1
25
9
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9173/EGortonHGortonLCM440118.1.pdf
20393169a29fe4a2f7c8bddbc2fbc393
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Cark
Tuesday
Dearest,
It’s 5.30 p.m. and I’m writing this letter now because I want to go to the Army Camp flicks after dinner.
Boddy has at last heard that he’s posted & is going early in February. It’s supposed to be a secret where he’s going, but it’s pretty common knowledge here that he’s going to the place he applied for.
He’s as happy as a sandboy about it, but I shouldn’t feel the same about it in his place. He’s going to a job he knows nothing about, and which may prove to be even more deadly than this. In addition, he’s leaving his wife & child for an indefinite period – which may be until the Pacific war ends.
[page break]
2.
Anyway, I am now regarded as a full Flt. Cmdr., & I don’t think there’s any doubt that if I am not posted, and if Group allows the C.F.I. to have his way, I shall get my acting F/Lt., say, in March, with luck. That of course, means that I shall probably stay here at least until midsummer.
I got a letter from Shaw this morning, and am feeling cheesed as a result. He is near Aberdeen, at a P.R.U. Mosquito O.T.U.! he was put up for Ops the same time as I was, and asked for P.R.U. or Transport. His posting came through Jan 1st, the only one at Rissington to get what he wanted. All the others went on to heavies. It’s enough to make anyone envious, isn’t it?
The C.F.I. came back from leave this morning & I have decided to start as I mean to go on.
[page break]
3
Just before lunch, as it had been a clamp all morning, and there was no prospect of flying this afternoon, I suggested that B flt. instructors should have the afternoon off, since it’s our day off tomorrow. I heartily disapprove of having to sit in the office for hours on end, when there’s nothing to do, & the C.F.I. is going to get a lot more suggestions of the same kind.
I’ve just got the text book for my correspondence course, so shall be able to start work properly now.
Apparently the C.F.I. took a dim view of my going to Dalachy on Monday. He thought I was trying to get out of the E.C.7.S visit on Feb. 8. Actually, I’d sooner do the course than get an A2, because I’m expecting to get some useful gen there, but I was able to reassure him by telling him
[page break]
4
that I should be back by the 8th as the course finishes on the 6th.
I’ve copied out two adverts from the papers today, in case you’re interested.
[circled 1] Teacher wanted, days, mornings, or full time; school near Oldham; small class, elementary maths, ability to take other subjects a recommendation; also person to take P.T. one afternoon weekly; particulars
Address: W14
Manchester Guardian
Manchester 2
[circled 2] Berks, Bucks, & Oxon Bureau of Health & Sickness Records will shortly require persons of either sex to collect information from public health, hospital, and other records, and for clerical & typing work incidental to the maintenance of a mechanical health & sickness system. Knowledge of statistics medical terminology, [deleted] typing [/deleted] [inserted] filing [/inserted] etc., advantageous but not essential.
[page break]
5
Training will be given according to duties.
Salaries not less than £182.
Part time considered.
Full particulars from
H. Cotton
Records Officer,
10 Parks Rd.,
Oxford.
Last Date: Jan 29
I don’t know what you think of either of these, but the second one sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
I’ll try to find time to look in the T.E.S. tomorrow in Lancaster.
By the way, would you mind doing some washing for me? I haven’t worked it out properly yet, and I may not need it, but I shan’t have received the washing I sent away today until I come back from Dalachy in 3 weeks time. If I think I shall be short, I’d like to send some at
[page break]
6
the beginning of next week so that you can send it on to Dalachy, but I shan’t do so if I can possibly manage without.
All my love, darling,
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of being posted to RAF Dallachy, domestic details, social activities and of a colleague’s posting. He includes details of two jobs which he think that his wife might be interested in.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-18
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440118
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
Civilian
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cumbria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
Photographic Reconnaissance Unit
RAF Cark
RAF Dallachy
RAF Little Rissington
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9175/EGortonHGortonLCM440119.1.pdf
723c4925a4dfe88748a30cfb6b870089
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Cark
Wednesday
Dearest,
I didn’t intend to write tonight – you’re not due for a letter until tomorrow! – but I’ve been thinking of you so much all day & then I got your letter this evening when I came back from my day off, so that I am putting law on one side until I’ve written to you.
I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing for me to have a day off on my own, although I don’t like going about with the others much. The trouble is that I start thinking, & I’m not sure that the results of my thinking are good.
