier to a place called Souk Ahras.
Interviewer: Across the frontier into Tunisia?
JDH: Into Algeria.
Interviewer: Into Algeria.
JDH: Algeria. We were then fortunate when we crossed that frontier and everybody got out to have a check of some sort of reason. There was a chap on the platform obviously checking people and we stayed where we were right opposite and two French soldiers opened our carriage door and just said, ‘Permission militaire, Monsieur?’ And I said, ‘Mai oui certainement. Bon permission.’ And off they went. Ted said, ‘Well, what was that all about?’ I said, ‘They seemed to think that we were French on leave.’ And the chap who was doing the checking on the, on the station platform could see this therefore he didn’t trouble us anymore. Now the funny part was well it wasn’t really funny was that when we were recaptured we had to come back and cross this place in reverse and he was there. I just looked at him and I just said, ‘You remember me?’ He thought we were going to drop him you see. And then I did fourteen days cells and three days dungeons.
Interviewer: So they picked you up again and put you back into Le Kef.
JDH: But I escaped again. This time in this place called Laghouat which is in the Sahara desert.
Interviewer: Who did you escape with this time?
JDH: This time we started to dig a tunnel in November 1941 and the tunnel was completed in June ‘42 and it was sixty odd metres in length. A hundred and ninety odd feet. We used two bread knives which started off being about nine inches in length and finished up by being about three. And twenty nine of us got out and twenty nine of us were recaptured. There was nowhere to go. But we’d done it right under their noses and of course their hierarchy, the French Vichy hierarchy took it out on the commandant of the camp and various people they were all dipped in rank and things like that.
Interviewer: What nationality were the guards?
JDH: Mostly Arabic. Mostly Arabic.
Interviewer: Under French.
JDH: Under French. Vichy French. Yes. Mostly Arab.
Interviewer: And their attitude to you? Or you to them as well.
JDH: I suppose we would say then in those days [unclear] comme ci comme ca.
Interviewer: They weren’t over cruel or —
JDH: Not really. No. I mean you had to excise a bit of common sense. I mean they had guns. They were armed and it paid not to be foolish. I mean you know for example we had a ligne [unclear] which was a line running around the periphery of the camp before you come to the barbed wire. You could see it actually and if we were using the, playing with the ball and it bounced underneath there don’t follow it.
Interviewer: No.
JDH: Go up to the line, look up at the guard, ‘Permission?’ And they would say [Depeche trois] You know, ‘Get a move on then,’ and they’d train their gun and you’d go and pick your ball up and acknowledge it.
Interviewer: Yes.
JDH: Acknowledge it because they were doing their duty but had we proceeded they’d have shot us. Oh they would have shot us without any doubt. Yes. And the whole thing was flood lighted you know. They floodlighted it at night. So —
Interviewer: So you got out again and got how far this time?
JDH: Oh, not very far. We were recaptured the next morning because the premier spahi which are the crack horse regiment of that part of the world they just released them into the desert and they just sort of fanned, a sort of fan movement. They just picked us up. We had no alternative. I thought they were going to shoot us because they clicked their rifles back. They were brilliant horsemen. They could ride without hands, you know and hold their rifle. So we put up our hands. I shall never forget that. Just put up our hands and it worked. I’ll say this for them three of them jumped off their horses and threw their guns across to three others and they allowed us to have some water, to drink some water. And then they just got us on the back of that, one each on the back of their horse, beautiful animals.
Interviewer: Were you punished for escaping?
JDH: Oh yeah. Had about sixteen days in the cells. Yeah. Oh, I’ve done more cells than [unclear] and back.
Interviewer: The cells, the cells sounds particularly –
JDH: There were two of us in one cell because there were so many of us they hadn’t enough cells to put us one in a cell so they put two of us in a cell and its just a stone. A sloping stone slab. And they opened the doors in the morning into a sort of courtyard to enable us if required to use their so-called toilet facilities which were pretty awful. But they had, we had the churn. It literally was a milk churn in the centre of this quadrangle which we had to use. We’d just sit on this churn or stand on it and take it in turns to empty it. You know, each one get carrying one hand. So it was a wonderful experience you know. A wonderful experience. And I remember looking at a thermometer we passed one of their bureaus, their offices on route to the place where we took this contents of the churn and this was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon and the temperature was a hundred and four. And that was in early June and it soared into July August. At midday I don’t know what it reached. Probably about forty degrees centigrade, celsius or whatever it is. A hundred and twenty, a hundred and thirty degrees. Unbearable. If we did any washing we had very restricted facilities and I got some soap sent from England and I was very fortunate to get this soap. Carbolic soap. Go out to the wash trough when the water was on. It was only on for a restricted period of time. You put one articulate into the wash tub and then put it one side to do the other one by the time you’d done the second one the first one was bone dry just like a board. Unbelievable.
Interviewer: What affect did this experience have because it was about two years you were a prisoner wasn’t it?
JDH: Two and a quarter.
Interviewer: Yes, that’s —
JDH: About a year and a quarter in the desert and the other year in two other places. At one time we thought we were going to be repatriated, so did the Vichy French in exchange for the German submarine crew and we were sent to a place called [unclear] I write about it in there.
Interviewer: Yes.
JDH: I don’t know whether I do it in that book.
Interviewer: Yes, you did.
JDH: Yes, because I I refer to the brothel. Have you read about that?
Interviewer: Yes.
JDH: And the woman I was with she’d be about forty I suppose and she didn’t speak any English at all. All French. It was rather funny. She came up to the bar actually and was talking to us in French and she suddenly changed the conversation and said, ‘Pour vous monsieur dix franc.’ So Ted said, that’s my colleague, he said, ‘What was that?’ I said, ‘She’s just said to me for me it’ll be ten francs.’ He said, ‘How much for me?’ I said, [unclear] I said, ‘Same for you. Ten francs. I’ll toss you over who goes first.’
Interviewer: And that was while you were waiting when you thought this —
JDH: We thought we were going to be repatriated you see and I was terribly concerned about infection you see. This thing. And we used [unclear] potash which you put into solution and of course its virulent purple [laughs] A bit of a mess. But now, you see these are true things. This is what happened. It’s not biographical it’s autobiographical.
Interviewer: So when the repatriation fell through you then were put back again. Is that right?
JDH: Yeah.
Interviewer: So you were back in again after having your hopes built up. What did all these experiences, how did it you know colour your life afterwards or was it just a character building two and a quarter years or what?
JDH: I think in some respects its almost been helpful if you like because I know I’ve done it. You see I can walk down the road here. There are people who talk to me, they call across to me and I don’t have a clue who they are but because of these books you see I’m well known. And I’m on my own now because my wife died six and a half years ago. I think this is the hard part. Particularly when you’ve been to a do like that and then come back in the evening to a vacuum, to an empty house. No. The part of the war which is the most disturbing to me wasn’t the flying. It wasn’t the operational flying it was the prisoner of war side. But I’ll tell you this. My crew on the Lancaster my flight engineer was nineteen and my bomb aimer who was a huge chap six foot two, towered above me just made, just failed to make the teens and he was just twenty. I mean they were only boys really. I at twenty six, twenty seven then was an old man. And we got coned once in the master searchlight. This is in the Lancaster and the master searchlight is almost ultraviolet and if one of those catches you the other aircraft home in on it and then they push the flak up. You don’t stand a chance. I don’t know of any crew, aircraft that’s been coned in the master searchlight that hasn’t been shot down and I just was waiting for it to happen and what was it going to be like. And the pilot promptly put the aircraft, this is a Lancaster fully bomb loaded, fully loaded with bombs put it into a dive and spiralled. No good at all. I mean you couldn’t evade, couldn’t evade this searchlight and we lost altitude from twenty one thousand to twelve. Nine thousand feet in no time whatsobe and gravity pushed my head on to the table and I couldn’t [pause] I was just waiting for the explosion. But suddenly that light went out. We didn’t evade it. It went out. The gunners were firing away like crazy. Now whether they had succeeded in firing down the beam and putting it out or whether something else I don’t know but that light went out. And this little engineer of nineteen years of age with the pilot they hauled this huge Lancaster from the vertical almost into the horizontal with a full bomb load and it didn’t break its back and we went on to the target. I thought we’d get an immediate DFC but we didn’t. We didn’t get anything.
Interviewer: If I can just mention or just ask you about how you did get out of the prison you were eventually repatriated.
JDH: We were repatriated. The Allies and that’s the Americans and the British and the Canadians, the Allied forces invaded Algeria in November 1942 and the Vichy French surrendered. We wondered what would happen to us. My fear was when we heard that this invasion had taken place my fear was that they might take us away from the prison camp and whip us into Germany before our forces landed but they didn’t. They unlocked the doors and they dismissed any guard who they thought had been difficult and brought in a fresh lot of guards who were courtesy itself and couldn’t do enough for us. It was all hypocrisy, hypocritical and we spent the last four days just using the place for the passing of time until there was transport able to take us up to Algiers and we sailed home.
Interviewer: And you came back in HMS Keren, I think.
JDH: HMS Keren.
Interviewer: Yes.
JDH: It sailed out there with American troops I think it was. And I don’t know what its cargo was but they loaded it up with oranges. The hold was absolutely filled. Of course, you couldn’t get oranges in this country so we took it back loaded with oranges. Yeah.
Interviewer: You didn’t have scurvy when you came back did you? [laughs] So how did you feel when you got back? Did you want to get back into the fight?
JDH: Oh yes. Because the first thing, basically the first thing that we were asked when we got, we landed in, where was it? In Greenock in Scotland and we were taken by train under guard. With guards. No civilian was allowed to come anywhere near that carriage. We were taken by train to London and interviewed by top brass and virtually the first thing they asked us, ‘Do you wish to fly again?’ And having said yes then that’s when I got the opportunity to remuster if I wished and train as a pilot and I said no, I’d like to take up navigation again and do a refresher course. This is what I did. And I could do that more quickly you see. I thought I’d get back on to flying more quickly. And navigation was my metier. I liked navigation.
Interviewer: So it was back to, to an OTU for a little while while you —
JDH: I went to, it wasn’t an OTU to start off with. What would you call it? [pause] A place called Moreton Valence.
Interviewer: An AFU. Number 6 AFU.
JDH: AFU. And from there we went to Wymeswold which was an OTU. Operational Training Unit. And from Wymeswold I went to, wasn’t it Lindholme? Which was a Conversion Unit to four engine. And then to the squadron and did my first operational flight on a 100 Squadron on Lancasters to Brunswick, Braunschweig in the middle of December ’44 and finished the tour at the D-Day landings and saw the flotilla going over. Then we came back and we spoke to the crew, the pilot and myself and we said, ‘How do you feel about carrying on?’ We said, ‘We’re game.’ I said, ‘It seems a shame now doesn’t it?’ I said. ‘We’ve landed on the other side, or they have.’ I said, ‘Carry on. Let’s support them.’ So we went to the squadron commander and he was delighted. We said, ‘On the condition we get our aircraft back.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘It’s gone. It’s gone out tonight or its going out tonight.' He said, ‘If it comes back —’ and it did come back, ‘Yes, you can have it and continue.’ I was in the Officer’s Mess on the following morning I think it was and the doc as we called him, the medical officer, Doc Marshall he came up to me. He said, ‘Dougie, what’s this I hear about you chaps volunteering to fly again?’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘That’s right, Doc.’ I said, ‘And we’re going to get our aircraft back.’ He just looked at me. He said, ‘Over my dead body.’ Just like that. I can see him saying that. I have used the quashed not squashed. ‘I have quashed it irrevocably.’ He said, ‘You don’t realise how sick you are.’
Interviewer: He could see in you strain and stress that you couldn’t feel or see yourselves.
JDH: I said, ‘Doc,’ I said, ‘They’re cross countrys from now on.’ I said, ‘We’ve landed on the other side. We’ve only got to go ahead and support them as they move along to occupy Germany.’ He said, ‘Cross country runs.’ The squadron at the end of that month lost another six Lancasters. Six. So –
Interviewer: Did you have the same crew in for nearly all your thirty ops?