In the first place it makes me wild to think of you cooped up there in a place you dislike, & yet able to move only at the pleasure of the MOLI –
[page break]
2
(Ministry of Labour & Interference!) As I go about I see so many women who seem to be happy & comfortable, & it makes me feel that it’s my fault that you aren’t the same.
In addition, the job prospect doesn’t seem very rosy. I’ve done a good deal of reading adverts lately – I looked at the T.E.S. in Lancaster today but won’t bother you with them as you’re already seeing it.
The conclusions I’ve come to are as follows:
[circled 1] The jobs MOLI will let you take aren’t the ones you want.
[circled 2] Other jobs that would be suitable often demand qualifications you haven’t got, even if MOLI would let you take them.
[circled 3] Even if you did get a job you liked, you might, remembering your Bath experience, find yourself moved from the frying pan
[page break]
3
to the fire. Perhaps I’m being unduly pessimistic, but I’ve been feeling that way all day, so, please forgive me, darling. (It’s so difficult to [underlined] write [/underlined] these things properly, isn’t it?)
My conclusions from all this will probably shock you, & I don’t want you to take them too seriously. I’m only trying to make you knock down the Aunt Sally I’m putting up!
[circled 1] Apart from the difficulty of living with your Mother & Grace (N.B. this difficulty always seems smaller to me when I’m away from Newhouse, so please make allowances for that), you are actually living in greater comfort than you could be anywhere else – good food, a comfortable house, the occasional use of a car etc.
[circled 2] We’re neither of us growing any younger, & as you say, the war, with all the attendant
[page break]
4
discomfort that it implies, will probably last for another couple of years.
[circled 3] [underlined] If we are [/underlined] going to have a family, now is the time to start one, because
(a) we probably shan’t be so well off immediately after the war as we are now, apart from the fact [deleted] (b) [/deleted] that we should get extra allowance & so on, plus the fact that we should be saving Income Tax at 10/- in the £.
(b) I’d sooner be living with you when we did have a baby, because I should consider it as much mine as yours, but on the other hand, [inserted] at Newhouse [/inserted] you would not be on your own in case of trouble.
(C) I don’t suppose the material difficulties – clothes, prams, maternity homes etc. – will be any easier for some time after the war.
(d) We’ve only had a year’s married life on our own, I agree,
[page break]
5
but if we leave this family business much longer, we’re going to be elderly, to say the least, before the child (or children) is able to leave us to ourselves in peace, & that doesn’t seem to me to be a good thing.
Will you please forgive me darling if I’ve said anything that has caused you the slightest pain. I’ve never thought of this family business in this way before & I want you to see what you think of it. I’m not even suggesting that we should have a baby. Quite honestly I don’t think I’ve [underlined] any [/underlined] right at all to suggest it. I’m only bringing this up in case you were intending to have one eventually, because if you say you don’t ever want to have one that’s [underlined] perfectly O.K. by [/underlined] me, & no question about it. Have I made myself clear?
The real trouble is that
[page break]
6
because you were so kind as to marry me (for which I can never be sufficiently grateful), and have been so patient with me ever since, I’ve got the idea that I can unload on to you any ideas I please. Now that I’ve got it off my chest, you can forget all about it.
All the above, incidentally, is because I’ve been thinking about you more than usual today, which is because I bought you a birthday present this morning – so you’ll have to take the rough with the smooth!
I went to Ulverston to buy your present. Unfortunately my train from Cark was late, so that I didn’t catch the next train back to Lancaster, where I wanted to get some more shopping done. As a result I got into Lancaster at 12.30, & by the time
[page break]
7
I’d looked at the T.E.S., all the shops were closed – early closing day. So I went to a flick instead & came back after tea.
I’m sending the present in your biscuit tin when I can get some paper & string. I’ll have to send it early, because I’m going to Dalachy on Sunday or Monday, but I don’t suppose you’ll mind that.
I don’t know whether you’ll like it. If the colour is wrong I can probably change it for a more suitable colour, but beyond question it’s the best they had in the shop. It’s what I call a real present, or at least it’s intended to be so – something not essential, but a pleasure to have. You don’t need to worry about the expense, because I’ve deliberately cut down my smoking so that the money I’ve saved is paying for the present.
[page break]
8.
The main point, which I hope you’ll appreciate, darling, is that I love you so much that I sometimes feel at my wits’ end for ways of telling you, & this present is just a very small token of the love I’m sending with it.
Your letter today was like a drink of water to a thirsty man, & I’ll now proceed to answer it.
Your telegram, of course, did not arrive – at least, not yet. Abergavenny doesn’t seem to be very good at telegrams, does it? This letter was the first intimation I’d had that you knew I’d passed. You obviously saw the paper, as you counted the names. That’s more than I did, as I didn’t bother once I’d seen my name in the list. As a matter of fact, it has made me wish I could take the next exam now, as this new stuff
[page break]
9
seems so easy in comparison with Contract & Tort.
I got back to Cark at 7.45 a.m. – in good time for breakfast. As for the fellow & girl I saw in the train at Hereford, if you must go into details! the safety factor as far as I was concerned was not that they were asleep, but that they were both fully clothed! But, as you say, nuff said!
I agree with you about the shock officers are going to get after the war. I notice it myself very much, & am afraid I shan’t like it when I’m a mere nobody in a shop or café!
Your weather must have been similar to ours. Today [deleted] was [/deleted] [inserted] is [/inserted] the first day we’ve done any flying since Friday – really solid clamps all the time since then. The Fortress people aren’t away
[page break]
10
yet, but are hoping to go tomorrow.
We had a bit of excitement last night, because one Nav. aircraft took off when the weather cleared, & came back in a clamp as bad as ever. It landed in a field outside Lancaster. The aircraft was damaged, but the crew were only shaken. Lucky, weren’t they? Apparently they saw some lights & thought they were at Cark!
I am definitely going to Dalachy now, & am very pleased. It will be my first visit to Scotland, and, as Dalachy is one of Banff’s satellites, I should be able to meet some old acquaintances, if there are any left! If I have time, I shall try to go over to Dyce to see Shaw, as Aberdeen is not far away.
[page break]
11
I’m glad you’re getting the T.E.S., as it’s a hopeless business trying to get a job without it.
I’m feeling very fit indeed, thank you, & hope you are too.
Re the certificates, I entirely agree. That’s just the amount I was wanting us to invest. So I now pass to you for action!
All my love, darling. If only we could be together again! I’m cheesed with this b- war.
Harold.
P.S. I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that I’m not fated to be killed in this war. After expecting to be dead by December ’41 (after 3 months on Ops) & then finding myself pushed into instructing, & after having
[page break]
12
flown 1300 hours without ever having been in difficulties or in danger, & after trying unsuccessfully for a year to get on to Ops, & now finding myself booked for another spell of instructing, I have now come to the conclusion that I shan’t be killed in this war. Is this a case of “famous last words”, or an actual prophecy, I wonder? Time alone will tell.
Look after yourself, darling,
Harold.
P.S. Got a very nice letter of congratulations from that tutor who lived in Jarrow. He says he thinks my passing the exam is a good show.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He considers the prospects of living together and starting a family. He writes of an aircraft landing in a field in Lancaster because of the weather, with some damage to the aircraft but no casualties. He also writes of his impending course at RAF Dallachy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-19
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
12 handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440119
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cumbria
England--Lancaster
Scotland--Moray
England--Lancashire
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
love and romance
RAF Cark
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9176/EGortonHGortonLCM440120-0001.1.jpg
f6e178f58c511dd32c29512dcccfee29
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9176/EGortonHGortonLCM440120-0002.1.jpg
373434aada366844f0f23418792e623e
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Cark.
Thursday.
Dearest,
I shall have to make this a quick letter, as my fire has gone out, & it’s rather cold here. The only purpose of it is to apologise for writing all the stuff I did in the first part of last night’s letter. I am a clot, darling, & I’m sorry for it. I hope you’ll forgive me.
Mother sent me a letter today to say that she has got my Australian parcel & is sending it on.
I don’t think I shall send you any laundry, as I’ll get my batman to send Tuesday’s laundry on to me, so that I shall be all right.
The C.F.I. told me today to take over A flight as from tomorrow in Boddy’s place. He
[page break]
2
also said various things about expecting me to “pull the flight together,” which shows he hadn’t a great opinion of Boddy!
I shall go to Dalachy either by train on Sunday night, or, if the weather looks good, by air on Monday morning. I’ll let you have my address as soon as possible.
All my love, darling. I wish I was going to Aber instead of Dalachy.
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes that he is taking command of A flight in place of a colleague who has been posted.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-20
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440120-0001,
EGortonHGortonLCM440120-0002
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
Civilian
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cumbria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
RAF Cark
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9179/EGortonHGortonLCM440122.2.pdf
478a6c4c2946abffb4f44a588929c340
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Cark
Saturday.