JDH: No. When we finished operational flying they all went different places and I only met the bomb aimer again. I don’t know what happened to the rest. We’ve tried to contact them in the meantime you know over the period. We’ve tried on the internet website.
Interviewer: But for your thirty ops.
JDH: Thirty ops.
Interviewer: You was –
JDH: Oh, the first lot.
Interviewer: Yes.
JDH: Oh, they’re both dead. John [Riddick], he was the, he was killed in a crash very soon after we got back and my wireless operator Tony Randall there’s a picture in the book he was killed on his first operational flight on Halifaxes. I think he was from Pocklington or somewhere. I’m not sure.
Interviewer: Well, you were on the Nuremberg raid.
JDH: I was on the Nuremberg raid.
Interviewer: But because you’d gone, been one of the first to go you didn’t appreciate the catastrophe to come.
JDH: Well, as far as Nuremberg was concerned I can remember this quite clearly when we got back, back to the squadron at debriefing we were always asked the same sort of questions. ‘Well, how did it go?’ ‘What was it like?’ And I remember using the expression, ‘A piece of cake.’ The following morning [pause] firstly our ex-gunner, he got frostbite and was taken off flying and he was given ground duties and he sort of acted as a nursemaid for us for a little while until he got fit again. And he came into the billet at about mid-day or whatever when it was time for us to get up again and he said, ‘Well, chaps how many do you think you lost last night over Nuremberg?’ ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘Not many.’ I said, which is the entire command, I said, ‘Twenty.’ ‘No.’ He said, ‘Think again.’ I said, ‘More than that?’ He said, ‘Yes, more than that.’ ‘Thirty?’ ‘No.’ Then he finally said, ‘Ninety seven.’ I said, ‘Don’t talk rubbish.’ He said, ‘That’s what they say.’ And we did lose ninety seven and another thirteen failed to make their own bases and they crash landed in the UK and never got back to their base. So effectively we lost a hundred and ten aircraft that night. Ninety seven. Thirteen, a hundred and ten give or take, seven or eight hundred aircrew. And I say this, I’ll repeat it we lost more aircrew in that one night over Nuremberg than Fighter Command lost throughout the Battle of Britain. You see I know all this and therefore, oh I beg your pardon I don’t have to be prompted or asked or told. I know it. It just happened and I shan’t forget it. I never will forget it. And at ninety four, five what do I do? Do I go on? My publisher says, ‘Yes, you go on because you have a mission to fulfil.’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘You’ll find out as you go along.’ And I think this is part of the mission. We thought we’d got five hundred pounds for that raffle.
Interviewer: This was –
JDH: Barton on Humber last Sunday.
Interviewer: This was a signing of your autobiography and –
JDH: Yes.
Interviewer: Later published.
JDH: I sold thirty five books.
Interviewer: Yes. So they see your mission is to continue spreading the word really and –
JDH: Spreading the word. Oh, I know where the book is [pause] This is my eighth book.
Interviewer: Yes. Just now, “Just Douglas: A Navigator’s Story.”
JDH: Yes. I’ve got the covers for another one called, “The Best of Douglas.” But I don’t know what to do about it. But I’m writing another one now and it’s called, “St Bernard and Puppies.” It’s a make-believe story for children of all ages. I hope to get it to East Kirkby in Easter.
Interviewer: Oh excellent.
JDH: We’ll see.
Interviewer: So you did your thirty ops of which Nuremberg was one of them and you came to the end and wanted to remuster and they wouldn’t let you. So you went to Sandtoft to do some instructing which –
JDH: Instruction work. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. It’s not so much the instruction work but I just hated Sandoft. I don’t know. It was just something about the place I didn’t come to terms with at all. And I did as much flying as I could. They’re, all the instructional flights are logged in the book. Well, I don’t think in that book but certainly in this book. So, you know what I talked to you about happened and I have the written proof of it here and I have the aircraft letters and numbers which is, is a good fortune. My wife’s family are in here too. He was a big man in the St John Ambulance. That’s my wife’s father. Her family were co-founders of Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
Interviewer: Goodness.
JDH: You know who that is don’t you?
Interviewer: Yes, I do. Just Jane at East Kirkby.
JDH: Yes. Those are the Pantons.
Interviewer: So you, you have your books to sell and you go to the various commemorations.
JDH: Yeah.
Interviewer: And that is obviously a very important part of your life now.
JDH: Very important. Here’s a great guy. Air Chief Marshall Sir Clive Loader. He did the preface for my, for that book. I’ll show you.
[pause]
JDH: Was it this one?
Interviewer: Yes, it was.
JDH: Yes.
Interviewer: There it is. It’s just by your finger.
JDH: “On Sunday the 27th of August my wife Alison and I had the great honour of representing todays Royal Air Force. I was deeply touched – ” This is Douglas Hudson, “I was deeply touched when he asked whether I would be prepared to write a forward to this, the sixth edition of, “There and Back Again: A Navigator’s Story.” I’m truly delighted to do so. Sir Clive Loader,” etcetera etcetera. He’s retired now and I don’t know whether I ought to try to contact him or not. I perhaps feel that it would be an intrusion into his retirement. I don’t know. It’s very difficult to say.
Interviewer: Can you see yourself having a different life?
JDH: Could I see myself –
Interviewer: Yes, you know it’s –
JDH: I don’t know. You see, look. It’s the life of now with so much in it which I can think about. Somebody said I’m a ladies man. So be it. That’s Sandra Morton. That’s the lady across the road who introduced you. That is Marguerita [Allen] She used to phone me from California quite regularly. She now is living in Preston. And that is Lola Lamour. In other words, Joanne Massey. Now, she and I will be re-enacting together at East Kirkby in May.
Interviewer: Well, that’s wonderful. Thank you very much Douglas. It’s, it’s been a treat to listen to you. Thank you.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with James Douglas Hudson
1024-Hudson, James Douglas
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SHarriganD[Ser#-DoB]v27
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Claire Bennet
This Interview was recorded by Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011-02-04
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
00:40:51 audio recording
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending revision of OH transcription
Pending OH summary
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Description
An account of the resource
James Douglas Hudson followed a friend to join the RAF. He trained as a navigator and was posted to 101 Squadron at RAF West Raynham. On his final operational flight with the squadron he ran out of fuel and crashed. He was taken prisoner by the Vichy French in North Africa and spent time in a prisoner of war camp in Laghouet and Le Kef. He attempted escape twice but was recaptured. Douglas was repatriated to the UK in November 1942. He volunteered to return to operational flying duties and was posted to 101 Squadron based at RAF Waltham. One of his operations was to Nuremberg and he was shocked to hear about the losses of that raid. He and his crew volunteered for a further tour but the Medical Officer intervened and declared he was medically unfit to fly. After the war Douglas wrote books about his experiences in Bomber Command.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-11
1942-06
1942-11
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Germany
Great Britain
Tunisia
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
England--Lincolnshire
Germany--Nuremberg
Tunisia--El Kef
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Julie Williams
100 Squadron
101 Squadron
aircrew
Blenheim
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
crash
escaping
Lancaster
navigator
prisoner of war
RAF Grimsby
Red Cross
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[front of envelope] MARSEILLE ET LISBONNE – LONPRES
MR – MRS HUDSON.,
191 HALIFAX ROAD,
NELSON. LANCS.
ENGLAND.
GRANDE-BRETAGNE. [/front of envelope]
[page break]
[underlined] November 2nd. [/underlined]
Camp des Intennes [?]
Laghouat Algerie
[underlined] North Africa [/underlined]
Dear Mr and Mrs Hudson,
Very many thanks for your wishes sent from you by cable and passed on to me by your son “Daug”. I am glad you received the card with my little addition, I was obliged to put some little remark on it otherwise you would think I was a real bad “type”. Reading postcards is not in my line at all realy[sic], but being a postman one cannot help seeing little bits now and again can you? More so if it concerns ones honest self I pull “Daug’s” leg quite a bit about his letters, I do beleive[sic] he realy[sic] thinks I read them at times, he at any rate never seems to get worried about it, I often wonder if he ever worries about anything, he always has a smile on his face, no matter how black things look, and, they look pretty black at times here. I am sure you have no need to worry about him, he is a picture of health and his “they won’t get me down” attitude will bring him out OK.
It is no use me telling you about the camp, as, you will have heard all about it before, Everything is the same, and most men are quite well. I am always looking forward to the day of our freedom, and feel sure it is not so very far off now.
It will be very near Xmas
[page break]
[underlined] 2 [/underlined]
by the time you receive this letter so I think I will close by wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a much happier New Year.
Yours sincerely
H C Gibbins
Postman cum Censor?
P.S.
Have you found him a nice girl pen friend yet? Can you find me one?
[page break]
[reverse of envelope] DE. H.C. Gibbins RAF.
INTERNE LAGHOUAT
ALGERIA [/reverse of envelope]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Sergeant Gibbins in Laghouat camp to Douglas Hudson's parents.
Description
An account of the resource
Writes his job as postman and that sometimes sees what other have written on post cards. States that Douglas always has a smile and does not worry about anything, Reports all are well and looking forward to freedom.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
G B Gibbins
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter, envelope and handwritten note
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EGibbinsGHudson[Fa-Mo]421102
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Nelson
North Africa
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
David Bloomfield
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
prisoner of war
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] PRISONERS OF WAR [/underlined]
[inserted] 85 [/inserted]
AIR MAIL
[postmark]
[three postage stamps]
SGT. J. D. HUDSON 755052,
BRITISH INTERNED AIRMAN,
CAMP MILITAIRE
LAGHOUAT.
ALGERIE.
AFRIQUE DU NORD.
[page break]
H.E. HUDSON.
191 HALIFAX ROAD
NELSON.
LANCS.
ENGLAND.
[inserted] 23-12-41 [/inserted]
[page break]
[inserted] 85 [/inserted]
191 Halifax Road
Nelson
Nov 12th 41
My dear Douglas
It was given out on the wireless the other night that it was time for the letters to be posted to N. Africa for Xmas, so I hope my letter will reach you in time.
Well Doug, I wish you all the very best for Xmas & hope you will have as good a time as possible under your trying conditions, & I should like to say that Mother & I shall be thinking about you all the time on Xmas day, & wondering what you will be doing.
Lets hope you will be able to share next Xmas day at home, & then we can look back on the past as a very bad nightmare.
I often wonder what you will think of Nelson, I know you will like the district where we live, although we are only about a mile & a quarter from the centre of the town we are also in very nice country.
Harry Everley was at the Mill the other day (they do warp dyeing for us) he calls about once every three weeks. He wanted to know how you were going on.
[page break]
It was my night again last night for fire watching at the Mill, I shall be on duty again next Wednesday.
I am doing quite a lot of press dyeing now for the furnishing trade, it is quite interesting & we turn out some very nice goods.
Nov 13th/41
We have just finished dinner so will continue my letter of yesterday.
You will be pleased to know that I am still quite a good pipe smoker. I am able to get 50 – 60 cigarettes a week (1/6 per 20 packet) & 1 oz of tobacco which is 1/6 1/2 per oz. You would be surprised to see people queuing up for cigarettes when the shops are open.
Mother has found the people of Nelson very kind & knows quite a lot of our neighbours I am sure you will be pleased about this.
Hope you will receive the Xmas card & calendar Mother sent last week.
Well Doug we are still looking forward to the postman calling with a letter from you, it is nearly eight weeks since we had a letter from you
But all the very best for Xmas & all our love from
Mother & Dad.
S.G.T. J. D. HUDSON 755052
BRITISH INTERNED AIRMAN.
CAMP MILITAIRE.
LAGHOUAT.
ALGERIE.
AFRIQUE DU NORD.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Douglas Hudson from his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Needs to get letter off in hope it will arrive by Christmas. Wishes him best Christmas greetings under his trying circumstances. Hopes he will be home next Christmas. Wonders what he will think of Nelson and their house. Catches up with news and writes about his pipe smoking, getting cigarettes and tobacco. Says mother has found people of Nelson very nice. Looking forward to postman delivering his next letter as eight weeks since last.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
H E Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941-11-12
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter and envelope
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonP-HEHudsonJD411112
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Nelson
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-11-12
1941-12-23
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
prisoner of war
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D. Hudson.
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
3-4-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
To-day is Good Friday, & yesterday I was very pleased to receive your cable and greetings for Easter. I was also especially pleased to learn that you had received a further six letters from me. Your cable read as follows:- “Delighted six letters dates December nine January nine Whitworth Street eighty-one expect slight improvement Easter greetings all love.” I gather from this that the six letters you received were dated from Dec. 9th to and including Jan. 9th, & that the P.O. in [indecipherable word] hold out hope of better deliveries in future. This news all round is good and gives more encouragement to write. I too, am hoping that you will receive the mail quicker in future because the Consular route is available to us once again. This will be the fourth letter to go this way. I sent the following cabled reply to you yesterday:- “Delighted cable thirty first pleased six letters received by you Easter greetings reciprocated all love thoughts” I am enclosing two more photos of our previous show, of “Crazy Gang & Chorus”. These are the last: I hope the others arrived. To-day is just another day for us. I suppose Dad will have holiday and that you will be spending the time in the garden. I guess you are glad that summer is on its way. We have had more summer this year already than England gets in two years. Some of the nights have been marvellous and the sunsets magnificent. We are on the threshold of the hot weather, but the last
[page break]
month has been very nice. We were trying to guess the temperature yesterday and assumed it would be about 85° in the afternoon. Padre Cummins is visiting us on Monday. It is a long and extremely arduous journey from Alger. The railway finishes at Djelfa and the rest of the journey has to be done by road. I mentioned in my last letter – to set your mind at rest – that I was weighed with the boxing team about a fortnight ago and in shirt and shorts was 10 stones 1 lb. I said I should endeavour to have a few close up ‘photos taken in shorts to still further try & put your mind at rest. I have been doing P.T. every morning for 5 weeks, and doing a little sunbathing most days. I am beginning to get sunburned again. It is particularly noticeable when a new crowd arrives. Incidentally we have a Naval. Petty Officer sharing our two rooms with us now, and we prefer this arrangement. He is a “Geordie” and gets along quite well with us. Further supplies of Red Cross food have been received from Buenos Aires. Meat. Jam & Butter. The Argentine produce is by far the finest quality received. I envy [indecipherable word]. I fear that most of my letters are repetition and are not very interesting. I have received all except No.11. out of the first nineteen written by you. Another batch is due, in fact some letters are overdue, based on times of previous deliveries. I am fairly well occupied these days with typing the “Echo” and camp correspondence for the C.O. concerning general administration. We have received quite a number of Educational books from the Red Cross. What an organisation! Well it is lunchtime now (11-15 am) so I will say good-bye. I hope you will spend a happy weekend, my thoughts are always with you. All my love & wishes. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Was pleased to receive Easter greetings cable and that they had received more of his letters. Speculates on what they might be doing and mentions sunsets, nights and weather. Comments on visit by padre from Algiers a long and difficult journey by train and road. Writes that he was weighed for boxing team and that he would try and send photographs to show them he was okay. Writes of doing PT and sunbathing and that a new arrival was sharing their room. Mentions frequent Red Cross food parcels. He apologises for much repetition in letters and says he is well occupied with help on the camp newspaper.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-04-03
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420403
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-04-03
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
prisoner of war
Red Cross
sport
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D. Hudson.
℅. Consul Général des États Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
2-6-42. Afrique du Nord.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
When last I wrote to you it was to acknowledge receipt of your letters Nos. 37 & 38 which arrived on May 28th and also advise the dispatch of a cable I sent on the same day advising you of the letters I had received etc. I am now awaiting your next cable which is about due. Since your birthday telegram arrived informing me that you had received seven letters, I have sent two to you, one a pre-paid reply & the other I sent off my own bat as the spirit moved me. There [sic] very little news for you because nothing has occurred since I sent my last letter. The weather now is getting hot. After 10am it is too hot really to be outside until nearly 5pm, and the nights are fairly warm. To-day there is a slight breeze blowing which makes a difference. When you write and tell of the greenish Spring countryside and say that your lake is rippling in the wind, it makes me realise more than ever what I have left behind when I contemplate the sand and bareness surrounding this spot. Oh to be in England now that spring is here! Last night we caught a tarantula in our room. It had a body about the size of a shilling and hairy legs each about three inches or more long. It is the first I have seen and I did not realise that they thrived in this part of the world. It is just over a year since we left Médéa for [one indecipherable word] We came here the third week in October which means
[page break]
in about a fortnight’s time we shall have spent as long at Laghauat as we did in [one indecipherable word] It will not be very long before we shall have reached our two years stay in North Africa. Thank God I did not know at the time [inserted] what [/inserted] was ahead of me. You will probably recall at the time I did not wish to leave England. I remember so clearly the first morning I was on African rail. The Arab crowd which seemed to gather so quickly and from nowhere and our feeble efforts to try and make ourselves understood in French which even the French themselves found difficulty with. I remember how hot it seemed with all our gear on, yet actually how cool it was then to this present June day. The flies, red wine and smell of garlic which seemed to be everywhere, and which since we have begun to take so much for granted. How indignant we were at the thought of having a guard in French North Africa, and now how lonely we should be without [underlined] them. [/underlined] I suppose one begins to feel that in them we have protection. When I get home I shall charter my own constable to look after me. Poor old George Formby, or whoever it was, in whose Window Cleaning “Song” the line occurs “Always on the outside looking in” That man surely didn’t know just how lucky he was. I’ll tell you the whole story one day and I can assure you it will make good telling and maybe even better listening. So for the present let us continue with our chatty conversation as it was in the past. My thoughts are over with you both, and no matter how difficult the mail may be in arriving you can & must rest assured that I am keeping well and only waiting for that day when we meet again. All my love.
[underlined] Douglas [/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Acknowledges receipt of their latest letters and mentions sending them a able and expecting their next one. No news of note but writes about the weather. Contemplates life in England and mentions catching a tarantula. Comments he has spent as much time in Laghouat as at El Kef and it is coming up to two years in North Africa. Remembers first days in North Africa and comments on interment by the French. Catches up with home news.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-02
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420602
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Alan Pinchbeck
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22710/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420605-0003.1.jpg
dd1c3fcc06fd95eedf20e20a995da108
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22710/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420605-0004.1.jpg
7aa79df751cb06c15d057e83912f2d5e
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22710/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420605-0001.1.jpg
cbfb1d3bea3a908d14a88ac0a2959e2f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22710/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420605-0002.1.jpg
ce39e8178b914f8999658cba6ba855be
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[front of envelope]
F.M.
[postmark]
June 5th/42
MR & MRS. H. E. HUDSON.
191. HALIFAX ROAD.
NELSON.
LANCASHIRE.
ANGLETERRE.
EXAMINER 500
[page break]
[rear of envelope]
FROM. SGT. J. D. HUDSON. 755052.
BRITISH INTERNED AIRMAN.
CAMP DES INTERNES BRITANNIQUES
LAGHOUAT.
ALGÉRIE.
AFRIQUE DU NORD.
[postmark]
P.C.90
OPENED BY
[page break]
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D. Hudson.
℅. Consul Général des États Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
5-6-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive two letters from you dated May 3rd & 7th, Nos. 40 & 41. The arrival of letters from England is very good and I have received all the first 41 letters written by you this year up to May 7th with the exception of No. 11. I keep repeating that I do wish my mail reached you as regularly because I have always written to you twice weekly. Do not worry, as you appear to be doing, about me spending my allowance on stamps. There is so very little else I can spend it on these days and the cost incurred by postage is negligible. I do not stamp the letters myself, the envelopes leave me plain, and whatever stamps are later attached are affixed by outside authorities. Why the postage should vary I am at a loss to understand, neither can see why some letters should arrive without any stamps at all. Your parcel of cigarettes and Mrs. Clayton’s book have not arrived, but I am still faithfully optimistic. According to the receipt of cigarettes here I imagine that your parcel is just about due. I am eagerly awaiting your parcel of socks, soap, towels etc, sent via the Red Cross. Quite a lot of parcels containing similar items, also grey flannels & white shorts, shoes etc, have been & are still being received, fairly well intact. It is ages since we received any food parcels from the Red X
[page break]
perhaps they think that we are no longer in need of the extra nourishment and small luxuries they have provided in the past and for which we have always been so grateful. But on the other hand, probably the difficulties of transport are responsible, this is more probable. Then again we have to bear in mind that our family has increased enormously of late. You ask if we have had storms here as in the Libyan desert. We have had storms during the past few weeks but I doubt if they compare with those further East. Of course it is rather difficult to gauge their magnitude from within our enclosure. You mention not having had rain for three weeks and you wonder if we suffer from drought. With the exception of one shower we have not had any rain for five months and the water is ridiculously limited at this time of the year. The supply does come to the town from the river which is dependent on the winter rain and snows from the distant mountains. I believe the river is [inserted] practically [/inserted] dried up now, & will doubtless remain in this state until autumn. The weather has been reasonably cool for a few days and it makes a great deal of difference. The heat is quite strength sapping, but I find the flies the greatest menace. I, like you, hope most sincerely that May 21st would mark the final birthday I should spend in Africa. It does become wearisome waiting. I always think that in the end we shall have a lot to reap, and the harvesting will be one worth while. Things just dont [sic] stay wrong all the time and I find that when they appear blackest it is the unexpected that turns up opportunely. And on that note I must say good-bye until next letter. I am thinking about you always and I send all my love & best wishes to you both. Keep smiling & chins up.
Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Catches up on mail received and tells them not to worry about him spending all his allowance on mail, there was little else to spend it on anyway. Mentions stamps applied by authorities not him and does not know why cost varies. Writes that the cigarette and book parcels have still not arrived but is also eagerly awaiting the parcels with soap. socks and towels via the Red Cross. List some other similar items that others have received. Mentions that they had not received any Red Cross food parcels for some time and this was possibly due to transport problems. In addition, there were many more internees now. Discusses the weather and sand storms.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter and envelope
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420605
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria--Algiers
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Nelson
North Africa
Algeria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-05
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Alan Pinchbeck
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22711/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420620-0003.1.jpg
5aa83fbb4b8bcd6924f12bd5767050d9
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22711/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420620-0004.1.jpg
805dfea43bdd1a9859847037360170c5
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22711/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420620-0001.1.jpg
959e2d991fe1c6ad29e81f3ffac8cc1f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22711/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420620-0002.1.jpg
7acdeec729ec58d26c20f8f4390b0af6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[envelope]
EXAMINER 7856 [postmark]
F.M.
[inserted] June 20th/42 [/inserted]
MR. & MRS. H. E. HUDSON
191. HALIFAX ROAD.
NELSON.
LANCASHIRE
ANGLETERRE.
P.C. 90
OPENED BY
FROM. SGT. J. D. HUDSON. 755052.
BRITISH INTERNED AIRMAN.
CAMPDES INTERNES BRITANNIQUES
LAGHOUAT.
ALGERIE
AFRIQUE DU NORD.
[stamped] 24 [/stamped]
[/envelope]
Royal Air Force 755052 Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General du Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet. Alger
Algerie. Afrique du Nord.