Dearest,
I’m starting this letter tonight, but I’ll leave it open until tomorrow, when I hope to have my Dalachy address.
You can’t tell how relieved I was to get a letter from you this afternoon. I thought there would be one in the post, but was afraid that it might not arrive until Monday, by which time I should be away.
I was greatly surprised to have no cracks from you on the subject of Bob’s photo! He’s certainly thinner than he was than you knew him, as his first year in the R.A.F. fattened him up a bit. He seems to be back to normal now.
Re my promotion, it’s
[page break]
2
quite the accepted thing now here. We’ve had two newcomers to the Mess, & each time the C.O. has introduced me he has said I’m to be given another ring when Boddy goes, which is supposed to be early in February. As for Facey, Roderick & Gillegin, they give me no mercy, always making cracks bout “Acting F/Lt Gorton”!, & saying how they’ll make my life a misery.
As a matter of fact, however, I’ve begun the other way. On Friday morning Roderick was being a bit obstreperous so I tore him off a large strip & told him he could either do things my way or go somewhere else. It’s made no difference to his friendliness, fortunately, & I’m quite prepared to give all the rest of the instructors the same treatment. I feel that I’ve been
[page break]
3
instructing & receiving orders long enough to know what I’m talking about, & I’m going to have my own way in future. (Is this the swelled-headedness you’re afraid of!)
Incidentally, Riches has been made assistant C.F.I. (a bit of a flannel, in my opinion), & I am to be in sole charge of both A & B flights.
What do you think about my next leave? The earliest date I can have is Mar. 3rd – 14th, but as I’m going to Dalachy for a fortnight & shan’t be back until Feb. 8th I’m not sure if the C.F.I. will approve of my having leave 3 weeks later. I think it may be better if we had the next period, from March 17th. Let me know what you think.
[page break]
4
I agree with you that I shall have to see that I’m not too optimistic about the law, but I don’t think there’s much danger. I also agree that even a few exams passed should be useful in getting a job.
As for exams for you to take, I’m a bit vague at present, but will write more on the subject later.
I seem to have written a lot of letters lately, so you shouldn’t be suffering from a shortage.
I sincerely hope you can wangle a medical certificate, as I want this P.T. teaching idea finally knocked on the head. Perhaps they’ll find you a nice job instead!
All my love,
Harold.
[inserted] Address:
The Junior Commanders’ School,
RAF Dallachy,
Near Elgin,
Morayshire. [/inserted]
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of his duties and arranging leave.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-22
Format
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Four handwritten sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
EGortonHGortonLCM440122
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
Civilian
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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cumbria
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
military discipline
RAF Cark
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9180/EGortonHGortonLCM440125.1.pdf
b6c6c4bad9b36503f93de1f576ab6462
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force crest]
The Junior Commanders’ School,
R.A.F. Dallachy,
Near Elgin,
Morayshire.
Tuesday.
Dearest,
This is the last opportunity I shall have of wishing you many happy returns, so I’ll begin by doing that. I hope your parcel arrived safely, and that you are pleased with the present.
I [deleted] sent [/deleted] set out on Monday morning, in company with F/Lt. (“Dicky”) Laird, a Canadian in charge of one of the towing flights. We changed at Carlisle and arrived at Glasgow at 5.30 p.m. We could have gone on then, but there was no point in arriving in the small hours, so we spent the night at the North British hotel & went to the flicks.
From Glasgow we caught the 10.00 a.m. to Aberdeen and then
[page break]
2
the 3.20 from there to Spey Bay, the station for Dalachy [sic]. This last part of the journey took 4 hours, as the train was very slow, and stopped at all sorts of wayside halts:- there must have been about 30 or 40 of them!
I consider this course to be definitely a good thing! It’s packed full of admin gen, the sort of stuff I’ve been wanting to know for a long time, and there are no unnecessary things like P.T.
We work from 8.30 to 12.30, lectures & talks, and from 4.30 – 7.30, & get three afternoons off during the course (i.e. no evening work)
While I was having breakfast at the North British, I saw S/Ldr & Mrs. Trotter, whom you no doubt remember from Ossington. If the weather had been fine this afternoon I should have gone to Dallachy today. Anyway, I hope to visit
[page break]
3
Dallachy & Banff before I go.