20-6-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
It is thee days since I wrote to you last, and this will make the third letter I have written to you during the past week. I have not received any news from you since your last letter reached me on June 10th and your cable on June 8th. I have replied to your cable and expect your next telegram will arrive almost any day now. Regarding the parcels from England. Jimmy has already received two from his family sent via the Red Cross. The second arrived about seven weeks after the first and they both took about three months to arrive. It would appear, therefore,
[page break]
2.
that it is not necessary to wait three months in between times of sending parcels. I am eagerly awaiting your parcel of socks & soap etc. which[?] should be due in about five more weeks. Your parcel of cigarettes is definitely due but has not arrived, neither has Mrs. Clayton’s book. I do hope they will come along. In your next parcel I should be very glad if you could send me some thin underclothing[?] including short underpants, soap which is very necessary, and footwear size seven. These are my most urgent requirements together with a toothbrush. I intend to cable to this affect when your next telegram arrives. I am very glad to say that some more parcels of food arrived from the Canadian Red Cross including tea, milk, corned beef, butter etc. It is nearly three months since
[page break]
3.
the last parcels arrived & we were beginning to wonder what had happened. It takes a lot now to satisfy the large numbers here. We are four times the size we were at Christmas. Well Mother & Dad I seem to have very little to talk about except parcels, I hope I do not sound to be too selfish. I do not intend to be, the weather has not been quite as hot for the past two days. Previously the temperature reached 110F in the afternoon but it was some 14 cooler yesterday. I think the summer temperature here is as high as any place in the world with [deleted one word] the few exceptions of places of course like Aden and low lying spots possibly below the sea-level. It is not felt as much as the equator’s heat because the atmosphere is perfectly
[page break]
4.
dry and consequently entirely free from the tropical diseases. I am bearing up to the heat very well now and am wondering what the English climate will feel like again. What wouldn’t I give for the opportunity of being able to find out? I am afraid that the “Camp Echo” has now gone out of production. It is practically impossible to get ink and paper for the artists, and new typewriter ribbons. Also when the large number of new people arrived it was not practicable to publish enough copies to go round. Suffice that it helped to pass the time during the winter months & stimulate interest and stir up no[?] end of [indecipherable word] through its candid columns. It was “unique” enough. Well now I must say goodbye until next letter. With my usual ending, all my love, thoughts & best wishes.
Douglas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Notes he had not received any mail since his last letter. Much discussion of parcels and the time they take. His have not arrived but other internees have received some that have taken three months. Notes they have four times as many internees in camp as at Christmas. Writes of weather and high temperatures which he is managing well. Asks that there next parcel to him contains underclothing and toothbrush. Relates that some Canadian Red Cross food parcels have arrived. Writes that the camp newspaper has ceased production due to lack of ink and paper and the fact that they could not publish enough copies for greater numbers of people in camp.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-20
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four page handwritten letters and envelope
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420620
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Nelson
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-20
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22712/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420623-0001.2.jpg
282658d0522f24de1ed963a3a4dfdb67
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22712/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420623-0002.2.jpg
37d3d14460cedcc9aacbb986dcca2585
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General du Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet. Alger.
Algerie. Afrique du Nord.
23-6-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I have not received any news from you since your letter No. 43 arrived on June 10th. Your latest cable dated June 6th arrived on the 8th and I explained in my cabled reply on June 13th that the five days delay on my part was entirely unavoidable. Generally I reply to all your cables the same day but there always appears to be a hold up at this end varying from four to seven days. I don’t know why. I am expecting another telegram from you and a batch of letters any day now. None of your parcels have arrived yet although a great many are being received in the camp. Parcels of cigarettes, parcels of books and parcels of clothes sent via the Red Cross. The latter take about 3 months and
[page break]
2.
there doesn’t appear to be any restriction in the frequency of despatch. Some people have received two parcels at intervals of six weeks or so. I suggest you ask relations to cooperate in sending things out. My most urgent requirements are socks, footwear size 7 (seven) and light underwear including short underpants, soap toothbrushes etc. It is impossible to buy these things here. Do ask our relations to help. The greater part of the letters received nowadays are on the special P of W blue printed forms. Other ordinary ones are still arriving and I do not think it makes a great deal of difference. Summer is here now and the longest day is past. I am beginning to doubt if it will get a great deal hotter. I am certainly becoming a lot more accustomed to the heat. The peak temperature thee days varies between 100 – 110 F. It is quite cool
[page break]
3.
between 5 am until about 10 am, but the evenings and nights are hot. Walking about the place barefooted is nearly too much the ground gets so hot during the day. A fresh consignment of food arrived the other day from the Canadian Red Cross, including butter, corned beef, tea, milk and marmalade. The first for nearly 3 months. Unfortunately we have no fuel to make the tea and I am uncertain whether we shall be able to get wood during the summer. The last three books I have read were – “Out[?] of Great Tribulation” by Vachell, an old fashioned book “The [indecipherable word] of Evangeline” and another old one called “The Associate Hermits” authors names I forget. I have before me now Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair” & “The Tale of Two Cities”. Whether I shall read these remains to be seen. We are running rather short of books now. I keep doing a little French and am beginning
[page break]
4.
to write it fairly well. I should like to arrange a correspondence with somebody in England if possible. I think we are allowed to write in French from here, but I am uncertain about the rules on the other side. I am entirely self “supporting” when it comes to speaking the language but I want a chance to polish up. I cannot understand the French Radio – they speak far too quickly. At any rate we have no radio now. I am writing this letter to you at 9.30 am, sitting on my cell doorstep in the sun with a towel wrapped round my head. The perspiration is running down my arms but I am keeping sunburned. The beard[?] has been going for 3 weeks again. I will say good-bye to you now until next letter. My thoughts are always with you and it is useless to repeat I am only living for the day when we shall be together again. All my love & wishes. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he has received no new letters but had received latest cable to which he replied. Says he normally replies to cables same day but they are usually delayed by authorities his end. Writes that his parcels have still not arrived but many have for other internees takin three months. He lists his urgent requirements for socks, footwear and underclothes. Mentions that summer had arrived and describes daily weather. Mentions arrival of Canadian Red Cross food parcels but that they had no fuel to make tea and doubted whether they could get any wood in summer. Mentions the books that he had recently read and spoke of practising his French and possibly getting correspondent in England that he could write to in French.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-23
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420623
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-23
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22713/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420627-0001.2.jpg
3f24e0972a096a52a2a499b7f0c66703
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22713/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420627-0002.2.jpg
348f4ee93e84e5a95d49cec19eb21e9f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
27-6-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
It is 17 days since your last letter (No.43) arrived, but on the 23rd June I was glad to receive your cable dated the 20th but sorry to hear that my reply to your telegram of June 6th had not arrived. I was late (unavoidably so) in replying to this and it was not until June 13th that I was able to secure a form. Nowadays thre [sic] also appears to be a hold up of some days at this end as well, so I am hoping that since my cable will have reached you. Your cable received on June 23rd read as follows:- "Eagerly await news no response cable June 6th latest letter dated March 11th did parcel arrive all love" To this I wired immediately the same day:- "Delighted cable twentieth replied to your last cable on July [sic] thirteenth please send light underwear, soap, toothbrush footwear size 7 (seven) via Red Cross ask relatives cooperation other parcels not yet received writing always well all love thoughts wishes" I sent this E.L.T, [?] night rate, and I hope the message arrived clearly. These are the things I need chiefly and I suggest you ask our relations to help. I think it should be possible to get special P. of W. coupons for these items of underclothing. I should be greatly obliged if you could send these things out. Parcels are arriving regularly now, Jimmy [?] received two in the past 6 weeks and Tony has had one. They take about 3 months to arrive and thre [sic] does not appear to be
[page break]
any restriction on the frequency they are sent. Apparently civilian outer-garments are now forbidden, such things as coats and trousers, and if they are sent we shall not be allowed to wear them. No my cigarettes have not yet arrived although many are being received. They are due now. A batch of red [sic] Cross food arrived a few days ago from the Canadian Section including:- tea, sugar, milk, corned beef, butter, salmon, cheese, etc, and I believe another consignment arrived yesterday. I hope this is true. We have no fuel to make the tea and burn cardboard, paper or bits of shrubs collected on the walk. Initiative is amazing. Several people have built small fireplaces outside of mud bricks made of sand & water. The water and sand mixes and sets amazingly hard and these people have constructed small chimneys to create a draught. Talking about draught, just now our windows blew open and papers went flying as quantities of sand came into the room. This often happens went [sic] these gusts start for no apparent reason. They are filthy while they last. I dont [sic] think it will get much hotter now. The longest day is past and the sun should gradually get lower. The earth of course is very hot [deleted] now [/deleted] and walking outside barefoot about now 3 pm. is almost impossible. The colonnades of these buildings retain their heat long after sunset but the mornings are cool. About one third the camp sleeps outside. We get up at 5.30 and the water is warm from the day before. It is cut off 18 hours per day. We had a visit yesterday of a Y.M.C.A. representative and gave him a list of books and games required. I shall soon have my salmon & butter - dont [sic] you wish you were here? I'll bet not. Until the day when we see the green grass together again, all my love, thoughts & best wishes. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Writes about latest mail received. Long correspondence on content of cables he has sent and received which reiterate his requirements for underwear, soap, toothbrush and footwear. Notes that parcels are now arriving regularly for others and mentions that civilian garments are forbidden in parcels. Says his cigarette parcel has not arrived. Mentions arrival of Red Cross food parcels and describes initiative of internees to overcome lack of full to make tea. Talks of gusts of wind and high temperatures and daily activity. Notes on third of camp sleep outdoors get up at 5.30 when water is still warm from day before but then cut off eighteen hours a day. Mentions visit from YMCA representative and gave him list of books/games required.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-27
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
deu
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420627
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-27
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joy Reynard
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22714/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420630-0001.1.jpg
91f87180f49d79ca76535152ab6207f4
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22714/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420630-0002.1.jpg
fd447463b91de5e47b468bbc0412ac9e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052 Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis
Rue Michelet. Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
30-6-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased indeed to receive six letters from you today Nos 44 to 49 in unbroken sequence. These are the first to arrive since No. 43 came on June 10th and it was good to have all your news again. I am very sorry that my cables to you are taking such a long time to get through. I receive yours all right and reply to them generally the next day. Investigations are being made at this end so let us hope thre [sic] will be a resultant improvement. I keep thanking you for the trouble you have taken with respect to the parcels and I do understand the difficulties you experience. I agree with you that the people who received the small Air Mail parcels were just lucky. However, I am eagerly looking forward to the Cigarettes & Red Cross parcel. The latter should take 3 months to arrive and not 8, according to those already received here. In your next parcel I should be pleased if you would include soap, toothbrush, light underclothes including short underpants, and any footwear size 7, old shoes patched up will do fine. It is well nigh impossible to get these things here now. Yes it will be one big birthday as you say when I do get home. Thre [sic] will be so much to make up for, so many things to do, so many topics to talk about; everything which has been bound up so tightly will have its chance to break the bonds [?] which these days appear unsupportable. In short I think we shall all be re-born when we finally cross the gulf of our present separation, and shall have to make a
[page break]
new start in life. It wont [sic] be too late. I was extremely surprised to learn of Kenneth's peculiar R.A.F experience. If, as you say, he must not lift the bags at the bank, he is most unsuitable for the job he wished to adopt, no matter how enthusiastic. Knowing what I know now, it is, or will prove to be in the end, a good thing that he was rejected. The strain would prove to be terrific. I am glad you received 5 photos. Some were not so good but they were all I had. The "Camp Echo" is discontinued. We could not get either sufficient materials or cooperation to keep it going. It probably caused more commotion in our midst than anything previously. To certain individuals it was as a red flag to a bull (not to be confused with Joe) and the muck stirred up has not yet settled completely. We sent a copy of one issue to the Red Cross so probably at some future date you will read something of it. I am sorry but it would be absolutely impracticable to send a copy out to you, much as I should like to. I was very sorry to hear that Uncle Walter was ill again with the same complaint. I hope to hear that he will keep better. I also hope, like you, good news will be received of Ted Hole. [?] We have troubles with the flies too. We "blitz" them out of the room by opening door & windows & wafting with towels. Now, very fortunately, we have acquired from Alger netting to put over all windows. This means the windows can be open all day and we get the fresh air without the flies. What a blessing. Fresh supplies of Red X food have arrived with [underlined] tea. [/underlined] So good-bye until [inserted] next [/inserted] letter. My thoughts are with you always and as ever I send you all my love and best wishes. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of latest letter. Sorry his cables take so long to get to them and they are investigating the reason. Discusses their difficulties with parcels for him but says he is looking forward to them arriving. Writes that he would like their next parcel to contain soap. toothbrush, light underclothing and footwear as all these were impossible to get there. Catches up with news from home with comments on life and people. Mentions that have now got netting from Algiers that covers windows so they can now be left open all day to get fresh air without the flies.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-06-30
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420630
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-06-30
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joy Reynard
military living conditions
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22730/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420702-0001.1.jpg
9b9ac2363d5fa4a8099d3da66f8b850f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22730/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420702-0002.1.jpg
2bcc6508ac058f5f695f9f7adcc7898c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
2-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased indeed to receive six letters from you, nos. 44 to 49 unbroken sequence, on June 30th and I acknowledged these partly in my reply letter of the same date. There are other small points which I shall go over now. Regarding the Camp Echo. We were very interested and delighted to receive a communication from the Red Cross in England to say they had received a copy of one of our issues sent out to them. They are trying to publish it but fear it will have to be censored. As this is the case I suggest you write to them and try and get hold of a copy. In any case it should be mentioned in their monthly P of W. I am afraid it would be impossible to send a copy to you from here, for the reasons of Censorship. Red Cross clothes parcels arrive here regularly and take two to three months, not eight, and there does not appear to be any restriction regarding the frequency of despatch. I am eagerly awaiting mine, and in the next parcel I should be very pleased if you could include, light underclothing, soap, toothbrushes, shoes (7 size). I thank you for all the trouble you are taking in this respect and do think you could ask our relatives to cooperate in getting things together. So glad the R.X. refund the coupons. You are perfectly in order addressing letters to me at the Camp. The [one indecipherable word] is useful as a stand-by because I can always be traced through him. I don't know when this letter will reach
[page break]
you, I hope in time for Dad's birthday, because I send him every best wish with the most sincere hope that it will be the last we shall spend apart. Thre [sic] has been a muddle regarding cables and considerable delay at this end. However, an enquiry has been made and we hope that things will be smoothed out again. I hope so because it is most unsatisfactory that telegrams should take nearly a month from this end, when yours arrive in a day. It was splendid news to know you received fifteen letters from me during May. This gives me encouragement again. I always have and shall continue to write twice weekly. We get up ridiculously early these days and at 6 am there is a walk for a certain section of the camp. [deleted] each day. [/deleted] I manage to get a couple of complete washes down each day. Doing this so regularly eliminates the necessity to use soap extravagantly. We, like you, have flies, only many more than you would believe possible. Fortunately we obtained netting from Alger for the windows and can keep them all outside. A wonderful improvement. I expect your holiday will be drawing to a close and I imagine that you will have spent most of the time in the garden. I hope the weather has been kind. It is a pity you cannot share in a little of our sun. I do hope Dad's cold is cured and that Uncle Walter will keep better. We have just received 50 Gold Flake each from the R.X. I find I can exchange profitably some of mine for Algerian cigarettes in the proportion of 60 of the latter for 25 Gold Flake. The others I keep for special occasions. Good-bye for the present, my love, thoughts and best wishes as ever to you both. Keep smiling. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Acknowledges receipt of six letters. Reports he is delighted that Red Cross confirmed receipt of a copy of the camp newspaper they sent and that they would attempt to publish it. Notes that Red Cross clothes parcels are arriving regularly and asks that his next contains light underclothing, soap, toothbrush and shoes. Send father birthday greetings. Writes that they are investigating why cables are delayed at their end and hopes the situation would improve. Says it is good that so many of his letters have arrived with them. Comments on daily activity, flies and getting netting for windows. Mentions receiving Red Cross cigarettes.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-02
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420702
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria--Algiers
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
North Africa
Algeria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-02
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
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a8007ffef30c9f975ea0e85922a713d8
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
5-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
It is Sunday afternoon and there is a terrific wind blowing up from the desert bringing with it plenty of heat and fair [?] quantities of sand. It is 2 oclock, and warm. Generally at this time we try and sleep because these days we are up before 6 every morning - the coolest part of the day. The Colonnades get very hot in the afternoon and retain the heat in the stones and floor until mid-night or after. I think we have just about reached the peak and I don't expect it will get any hotter. I am far better acclimatised this year than I was last and think it must be pretty grim for anybody coming straight down here from England at this time of the year. There is quite a good supply of Red X food just arrived from the Canadian Branch. This means more tea, milk, sugar, corned beef, salmon, butter & a little soap - thank goodness. Yesterday we managed to get some ice and lemonade and played about with it like schoolboys until it melted, cooling down our water, solidifying the butter and trying to make out of the Milk iced drinks. You have no idea how much we appreciate these Red X parcels. Unfortunately we find it difficult getting sufficient fuel to make the tea. We burn straw, cardboard, paper and any old thing, and to start with put our pan out in the open at mid-day to get the water heated by the sun for two or three hours. This itself gets the water to more than
[page break]
normal bath temperature to begin with. Anything metal left outside gets too hot to touch. We, in this room are probably better placed than the average N.C.O. [?] or rating, having a side small room with three windows. Having recently acquired muslin, or netting from Alger, we can keep the windows open all day and night, benefit by the draught and at the same time exclude the flies. Terrific improvement upon the fly condition at [one indecipherable word]. We have five in the room now. One chap I think is the nicest fellow I have [deleted] ever [/deleted] met since leaving home & probably even before the war. He has a beautiful outlook on life and is a fully qualified Accountant. An excellent room mate, and most interesting; [deleted] yet [/deleted] he possesses a manner I have never come up against before, for thoughtfulness & consideration. He is a "find" in these circumstances, and like many other stupid misfits is only an ordinary ranker[?]. I hope we shall not get separated now. He comes from South Wales and knows all the country around Chepstow & Wye Valley where we spent our last happy holiday. A copy of the "Camp Echo" has been received by the Red X in London. They are trying to publish it but fear some parts will have to be censored. I should write to them and see if you can get hold of it. I suppose it will be mentioned in the P. of W. Monthly. Some more English cigarettes arrived from the Red Cross. I exchanged most of mine - one Gold Flake for two Algerian cigarettes. I dont [sic] like them half so much as the cigarettes we get here, they appear to be so queerly flavoured and scented. Good-bye now until next letter. My thoughts are always with you and I hope everything will go as well as possible with you both until we meet again. All my love & wishes Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Mentions strong wind blowing bringing heat and sand and describes how they manage their days in the heat. Thinks he is better acclimatised than previous year. Reports good supply of Red Cross food and lists contents. Tells story of what they did after getting hold some ice. Still difficult to get fuel to make tea and mentions what they have tried to use. Describes problems with high temperatures but they manage in their room as they have obtained netting to put on windows to keep out flies. Mentions five men in their room and describes one room mate in glowing terms. Mentions that a copy of the camp newspaper had arrived with red cross and should be mentioned in the POW monthly. Reports arrival of more English cigarettes.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-05
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420705
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-05
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joy Reynard
military living conditions
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22732/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420709-0001.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22732/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420709-0002.2.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
9-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I have not received any letters from you since the six (Nos. 44 to 49) arrived on June 30th, but on July 6th I was very pleased to receive your telegram dated the 4th reading as follows:- "Delighted cable received thirtieth no prepaid reply to-day send your message receiver to pay letters despatched will explain holiday week now ended both well all love" I replied to this the same day "Delighted cable fourth remarks regarding receiver to pay understood must await official confirmation Laghauat first will probably take one week to come through latest letter received fortynine well all love thoughts Hudson" Much to my annoyance this telegram was returned to me from the Laghauat P.O. [inserted] authorities [/inserted] who required my Christian name appending to the message. This means two days delay and the message will not leave until tonight. The hold up at this end, and petty red tape, are ever increasing. It becomes more than annoying. The idea of "receiver to pay" originated at this end and I put my name down to be included in the scheme some time ago. The confirmation from Alger has not been received in Loghauat yet but is expected any day, so until this comes to hand I shall just send the messages off myself. It will not cause great inconvenience financially at this end
[page break]
because there is so little I can buy with my allowance nowadays. I wonder often what kind of weather you had for your holiday and I imagine it was spent in the garden. I realise you are not very keen travellers these days. The summer is well on its way and I do not find it as hot as I anticipated Two days ago it reached 110°F in the shade and yesterday was hotter. I don't know what the temp. was but imagine about 115°F. We have built ourselves a fireplace outside out of bricks and sand to try and economise in fuel which is almost non-existent. By putting the water outside in a jug for a couple of hours before using it, the sun heats it so much that it is almost too hot to put ones hand in. The metal of the jug becomes too hot to touch. Tea is especially refreshing but ten minutes after drinking it the whole lot oozes out in perspiration. I find if I perspire I can walk around in the hottest sun and not feel the heat of the rays on account of my body being damp. By wrapping our water & wine bottles, also Red Cross butter tins, in wet rags, the evaporation is so terrific that the cooling effect is wonderful. The butter remains solid during 110° outside. Try this round your milk bottles in August. When I get home I shall be able to save you a small fortune after the experience gained out here. What will be the use of tables & table-clothes and crockery etc? I can show you much more primitive substitutes. One doesn't live until one is Interned?? & then one lives to exist, sorry I mean exists to live. All my love & thoughts to you both always. Chins up & keep smiling. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Had received no new letters but was pleased to get a telegram to which he replied on the same day. Mentions problem with a cable that was returned because it needed his Christian name appending which delayed it. Discusses new scheme for cables to be paid by recipient at other end. Describes weather and building outside fireplace. Mentions leaving water outside to heat and thus economise on fuel to make tea. Comments on sweating out all moisture shortly after being refreshed by drinking tea. Mentions how they cope in sun and high temperatures. and use evaporation to keep things cool.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-09
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420709
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-09
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joy Reynard
military living conditions
prisoner of war
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord
14-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad
My pile of letters received from you, written this year, now contains 49. The latest one to arrive was No. 50 on July 11th and if it was not for letter No. 11 I should have the complete sequence. This is the only one which has gone astray. I have very little to write to you about to-day. I often say I would give ten pounds readily to be allowed to write ten pages completely uncensored. The weather has been extremely hot during the past few days, hotter than before. The sun rays are probably not quite as strong but the earth is now very well heated and until the early hours of the morning it does not get really cool. The shade temperature has been about 115F at the hottest times. I perspire terrifically, & this is the most unpleasant part because as the moisture evaporates the cooling leaves one’s body clamy[sic] & cold. This is the dangerous part as [inserted] well [/inserted] and chills on the stomach are easily contracted. Recently we have experienced quite severe sandstorms in the afternoon. The wind which blows up from the desert is like a draught out of an oven. It generally coincides with our tea making which we have to do outside during the summer. There are no stoves[?] at this period of the year. We have built ourselves a fireplace in the courtyard from bricks and sand, a marvellous piece of ingenuity, complete with chimney, and as a result we get our afternoon 2 or 3 cups.
[page break]
Thanks to the Red Cross, to host[?] our[?] organisation! I am continuing my letter in the evening which is much cooler than it has been for some time. We are to play our last hands of Bridge tonight in a competition against the officers. There are eight men in each team making four tables altogether. The first three nights we played selected hands and as a result some idea could be gained as to the quality of bidding. To-night, the last night, we are playing dealt hands. Our position is very interesting and the game should be good. The days appear to be very long at present. We get up at 5.30 and it is not much use attempting to sleep before mid-night. The sunrises & sunsets do not hold the glory of the ones I saw during the winter months. As you say the moments of natural beauty bring us near together. In this place those[?] beauties are so often spoiled by the [indecipherable word] immediate “goings on”. I often think of the people who put coal in their baths and threw litter into their gardens. One often feels the necessity of holding one’s nose whilst swallowing the bitter medicine which I classify as the everyday dose of living. Sometimes I think there is far too much [indecipherable word] and it seems a long hike to the freshness beyond. But the fear[?] of internment? will pass one day and the period of convalescence will be compensation enough. The literal sun still shines and our bodies are tanned well and truly, therefore we look fit physically. I feel we shall benefit in due course by our forced[?] mental homework so let us look forward to those days of good things. Until then my thoughts will be ever with you. As always, all my love, and best wishes.