The officers on the course are mainly F/Lts. – about 4 S/Ldrs & the same number of F/Os. They are from all commands, & D.F.C.s are common; in fact, it is a distinguishing mark not to have a medal ribbon of some sort, if only the 1939-43 star!
One of the F/Os is a Cark pupil of last summer; a F/Lt. was a pupil at Ossington Apr – May 1942 (on Terwilliger’s course). He is now on Halifaxes. Another F/Lt. was with me at Desford, & has been instructing on Tigers ever since.
The food & Mess are very good, & the sleeping quarters are quite comfortable, four of us in a large Nissen hut. I haven’t talked to the fourth man yet, but the other two
[page break]
4
are O.T.U. instructors (Bomber & Fighter). As you can imagine, it is very refreshing to meet blokes from other commands and jobs, after being in a rut for a long time.
The only snag about this place is the weather. It’s pouring down this afternoon, & even when it’s not raining it’s cold and windy. Still, I’m very glad I’m here.
I don’t know how long letters will take from Abergavenny here, so I’m not presuming to hope for a letter from you until the end of the week. I must say I’m glad I got that letter on Sat. It would have been an awfully long time without hearing from you but for that.
I’m very interested to know how you got on with the Doctor.
[page break]
5
I hope you got your certificate O.K. Anyway, whether you did or not, I don’t want you to do a full time P.T. job, and I don’t suppose you can get any others.
As for something to study, [deleted] It’s [/deleted] it’s difficult to suggest anything. You can have my typewriter any time you want it, but I don’t think there are any courses you could start before next October. Did nothing come of your enquiries about social studies? If you could decide on a course, you could start reading for it now. Aren’t there any advertised in the T.E.S.?
That’s all for now. I’ll write again soon.
All my love,
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife from RAF Dallachy. He writes of his course and his journey to from RAF Cark.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-25
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Five handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440125
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Cumbria
Scotland--Moray
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
military living conditions
Nissen hut
Operational Training Unit
RAF Cark
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9192/EGortonHGortonLCM440128.2.pdf
e2849aa8c55a0b9441fb8569679d26e6
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force crest]
The Junior Commanders’ School,
R.A.F. Dallachy,
Near Elgin
Morayshire.
Friday.
Dearest,
Things are going very smoothly here although my head seems to be in a bit of a whirl owing to the gen that is being pumped in to us seven hours a day. Fortunately tomorrow is a half day off, and I shall go to Elgin on the liberty bus, so it should prove a useful break.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the A.F.U. I ran into Paddon at S.H.Q. He spared half a minute to say hello, & then disappeared. Whether he was very busy, I don’t know, but personally I thought he was rather rude.
Then I went to see Church,
[page break]
2
who at present is F/Lt i/c Night Flight. He gave me all the gen. Ozzy Stewart is group commander at Dallachy, & Faulkner, whom you may perhaps remember, is one of the other F/Lts. here. Dale & Padgham [inserted] & Hopkin [/inserted] are both F/Lts. at Banff, and I shall go over to see them some afternoon.
All the other former Flt. Cmdrs. are on Ops, mostly heavies, but Tasker & Smith are on night fighters (the heavies are Doyle Williams, Morris, Red Stewart, etc.).
I must say I felt considerably shaken during & after my visit. Although I’ve no love for my former unit, & suspect that there’s still the same drive & bind there as of old, yet it does seem unfair that these blokes, all junior to me, should have been F/Lts for some time
[page break]
3
while I am still an F/O. It may be luck, but I suppose [deleted] this [/deleted] it’s my fault actually, since the people who are successful are usually the ones who deserve it.
Pardon the above moan. I had to get it off my chest, but am O.K. now.
I half dared hope there would be a letter from you this morning. It will be a week tomorrow since I had a letter from you, & although [deleted] I [/deleted] it doesn’t worry me if I don’t get a letter, it just accentuates the unpleasantness of separation so much more keenly. If this course had only been in the south of England, I might have called to see you en route, but as it is, I shall have
[page break]
4
to wait until I can get some leave. It seems ages off now, & the fact that I’m another 4 – 500 miles away from you seems to make it so much worse.
I wish I could see you again.
All my love,
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of his course and colleagues past and present.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-28
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440128
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Scotland--Moray
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
aircrew
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9193/EGortonHGortonLCM440130.2.pdf
17c8f7bf3cdd547923a8e967b6f75385
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force crest]
J.C.S.
RAF Dallachy,
Nr. Elgin,
Morayshire,
Sunday.