Douglas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports that he has now received 49 letters from them that year and the latest two have also arrived. Mentions weather had been extremely hot and it does not get cool until the early hours of the morning. Comments on perspiring and that evaporation leaves his body cold and clammy which is dangerous as it is easy to get chills. Reports recent severe sandstorms in the afternoon and mentions making tea and outside stoves. Praises Red Cross and mention playing bridge. Comments on daily routine and sunsets and sunrises. Philosophises about life as internee.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-14
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420714
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-14
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22734/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420717-0001.2.jpg
8875988460e666965bb743b5a7bc6873
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22734/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420717-0002.2.jpg
73a5709aff8e7d61d690ecc22d0ea7a6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algerie
Afrique de Nord.
17-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased to receive two letters yesterday, one from you dated June 12th and one from E.W.T.[?] dated May 24th. In his letter, Ernest mentions not having received a reply to his cable (date not stated but presumably sent for my birthday). This cable never arrived in Laghauat. The only cables I received were yours & three from Calverly which I acknowledged in my reply telegram to you dated May 21st & which you have since received. Perhaps you would tell E.W.T. I am writing to him also to explain, & in the meantime send my best wishes etc. I am wondering if some of my cables sent in June have not reached you, because Tony received a telegram today from his mother to say that four of his cables arrived on one day. During the month of June there was a mix up all round but I believe the position has been considerably clarified since & that the cable system is running smoothly once again. In your letter yesterday about three lines were blacked out and it was quite impossible to even surmise the gist of the sentence. You say that June proved to be a very cold month and that you both had been suffering from very bad colds. I do hope you are better now. We heard terrible reports about the effect of the heat in Laghauat, how civilians were evacuated to Medeci[?] for the summer and that the birds dropped dead from the trees on account of the heat. Rumour had it that faces[?] became drawn at the end
[page break]
of the summer and that it was pretty grim generally. Well it has been hot, about 115F in the shade for some days, but I believe the peak has been reached, and everybody is bearing up jolly well. One just does not do anything between midday & three o’clock out of doors. Our room is one of the best ventilated in the camp. Three windows & a large door & five us us occupying the room. Three chaps are sleeping outside at present so that leaves only two inside at night & we have fixed netting over the windows to exclude the flies by day. The Canadian Red X has sent a terrific consignment of food & our tea position is greatly improved if only we could obtain fuel. We have to scrounge any old thing to burn. Please concentrate on socks in your parcels, I have only one pair, also shoes size 7, because my footwear is in a very perilous[?] state. It doesn’t matter much in summer because most people go about barefoot. [indecipherable word] of your parcels are as yet to hand. The times taken [inserted] to arrive [/inserted] do vary considerably but on the average three months is taken, especially for clothes parcels sent via the Red Cross. We put in a request to a Y.M.C.A. representative who visited us recently for a terrific quantity of books. I asked for one on the Man.[sic] & Production of Cotton Textiles, and in the meantime I am trying to polish up in Commercial[?] French. It sounds horribly like “digging in” but believe me I’d drop the lot like hot coals of the day if release came prematurely. Wonder what the circumstances of our homecoming will be? Like you both I am just living for that day. So until then all my thoughts are with you & I send all my love & wishes.
Douglas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Discusses mail and cables and reports that problems with cables have been sorted and system should now be running smoothly. Catches up with news from home mentioning they had both had bad colds. Writes about weather at Laghouat believing that it had reached peak. Comments on how they cope with the heat including sleeping arrangements. Mentions that Red Cross have sent large consignment of food and tea situation was greatly improved if only they could get fuel. Ask them to send socks as he only has one pair and footwear. Discusses time taken for clothes parcels to arrive and comments that his were not yet to hand. Mentions asking YMCA rep for more books.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-17
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420717
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-17
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22735/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420721-0001.1.jpg
5ad6bbdc6e71042cd058db5e239e6df8
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22735/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420721-0002.1.jpg
9e697d78c55f49e7bcaac2db66cd0d01
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson.
c/o Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord
21.7.42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Today, I was very pleased indeed to receive two letters from you, nos. 53 & 55 together with three snaps, & at lunch time, when we were doing our best with the Red Cross prunes & milk, I was delighted to receive your cable dated July 18th reading:- “Delighted fourteen letters latest date May 9th thirteen snaps cable dated July 16th both well all love” to which I am sending off this reply this afternoon – received to pay - “ Delighted cable eighteenth received today July twenty first also letters fifty three and fifty five with snaps pleased my letters reached you well all love Douglas Hudson” Nowadays we have to put Christian names on these cables and the one I sent on July [underlined] 6th [/underlined] was, apparently, the one you referred to as July 16th. It was returned to me to append my Christian name & this caused several days delay, which of late has not been uncommon. Well as my message states, I was really delighted to learn that another 14 of my letters reached you together with 13 snaps. This is very encouraging & it now would appear that the great percentage of mail is getting home although taking rather a long time. I was very pleased to receive three snaps today, two (one of you each sitting in the deckchair in the garden) & one of Dad complete with pipe in front of the neighbour’s tree. They are excellent photos and they will go with my collection of which I am becoming proud. I can visualise what
[page break]
your garden will look like and it makes me wish more than ever (if possible) that I was back and able to share it with you. I wonder if in the future I shall appreciate more what is before my eyes, & be less anxious to rush around the countryside? I often ask myself the question “Will this life make of me a real home bird or will the desire to travel have received the necessary stimulant to make me wish to conquer pastures new? I feel, and in this – very strongly – that the old pastures will hold me for a long time. I’ve got to get the sand out of my hair & my eyes lest it penetrates my soul. Not so good grammatically the first bit, but true. Mother looks the picture of youth in her photo and the smile has caught the camera, even if it was retaliation for being called a ‘black woman’. Yes, she certainly does look young & happy. Dad looks a little more staid but the photos are good, & he looks well although his face is a little strained. At a guess I should say he has put on weight. The sports jacket fits tightly enough but I have a feeling I should experience difficulty in getting it to button. Our typewriter is a Remington – French Keyboard. Please yourself about the chair, it should fetch a reasonable price now; I should imagine it would be a good time to sell. [indecipherable word] ‘Woman at the Door’ & Heyers “A Blunt Instrument” are not in our library. “Martin Eden” was but I did not read it. Have just finished Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair” and am reading the French version of an easy crime novel by Percival Wilde called “L’Acusation du Mort.” English authors translated into French are not too difficult. Well, it’s my turn to make the tea now – outside, & the temperature well over 100˚F. All my love & thoughts as ever.
[underlined] Douglas {/underlined]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of mail with photographs and cable to which he would send reply that afternoon. Discusses problems with sending cables. Glad that many letters including snaps had arrived with them. Wonders what their garden would look like. Wonders if in future he would appreciate more what he saw and whether his current life would affect his desire to travel. Philosophises on life. Comments on photographs he had received, agrees to selling something and on books.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-21
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420721
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-21
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Steve Christian
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22736/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420722-0001.1.jpg
56c97e010c8f27b77ffd51fc8142919d
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22736/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420722-0002.1.jpg
4e7b8bc3991e29cde07240ba98e1381c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson.
c/o. Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algérie.
Afrique du Nord.
22-7-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I am writing to you again today, because I do not think my yesterday’s letter really covered all the ground. I had so much to acknowledge, yesterday being a red letter day, two letters from you Nos. 53 & 55 dated June 19th & 26th and a telegram dated July 18th acknowledging receipt of mine of July 6th and giving the good news that fourteen more of my letters had got home, latest dated May 9th, also thirteen ‘photos. Your letters also contained three ‘photos which I was so glad to receive and which I have added to my collection. I am always very pleased to receive photos, and I should like to encourage the practice of sending them out. I wonder if you would ask John to try & send out a few snaps taken during our past holidays and any others he may have. It is difficult obtaining films now and the demands in this ever growing camp are very great. We are trying to get films from Alger & if successful I shall try & get ‘photos taken during the summer, but I cannot guarantee this. You speak about having had only five days “summer” weather. What a pity this is when we have so much. Recently it has been very hot but I have a strong feeling that the worst is over and I am expecting a gradual cooling off now on. To-day is the coolest we have had for some time. I sleep out of doors and
[page break]
I find this cooler, as do half the other people in the camp. It is hopeless trying to get to sleep early the hot weather seems to keep half the people awake and darned noisy – “blast em”. Red Cross supplies are coming in well at the moment & we have “contacted” a little fuel to help make the tea. None of your parcels have arrived. It is hardly time for the Red Cross clothes parcel; anyway there should not be much doubt about that. Safe things to send out to me at any time are socks, footwear, soap, light underwear & towels. These are most important and cannot be obtained here. My footwear is in a dreadful condition. I still have my flying boots but they are no good to walk about in. My shoes are falling to bits. Don’t send anything smaller than size seven, much better too big than too small. I expect my feet will be bigger having walked about barefoot so much during the summer. Fancy having to worry about all these small things! But I find it is the very smallest now that count so much. What an amazing changed sense of proportions some of us will have when this blows over! I have had more time to think, and more opportunity for thinking, than I ever expected would be granted to me in a lifetime, but conclusions of logical thought don’t bring the satisfaction that action might. Yet we go on carrying out our contract, building our castles on a foundation of cloud, hoping one day we may strike a more solid base. Until we can stake our claim, I send you both all my love, thoughts & best wishes as ever. You are always in my mind.
[underlined] Douglas [/underlined].
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Writing again straight away as did not think previous letter covered all the ground. Reports on mail, photographs and cables. Always pleased to receive photographs from them. Mentions trying to get photographic film but it was difficult. He would try and get some photographs taken. Catches up with news from home. Comments that although it had been hot he thought the worst was over. Mentions he slept out of doors and comments on weather. Says Red Cross supplies coming in well and they have got some fuel to help with tea. Writes that his parcels have not arrived and reiterates what he needs in next ones particularly footwear. Philosophises and says he has had plenty of time to think.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-22
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420722
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-22
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Steve Christian
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22737/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420726-0001.2.jpg
fe9d569155de74cbe52ef1f72868e442
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22737/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420726-0002.2.jpg
b5304badf2494c3f8185b6b8c53d8111
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D. Hudson.
c/o. Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie
Afrique du Nord.
26-7-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
It is about four days since I wrote to you last & then I sent two letters in two consecutive days acknowledging receipt of your letters nos 53 & 55 containing photographs, & your cable giving the good news that fourteen of my letters had reached you with thirteen snaps, up to May 9th. Good news which bucked me no end. Since my last letter I received two more from you Nos. 54 & 56 containing two photos of you both at the “wheel” & just noticeable are the deadly straight lines of the mower, showing that you still maintain the art of uniformity when it comes to cutting the lawn. I am delighted to receive these photos, & should welcome any more you care to send. We have succeeded in getting a roll of films & can take 12 pictures. As there are 5 of us to share I propose taking 2 photos of each individually, & two groups of the 5. That is the best arrangement I can think of. I do not know when we shall get the next roll - probably never. I am very annoyed, because at this moment I have just had my telegram of July 21st returned because confirmation of ‘Receiver to pay’ has not come through. They returned my previous one because I had not put my Christian name in the message, & I suppose they will return the next one because
[page break]
they cannot find ‘Angleterre’ ?!X. I will send another message to you straight away & hope for better results. Here it is :- “Delighted cable eighteenth received July twenty first also letters and snaps latest fifty six my reply telegram just returned apparently receiver to pay not confirmed hope this will reach you delighted my letters arrived well all love. Douglas Hudson.”