Dearest,
To say that your letter, which arrived yesterday, was welcome, is a shocking understatement. It cheered me up no end, and made me feel a new man.
As far as my acting F/Lt. is concerned, the C.F.I. told me that as soon as Boddy goes, which is supposed to be early in February, they will submit my name, & it’s quite possible it will be through before the end of February. Of course, that doesn’t stop them posting me before then, but I somehow don’t think it will come through as early as that.
As for promoting you, the only thing I can say is that where I’m concerned, you’re already top of the tree, and since I love you more and think
[page break]
2
more of you than anyone else, I can’t do anything more about it! Anyway, even if you don’t like the line you’re in, please don’t change it, in one respect at least (being married), because I can’t bear the thought of losing you, even in joke.
I didn’t ask for P.R.U. but only for night & day Mosquitos, so that may be the reason I didn’t get posted.
The course here is 2 weeks. We leave here on Monday morning, so I shall be back in time for the E.C.7.S. visit. I shan’t have flown for a fortnight, but I don’t think it will make any difference. It never seems to do so when I come back from leave. As for the A2., I don’t think there’ll be much doubt about it, not because I think I’m very good, but because I made a good impression on the C.F.I. when I flew with him at night, and I rather fancy he’ll give me a
[page break]
3
strong recommend. It would look bad if his new F/Cmdr didn’t get it, wouldn’t it?
I’m delighted that you are pleased with your present. It was rather a shot in the dark, because you’ve always pooh poohed the idea of a handbag when I’ve suggested it before. Still, I didn’t like the idea of your being reduced to one handbag, so I thought I’d risk it.
Affleck told me of the shop in Ulverston where they sell them. They had a number of others that were quite good, but yours was definitely the best, & the woman in the shop said they couldn’t get any more of that kind of leather.
Don’t be silly with your
[page break]
4
talk of spoiling you! I couldn’t do it if I tried, and I certainly do little enough for you as it is. Just [deleted] by [/deleted] being you and being kind enough to have married me is all the thanks I ever want, and if you start talking about “doing something for me” in return I shall have to spank you! You ought really to be indignant because I do so little for all the happiness you’ve given me!
I’m very glad you got a Dr’s certificate, and you [underlined] must [/underlined] go to Newport to see this osteopath or whoever he is. I don’t care how much it costs. No amount is too much if it promises a bit more comfort or well being for you. Is that clear? If I don’t hear soon that you’ve been to see him I shall be very angry. You don’t need to worry about the P.T. job, because even if he can cure your foot, you’ll
[page break]
5
be able to get [deleted] anoth [/deleted] a job before the cure is complete.
As for the babies, I’m glad to see that you realised there was no immediate hurry for them. I wasn’t suggesting artificial insemination or third party assistance! I meant, of course, waiting at the earliest until my next leave. I was only thinking that time is flying (2 1/2 years married now!), and that the longer we wait, the worse it will be for you.
I’m sorry you are still having bad luck in finding a house. It’s a devil of a business, isn’t it? Of course I approve of your getting a job if you can, though I was thinking that it’s not so easy as we thought, and that you might
[page break]
6
prefer not to have some of the jobs they may compel you to take.
The socks are mere packing. They are supposed to be clean, so I hope they didn’t affect the parcel. As I never use them I don’t want you to consider sending them back.
I’m surprised to hear you are getting on so well with your new frock. Shall I be able to help with the fitting when I’m on leave, or will it be finished by then?
We had a half day off yesterday, & a lorry took us to Elgin after lunch. I [deleted] went [/deleted] [inserted] walked [/inserted] round the town with the fourth man in my hut – he’s on a Typhoon squadron, but is a very quiet chap, quite unlike the ordinary fighter boy. Incidentally, do you remember how an American aircraft carrier took some Spitfires to the Mediterranean, & the R.A.F. pilots
[page break]
7
took off from the deck & flew to Malta, at the height of the attack on the island, 18 months ago? He was one of that crowd.
We had a sight-seeing tour on our own, as we took the first lane we saw that led out of town, and came upon an old water mill on the banks of the Spey. The miller showed us all round it & explained everything. The amazing thing to me was that the one wheel supplied all the power for the whole mill, & no electricity or steam was used. The miller said that the mill was started in the 12th century!
Anyway, we’d quite a pleasant time, although I couldn’t get a new battery for my torch!
We had an egg for breakfast
[page break]
8
this morning – a great treat – the first I’ve had since I left Newhouse.