Yesterday we had a visit of two Red Cross lady representatives & they made a thorough investigation into conditions. We await developments. I feel confident we can expect powerful help from this organisation in future. Recently we have received a lot of food from the Canadian Red Cross – such items as tea, milk, butter, corned beef, meat roll, & salmon etc, also a little soap. Our tea position is good; at the moment we have 2 ½ lbs between 5 of us & a little fuel. We also hope to receive tobacco from the Admiralty who have already equipped us with a towel each & shirt & shorts. Since the Navy arrived a little more interest has been taken in our conditions. You ask if I have a bed. Yes I am one of the fortunate 30% who do not sleep on the floor. I had a queer dream last night, although very realistic. I dreamed that you both, together with Auntie Maud & Dorothy ‘C’. Visited us at Laghouat. You were very impressed & the scene was a little too moving. Until we do really meet, I send you all my love & thoughts. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Catches up with mail with photographs and cables received. Writes that they have obtained film and mentions plans for photographs. Discusses problem with cable he tried to send. Mentions recent visit by Red Cross representative who investigated conditions. They await developments. Writes that they had recently received a lot of food parcels from Canadian Red Cross and lists some of the contents. Notes that since the navy arrived a little more notice had been taken of their conditions. He comments that he has a bed and is one of the 30% who do not sleep on the floor.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-26
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420726
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
military living conditions
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22738/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420731-0001.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22738/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420731-0002.2.jpg
a5fdc2c79ebe3137287829eb5a502792
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson.
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
31-7-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I wrote to you last three days ago and have since received your letter No. 60 dated July 10th. This has made a quick journey of less than three weeks and has reached me before letters 57, 58 & 59. As you say during the period of the last three years we have all travelled widely along the pathway of life. The going has been rough & uninteresting & the only fertile parts have been occasioned by the hope which springs from the reassurance of receiving letters and cables, our only link, but a strong link nevertheless. I know that the chain will not weaken until we are all pulled safely together again. The shore seems to be very distant but a wave bigger than the rest will leave us high and dry at some future date. Perhaps not quite as far distant as we are so often inclined to believe when the news does not sound too good. Sometimes I am quite undecided whether I should write a whole letter about hope & faith as I feel it; I may do one day. It will not really be a letter but an impression – my own impression – which has taken many months to form & which even today changes or varies slightly. But to be more practical – yes it has been hot recently
[page break]
the buildings withstand the heat during the day, but they also retain the heat caused by the sun in the late afternoon when the rays are slanting. The colonnades become deadly after 5 pm until [inserted] about [/inserted] midnight. I sleep outside at present and still find it warm wearing clothes, or no clothes. The back of the summer is broken and the end of August should see a difference. I am sending you a p.c. today, of Laghauot. My message is negligible beyond assuring you that I am fit & well. It is really a “knock” at our postman Sgt. Gibbins. We all pull his leg about reading our mail, & he replies saying he has only time to read the post cards & letters. I shall see if he reads my p.c. to-day. He is really a jolly little chap & does a good job of work collecting the mail & telegrams each day, & getting them in order for the French. Although you do not say so directly, I gather from your last letter that John has now a Commission. I wrote to him & Mrs. Clayton as soon as I learned of Mr. Clayton’s death – sometime in January. Pity you don’t get much summer weather. The sun just rises here and shines without any interruption until it sets. What a change to get back to a place where you wear coats & macs. in summer, & where there is rain & a sun that does not burn right through you during the middle of the day! I can scarcely imagine the weather experienced during my Scotch holidays in August past was real. What a shame you cannot buy films! I should have loved more snaps. Keep trying. All my love & thoughts as ever. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of latest letters, comments on life over the past three years and speculates on future. Notes his views on life, hope and faith which vary over time. Comments on weather and heat and daily routine. Assures them he is fit and well. Relates pulling their postman's leg over reading their mail but says that he does a great job. Catches up with news from home.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-07-31
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420731
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-07-31
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jan Waller
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22824/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420804-0003.1.jpg
65cce21a0a8e43224a3b096217ccf77f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22824/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420804-0004.1.jpg
5281a25f814e82fe607f883e6c2cb28f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22824/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420804-0001.1.jpg
c4dabeb4c150542b1585535026ce5945
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22824/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420804-0002.1.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[envelope]
EXAMINER 3144
[postmark]
F.M.
[inserted] August 4th/42 [/inserted]
MR. & MRS. H. E. HUDSON
191, HALIFAX ROAD.
NELSON.
LANCASHIRE.
ANGLETERRE.
[/envelope]
[page break]
[reverse of envelope]
FROM. SGT. J. D. HUDSON. 755052
CAMP DES INTERNES BRITAINIQUE
LAGHOUAT.
ALGERIE.
AFRIQUE DU NORD.
[/reverse of envelope]
[page break]
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algerie
Afrique du Nord
4-8-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
To-day being your Wedding Anniversary my thoughts are very much with you and I am sending just a short message by cable hoping it will reach you quickly. It is a very simple message as follows:- “All love thoughts and best wishes Wedding Anniversary”. Your last letter to arrive was No. 60 which came before Nos. 57, 58 & 59 yet to reach me, but expected any day. I have not received any parcels. The book I am beginning to despair of receiving, but I still have hope the cigarettes will come to hand. The Red Cross parcel is not quite due and should arrive safely before very long. As I am writing this letter a terrific wind is blowing papers, pens & every darned thing off the table. It is a hot wind too, as though released from an oven[?], in short a maddening wind which blows no good. For many days now it has been unpleasantly hot, especially at night time. I am expecting it to cool off any day really, but so far the heat is persistent, and I am still expecting. I have just read “Vanity Fair” and a book by Susan Erty[?] called “Madam Claire” which I can recommend to you – it being a gentle
[page break]
book. I was half way through “Tale of Two Cities” when somebody plonked “Random Harvest” down
and as it is urgently required elsewhere I have had to lay Dickens aside temprorily[sic]. The story is by James Hilton of “Lost Horizons” fame – do you remember our[?] seeing the film? – so far I have not read sufficiently far to express an opinion. The “Tale of Two Cities” is good but it is not necessary for me to tell you this. To give you an idea of the heat and dryness of Laghouat this morning at 11 oclock[sic] I washed a towel. I hung it to dry whilst I washed a handkerchief. By the time the handkerchief was washed the towel was dry, & the handkerchief dried in the hot breeze whilst I carried it [inserted] back indoors [/inserted] across the courtyard. Believe it or not, it is true. We have not yet finished our Red Cross food supplies. Since Saturday we have had our own kitchens working. The sailors do the cooking. They have the same food as before – macaroni, cous-cous, dried peas and a few fresh vegetables, at present onions & marrow – which they try & cook in a more European manner. The real beauty of this development is that we can obtain boiling water three times a day for our tea. As long as the tea lasts out or[?] if it continues we are well placed. I had four ‘photos taken last week in bathing drawers. Hope to send them [underlined] when [/underlined] the prints are ready. As ever all my love & best wishes. Douglas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Sends greetings on their wedding anniversary, cable to follow. Reports arrival of mail but no parcels, still hoping. Mentions strong wind blowing and that it has been hot for several days. Reports on books read and discusses some content. Relates story of quick drying towel to indicate how hot it is. Says they have not yet finished Red Cross food supplies and have their own kitchen with sailors doing cooking. Describes food available which is cooked in European fashion and the have boiling waters available three times a day to make tea.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-04
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter with envelope
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420804
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Nelson
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-04
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22825/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420807-0001.2.jpg
c5fdb118c5f1325e513043d340ccf9b6
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22825/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420807-0002.2.jpg
dd9aa29d16f8b2a70cc9731286fe24bf
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson.
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord
7-8-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your telegram dated August 4th as follows:- “Delighted message August first written London re cables special thoughts for you today August fourth parcel despatched July 28 all love” to which I am sending the following reply today “Delighted cable August fourth confirmation receiver to pay arrived shall send next telegram this way await parcels well all love keep smiling Douglas Hudson”. The confirmation was received two days ago from the Eastern Telegraph Co. at Bone but I cannot make use of this privilege until the Laghouat P.O. has been advised. This will probably be effected tomorrow so my future telegrams will be sent via Eastern for you to pay. I was glad to hear you finally received my telegram originally sent off on July 21st & delighted to know you had dispatched another parcel on July 28th I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first parcel which is due anytime, also the cigarettes. I do hope you received my short cabled message sent off on Aug. 4th for your Wedding Anniversary. My thoughts were very much with you on that day, but of course they always are. The last
[page break]
two days have been considerably cooler & consequently more pleasant. This followed a surprising short but to the point thunderstorm two evenings ago. It is now possible to lie on one’s bed without the perspiration simply pouring out. Before long we shall be able to start the P.T. again. I told you in my last letter that we have our own kitchens & cooks now. An improvement particularly as we can get boiling water three times a day for our Red X tea. Would you make this enquiry for me, of Air Ministry, London? Is the promotion of N.C.O. flying personnel automatic in the case of a person in my position? Officers here are receiving news of their promotion. If we N.C.Os were still in England, alive[?], we should be at least Flight Sgts. Or Warrant Officers. It is a point worth clearing up, & I should like to know whether promotion ceases when one becomes a prisoner. I had four ‘photos taken about ten days ago, so when the prints come out I hope to send them along to you. I doubt if I shall get many more opportunities in future & have photos taken because there is a big film shortage & it has [inserted] been [/inserted] with some difficulty that we have obtained our recent stock. Films or no films, we still jog along hoping that our stay here may not be too long. I am sure we have outstayed our welcome. We are not always the politest of guests. With all my love as ever. Douglas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of letters and telegram to which he is sending reply. Outlines changes to telegram system. Notes they have dispatched another parcel but is still awaiting arrival of the first ones. Describes recent weather with thunderstorm and cooling temperatures. Hopes they can start PT again soon. Mentions cooking arrangements at availability of boiling water for tea. Asks them to enquire of air ministry about promotion of NCO flying personnel as officers there were receiving news of their promotions. If at home they would all be flight sergeants/warrant officers now. Mentions having photographs taken which he will send when available.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-07
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420807
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-07
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22826/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420809-0001.2.jpg
5aa17530c1c5725bbe741556d3c77af5
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22826/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420809-0002.2.jpg
3a552934dbf0e3f5c0a5f7bd1f529fa0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o. Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algérie
9-8-42. Afrique du Nord.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Yesterday I was very pleased to receive your letter No. 59. This came nine days after No. 60. Nos. 57 & 58 have not yet arrived. I was very pleased to learn that you had despatched on July 28th another parcel via the Red Cross. Thank you for all the trouble you are taking in this respect, & perhaps you would also extend my appreciation to relatives for this kind cooperation. Yes, dear Mother & Dad, when I read the remarks in your letter No 59 about their kindness & consideration, & learned of the hardships they were undergoing through shortage of luxuries , my wrath was truly invoked. Never mind we can pull together. We have succeeded in the past. I have a strong feeling that before much longer we are going to reap a very fine harvest, the results of seeds of faith & courage sown by you both in the days are hardship & worry. Wait and see! It is sometimes the waiting game that is the successful one. Don’t you think that applies in general today? I cannot quite understand the outlook of the girl at Smiths who suggested sending a small selection of cheap edition “thrillers & wild west stories” to prisoners. I suppose one can hardly expect her to appreciate the prisoners’ outlook, but believe you me thrillers & wild west stories are not our diet. The days of that type of fiction are over.