I got a letter from Susan on Friday. She thanked me for my letter, and asked to be remembered to you.
Look after yourself, darling.
All my love,
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of his social activities, domestic details and of his colleagues.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-01-30
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Eight handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440130
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Scotland--Moray
Malta
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01
love and romance
Mosquito
Photographic Reconnaissance Unit
RAF Dallachy
Spitfire
Typhoon
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9194/EGortonHGortonLCM440201.2.pdf
3e52f06aa05a7adf8a8e1e794c50f33e
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force crest]
Dallachy
Tuesday
Dearest,
I shall have to write this in pencil, as my pen has run dry. I’ll borrow a pen later to address the envelope. The course is going on steadily. It’s quite hard work, - seven hours lectures etc., each day, & it’s becoming a bit of a bind, but I really am glad I’ve come on the course, as it gives all the gen I’ve been wanting for some time.
We’ve had four exams already, and have three more to come. They are a bit of a farce, really, as we have all our books in front of us, and it’s just a matter of looking up the correct answer in K.Rs or some other publication. Even so, I only got
[page break]
2
80% in the exam we’ve had the marks for, but that was partly because the question I answered wrong wasn’t in the books at all.
I went on to the aerodrome today, & Ozzy Stewart (who asked to be remembered to you), fixed up a trip to Banff. I did all the flying, & coped O.K. (first time in an Oxford for nine months), but my landing wasn’t so hot owing to a very strong gusty cross wind. At one point, after we’d landed at Banff, we had to turn in to a hard standing to avoid another aircraft. The other pilot, who’d been instructing 3 months, took over from me & turned it round, much to my amusement, as he must have thought I should find the turn difficult!
At Banff, I rang up Padg, who came over in his car, an Austin 7, and took me to the Mess. There I saw
[page break]
3
Chisholm & Sutherland, the two nice Australians who arrived at Ossington about 12 months ago, & various other people whom you don’t know. Hoppy & Varn, unfortunately, were away on day off.
Then Padg drove me to Banff, where I met Carol & Mr & Mrs Deffee, who are living with the Padghams. They all asked to be remembered to you.
Young Bob Deffee has grown out of all recognition & is a terrific size. Mrs. Padg has a baby son, six weeks old. She was rather funny on the subject. She said that you & she had been talking to Mrs Robishay at Sutton one day, & that you had definitely said you wouldn’t have a baby. She said she hadn’t been definite,
4
because “you can never be certain.” She hadn’t known about it herself, when she left Ossington, so obviously the baby was unpremeditated. I think it was very remiss of you not to have given her some lessons in [underlined] effective [/underlined] birth control!
I think I’ve given you most of the news about our old acquaintances but Deffee is now waiting for his commission to come through. Coleman has just come out of hospital & has been discharged the service, although he’s allowed to wear his uniform. He has to rest for a year. He was ill with pleurisy but it sounds to me more like tuberculosis. Incidentally, he got married in June, went sick on his honeymoon, & has only just got out of hospital! We’ve been luckier than some people, haven’t we? Even so, I must confess I feel rather envious of the Padghams.
[page break]
5
Padgham told me that Pullen became a Wing Co., but is now reported missing. Johnson is now a Group Captain, so he’ll not go on raids, now, I expect.
One little point I forgot to criticise in your long letter last week is that you seem to expect me to be killed because I’m flying. I take a dim view of that because you must think I am pretty dim. Otherwise, it’s impossible for me to be killed in my present job.
By the way, Ozzy Stewart told me that Paddon couldn’t even remember my name when he saw me. Not very good, is it?
I’m sorry if the fact that you are married made you turn down that Edinburgh job. You do understand, don’t you, darling, that you are to decide
[page break]
6
first of all whether you want any job, & we’ll fix up a way and means for me to see you afterwards. Try & not let my existence influence you in your choice, because I want you to get a job you’d enjoy doing.
Of course I know the Edinburgh job was P.T., & I’m jolly glad you’ve got the Dr’s certificate.
Edinburgh is quite a good place, I believe, but full of [indecipherable word] now.
After the first two days, the weather improved greatly. We’ve had very little rain, [deleted] the [/deleted] it has been much warmer, but we’ve had plenty of high winds. It was very bumpy flying today.
I don’t think I particularly want [indecipherable word] book, unless it’s very good. I never fancy reading speeches somehow.