[page break]
I could write a better book myself of true experiences, than the average story that come under that category. You can see, you must, that people like ourselves have experienced so much that has been conflicting, so much reality not wrapped up in cellophane that we are bound to be changed, & having skimmed the superficialities the truth revealed is presented undiluted. It is that truth which breeds the cynics of W. when it comes to people proposing sending Wild West Stories & Thrillers to Ps of W. Forgive my outburst, but sometimes the safety valve blows. You might misunderstand me in my letters, but you won’t when I get home. Yes I shall write to Mr. Allen – thank you for the tip & for giving me the style of my own from. You must think my memory is weak forgetting that. I am running a little French class – my pupils include an ex bank cashier, a Metalurgical [sic] Research Chemist, & two Accountants. I think I learn more by trying to teach [inserted] than my pupils, [/inserted] & when we get into difficulties we pool our brains & try to thrash the problem out together. It’s good fun and passes the time. On my own I am studying Commercial French. I cannot get any practice speaking so I am devoting energy to try & write it for business use. The more I try the less I realise I know & become aware that there is such a lot more to learn. A funny little story which is not to my credit but maybe you will forbear to criticise. We had a party the night before last. Got a bit mixed up afterwards & I woke fully dressed in Jimmy’s bed outside, he was in my bed inside. This is but a phase, and will pass. My heart is still in England & with you both at home, all my love & thoughts. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Lists recent letters arrived and pleased that they had dispatch another parcel to him via the Red Cross. Discusses content of their letters praising their faith and courage. Provides considerable discussion about books in general. Mentions running a small French class and describes pupils. Says he is learning commercial French but cannot get any practice speaking. Mentions funny story about himself involving party.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-09
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420809
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria--Algiers
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
North Africa
Algeria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-09
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Peter Bradbury
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22827/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420811-0001.1.jpg
dc9b32655bb8ccce2e9b6703cc51df7a
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22827/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420811-0002.1.jpg
4a7ba5d569203a888ba66182f191f566
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J.D.Hudson.
c/o. Consul Général des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet
Alger. Algérie
11-8-42. Afrique du Nord.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
Today, I was very pleased to receive five letters, three from you Nos. 58, 61 & 62, and one each from Marjorie & Auntie Dorothy dated May 18th & 21st respectively. These [inserted] two [/inserted] came via ordinary P. of W. post & took their time. I was delighted to get the details of the letters you received from me. Some stupid fellow has lost the negatives of the “Camp Echo” photos and the only way we can obtain prints is to write to Tony’s mother who has received about twelve photos of different pages of several “Camp Echos”. I, like you, hope most sincerely that good news will be received of Ted Hole. I send all my sympathies to his Mother & Father at this tragic time. It was surprising to learn that Horace was in Libya I did not even know he was in the army. So John has become Mr. Claylin again. His promotion appears to be very slow. I remember he has been waiting since October 1940. This is the second time I have begun this page of my letter. The first time I struggled valiantly with a new fountain pen I bought in Laghaval, but it was no use and I am once again reduced to pencil. I still use the Waterman’s that E.W.T. sent to me for my birthday at B – in 1940. I know just how much you appreciate your garden, & I realise exactly how you feel about the little things that grow. I hope you will be able to save my cactus. Do not worry about my stamps. I never stamp my own envelopes, & how it is that some arrived stamped and others without is beyond my ken. In my next cable I shall advise you to cancel
[page break]
The “received to pay” system & revert to the pre-paid policy. It is cheaper by far, & I see no reason for adopting an idea which means paying at the rate of 4 1/2d per word. If I wish to send a long cable from this end and it comes to more than the pre-paid reply stipulates it merely results in my own account being debited with the extra few francs. As there is so little I can buy at this end there is no suggestion of financial embarrassment. At any rate I have paid for my last three cables & I hope you have not been called upon to foot any bill at your end. The cable of mine acknowledging receipt of thirty seven letters from you, received by you on July 4th or thereabouts, left me on May 28th. It therefore took 5 1/2 weeks, so you will understand that your letters are not taking longer, but if anything, are arriving quicker. I have received 60 of the first 62, and expect No 57 any day. No 11 I despair of, but nevertheless consider the delivery of the English mail excellent. I hope you will excuse the steam I let off in my last letter about the girl at Smith’s suggesting to send “thrillers & wild west stories”. But you will understand we don’t want that stuff out here. We have all day to read & that class of stuff is not very suitable. I am still teaching my small class French, and probably learn more than my pupils. It is a very small class including two ex Accountants, a Bank Clerk, & a Metalurgical Research Chemist. On my own I am studying Commercial French. I am getting the grammar mastred [sic] but do lack the opportunity of speaking which is so essential. I must leave you now until next letter. My thoughts are with you both always & I send all my love & wishes. Douglas.
P.S. We still have our Red Cross tea.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
List latest mail and was pleased to get details of the letters they had received from him. Writes that someone has lost the negatives of the photographs in the camp newspaper and the only way they can be recovered is from an internees mother who had received some photographs of pages of the paper. Catches up with news of missing and other friends. Discusses writing implements and other news from home. Mentions telegram systems and costs as well as discussing letters that have arrived. Discusses the type of book they do not want. Mentions still teaching his small French class.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-11
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420811
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-11
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Peter Bradbury
prisoner of war
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22830/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420815-0001.1.jpg
7571de8b7fd3fc8d67e29486c87ffdf4
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22830/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420815-0002.1.jpg
ebf1693ab5a128741e0a0dd8e2d53702
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
15-8-42.
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I wrote to you on Thursday acknowledging receipt of your letters 63 & 64 and also to thank you so very much for the first Red Cross parcel which arrived intact on Wednesday afternoon. I was very delighted to receive these things all of which are particularly useful. All the items you enumerated arrived safely together with a bar of shaving soap, 1 razor & 6 blades, one toothbrush, two toothpastes, 1 comb, 2 pencils, a [indecipherable word] and two khaki handkerchiefs. I presume the Red Cross put these with the parcel, possibly to make the weight up to ten pounds. I was also very glad to learn from your recent cable that you had despatched a second parcel on July 28th. I am afraid that footwear size 6½ would be too small. I require something durable no smaller than 7. Of your first 64 letters written up to July 23rd all have been received except Nos. 11 & 57. Jolly good. It also appears that my mail is getting home more satisfactorily. The cables sent from here are becoming very unreliable which is annoying; especially when I think my cable of May 28th did not reach you until July 3rd longer than it takes your letters. My last cable sent off on Thursday suggested you cancel the “receiver to pay” system & revert to the “pre-paid” replies. They are cheaper by far, & more satisfactory.
[page break]
The last three cables I have sent, I have paid for at this end & do hope you have not been called to pay anything. It does not make much difference to me because as I have explained so often there is very little I can spend my money on. Most of this letter is repetition of my last. I told you then how good the lifebuoy soap smelled, & that I was specially inviting people to come & have “sniffs”. Soap is at a premium – there just isn’t any beyond what little the Red Cross send. Believe you me it was a very welcome sight to see 6 bars of lifebuoy & to smell their presence. I often wonder what John will do next. We wonder continually what he & his kind will be expected to do & when they will be expected to do it. There are a lot of other things we wonder besides. It will soon be two years since I landed here, or rather in N. Africa. At that time I didn’t think I should be here for two weeks. We have suffered many changes since that date – pretty grim – and it more than makes us think[?] You have no idea how we feel sometimes. I don’t anticipate great improvements in the near future either. Thank God we have some Red Cross tea still left over. The weather has been better again. It has been considerably warmer than last summer at Aumale[?] & still is. I am afraid this letter has been most un-newsy. There is little I am in a position to say, although plenty I could say if I didn’t wish my letter to reach you. So good-bye until next letter. Keep smiling & in good spirits. All my love, thoughts & best wishes. Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of latest mail and of first Red Cross parcel from them full of very useful things. Lists contents and mentions some items added by Red Cross. Glad they had dispatched second parcel and discusses footwear sizes. Catches up with mail received and comments on some content as well as discussing telegram system. Repeats much of what he wrote in previous letters particularly how good lifebuoy soap smelled. Catches up with news and states it would nearly be two years since he landed in North Africa. They had suffered many changes in that time and he did not anticipate much improvement in conditions in the near future. Thanks that they have Red Cross tea left and comments on the weather.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-15
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420815
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-15
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22832/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420818-0001.2.jpg
95dcfb11c54adf8fc6274249be103e09
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/886/22832/EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420818-0002.2.jpg
af1e3adef230fc1c8d9db302f2b5bfa2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hudson, Douglas
James Douglas Hudson
J D Hudson
Description
An account of the resource
529 items. Collection concerns Pilot Officer James Douglas Hudson, DFC (755052 Royal Air Force) who joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and trained as an observer. While on route to Malta in August 1940 his Blenheim crashed in Tunisia and he was subsequently interned for two and a half years by Vichy French in Tunisia and Algeria. After being freed he returned to Great Britain and after navigator retraining completed a tour of 30 operations on 100 Squadron. The collection contains letters to and from his parents and from French penfriends while interned in Tunisia and Algeria, newspaper cuttings of various events, logbooks and lists of operations, official documents and photographs. A further 23 items are in two sub-collections with details of navigator examinations and postcards of Laghouat Algeria.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Elizabeth Smith and Yvonne Puncher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.<br />
<p>This collection also contains items concerning Louis Murray and Harry Bowers. Additional information on <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/202827/">Harry Bowers</a> and <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/220410/">Louis Murray</a> is available via the IBCC Losses Database.</p>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-06-16
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hudson, JD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Royal Air Force. 755052. Sgt. J. D. Hudson
c/o Consul General des Etats Unis.
Rue Michelet.
Alger. Algerie.
Afrique du Nord.
18-8-42
My Dear Mother & Dad,
I was very pleased to receive your letters dated June 30th & July 27th, Nos 57 & 65, this morning. The former envelope bares[?] the post mark Skipton & it has taken longer to get here than the [indecipherable word]. The arrival of these two letters means that all letters except No. 11 of the first sixty-five have reached me safely. This is very satisfactory, & it is also very comforting to learn from your latest cable that you received twenty-two of my letters since July 11th & to know that the first two cables I sent off in August reached you. My cable received by you on the morning of June 30th left my hands on June 13th & was in reply to your telegram of June 6th. The message I sent read
------” regret delay in replying unavoidable” ----- this was in no way due to indisposition on my part, I was quite well at the time. Causes beyond my control, of which alas I cannot speak, were responsible. I agree with you that 4½d per word is a ridiculous price to pay for telegrams, and I hope you will agree to my last cabled suggestion to cancel the “receiver to pay” system & revert[?] to the old way satisfactory idea of pre-paid replies, which are much cheaper. To date I have not used the
[page break]
“receiver to pay” system at all so you should not receive any debit at your end. I am glad to hear John is more comfortably situated and hope he will not be required to move afield. We expect our numbers to be trebled in the next few days which will make it pretty terrible & crowded. Enough said, I suppose you will have read the papers & heard the wireless. It is splendid of you to take all the trouble you are doing in sending parcels to me. The contents of the July 28th parcel sound to be just the ticket & will be really useful. I wired you, & mentioned in my past two letters, how pleased I was to receive your first Red Cross parcel on August 12th, perfectly intact. Splendid show. As for my relations & their coupons[?], to be frightfully [inserted] rude [/inserted] they can – well you know what they can do with their coupons.[?] At the moment of writing we are having a terrific mixed storm – thunder, rain and sand, which is a sign of hope that the very worst of the summer heat is nearly over. Enclosed are two photos which will show that I am not slimming. I am not looking very happy I admit, but the sun was so terrifically bright it was not easy to beam pleasantly with[?] the camera. You will probably be able to see from the ‘photo of me sitting down how brown I am. The other one taken standing up shows the tide line around my waist. I am hoping to get enlargements later on more carefully printed. These[?] are very hurried jobs complete[?] in one photo with photographer’s finger “points”[?]. Good-bye until next letter. All my love, thoughts & best wishes.
Douglas.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Douglas Hudson to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Catches up with mail received both ends. Writes of cables sent and received including problems with some and costs. Catches up with news from home and mentions camp numbers will be trebled in the next few days. Thanks them for the trouble they are taking to send him parcels and says how pleased he was to get the first one. Comments on storm (thunder, rain and sand) they are having and hopes that summer is nearly over. Comments that they will see from photographs how brown he is.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
J D Hudson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-08-18
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EHudsonJDHudsonP-HE420818
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Algeria
Algeria--Laghouat (Province)
Algeria--Algiers
North Africa
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-08-18
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
prisoner of war
Red Cross