All my love,
Harold
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of flying to RAF Banff, meeting ex-colleagues and the weather.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-02-01
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440201
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
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Scotland--Aberdeenshire
Scotland--Moray
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-02
aircrew
Oxford
pilot
RAF Banff
RAF Dallachy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/660/9195/EGortonHGortonLCM440203.1.pdf
4a2d0ed7fad55683c86fb7fcc5d8a6d7
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
Gorton, Harold
Description
An account of the resource
136 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Harold Gorton (1914 - 1944, 120984, Royal Air Force) and contains eight photographs and 126 letters to his wife and family. Harold Gorton studied at Oxford, and throughout his time in the RAF he continued studying law. He completed a tour of operations as a pilot in 1941 and was then posted as an instructor to RAF Cark. He returned to operations with 49 Squadron stationed at RAF Fulbeck in 1944. He was killed 11/12 November 1944 during an operation to Harburg.<br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Mair Gorton and Ian Gorton, and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Harold Gorton is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/108964/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
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
2017-05-30
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
Gorton, H
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] P.S. Don’t bother about Last Train from Berlin. I’m a bit tired of war books. [/inserted]
[Royal Air Force crest]
Dallachy
Thursday.
Dearest,
I got your letter postmarked 1st Feb today. That’s quite quick, isn’t it? We really have had good weather most of the time, but today is very wet. Fortunately we’ve only 100 yds to go to the lecture room and 250 yards to our billet, so the weather doesn’t matter much.
We’ve had two more exam results, & I seem to be keeping a steady average – 80, 78, 80, 77. If I keep this up I shall be very pleased, and I really see no reason why not as in only one exam are we not allowed to use our books. We’ve only got three more exams now, so I expect I shall be all right.
We’ve started hearing
[page break]
2
students' lectures today. Naturally I refused to put my name down for one as I should have looked rather silly talking about Training Command.
The first two today were very good, one by a Squadron Leader D.F.C. & Bar about the work of Bomber Command & the other one a description [deleted] of [/deleted] [inserted] by [/inserted] an Australian F/O [deleted] ab [/deleted] of how he landed in the Bay of Biscay to pick up two crews from ditched aircraft, handed the crews over to a destroyer, and then damaged his hull in taking off so that he had to land his Sunderland on an aerodrome. Perhaps you remember reading about it in the papers last April.
I’m glad you are getting my letters now. My first one was delayed, because I couldn’t write on the night I arrived, & so missed
[page break]
3
Wednesday’s post, & the letter didn’t go until Thursday at 8.30 a.m.
You’re quite right about it not being very long now before I’m on leave again. With luck it won’t be much more than a month, but I’m just a bit doubtful whether the C.F.I. will approve of my going on leave almost as soon as I‘ve got back from this course. Still, we’ll see.
As for the house in Llanvetherine, of course I’m interested, but make sure that it really will do for you before you plunge. Any house that has only [deleted] [indecipherable letters] [/deleted] you & me in it will suit me down to the ground, because anyway I shall be in it only for short
[page break]
periods, but you’ll have to use it a good deal more than I shall, so it rests entirely with you. If you decide to try for it, pay for it whatever you fancy, and it will be O.K. with me. Actually, if it’s not too inconvenient, it should suit us admirably, especially since it’s reasonably close to Newhouse. But will your mother let you take it?
I quite appreciate, of course, how unsettled you feel because of the Ministry of Labour. They really are a pest, and I wish they’d make up their minds properly.
I think it would be better to do a Social Science certificate rather than a Froebel course, unless you are very keen on young children – which I somehow [deleted] dobut [/deleted] [inserted] doubt! [\inserted]
[page break]
5
I think the openings will be much better and the course more interesting. I think you’re right in doing no more about the Social Science until you know where you stand with the Ministry of Labour.
I’m setting off from here on Monday morning, & shall probably arrive at Cark in the small hours on Tuesday. I shall be gone before the post goes on Monday, so it will be as well if any letter which [deleted] d [/deleted] can’t get here for Saturday is sent to Cark.
I wish I could see you again darling.
All my love,
Harold.
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/.
Description
An account of the resource
He writes of the weather and his course.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Harold Gorton
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-02-03
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Five handwritten sheets
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
EGortonHGortonLCM440203
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
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Civilian
Royal Air Force. Training Command
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Harold Gorton to his wife
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Scotland--Moray
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-02
aircrew
military living conditions
military service conditions
RAF Dallachy
Sunderland
training