Radar Training: 1st July 1943 to 1st March 1944
Letter 1
6/7/43
Dear Tony,
How are you all getting along at Skeg?
We are doing fine down here. Cliff Gary & Ernie Hatley have gone to Lewisham & the rest of us are at Islington.
We study at the Northern Polytechnic in Holloway Rd. The course is going to be pretty stiff but it’s interesting.
We still do weapon training PT etc but only a few lessons a week.
I am sharing a room with Johnny & Ed. Chris is also in our billet. Scotty is a long way away from us & his billet is not very good, ours is a smashing place – the best in the station we were told & it is easy to believe. Pre-war it was a hotel & in fact a few civvies are still there.
We have wardrobes for our clothes & plenty of draws to put our kit in.
Linoleum on the floors & rugs. A chair each & the beds are similar to RAF beds but longer & we get a mattress 2 sheets 3 blankets & 2 feather pillows. We have been able to fold up our kit bags & webbing because we shan’t need them for at least 6 months.
We go on parade in the morning at 7.40 & have breakfast at 8. From 8.30 to 10.15 we have a lesson then 15 minutes break & another lesson till 12 when we have dinner. The food is better than Skeg but we don’t get so much because we are on Civvy rations. At 13.00 we start work till 15.15 & then we have another 15 minute break from 15.30 to 17.00 we work & then have tea & we are off duty.
We have to do 2 or 3 hours homework most nights but we have more facilities for amusement but if we have to join in the billet orderly we have to get up 10 minutes earlier to call the others and for parade and although we have to Firewatch at the poly about every 3 weeks we get paid for it.
We get a 36 hr pass every weekend & while we are here we will also get 2 48 hr & 2 7 day leaves..
Pretty cushy isn’t it?
I hope you have not been driven to hard since we left, but you only have another week to go now & I expect you should be quite well off at your next billet.
I have several other letter to write so I must close now.
Cheerio & all the best
From Don
Letter 2
6/7/43
Dear Freddy,
How does the Army suit you? I hope you are getting along ok & not being pushed around too much like I was at Skeg.
I was home last weekend for the first time & I called to see if you had gone & your mother said you went last Thurs.
What kind of rifle did you get? A P14 I suppose. We did some drill with an SMLE which thank goodness we have now got rid of.
I left Skeg last Thursday (skipping the last 2 weeks of my course) & am now stationed at the Northern Polytechnic Holloway Rd.
I am here on my course for 24 weeks. I am in a really super billet – I never expected much comfort while I was in the RAF; it’s just like a home from home.
The course is extremely stiff & I am having to work in the evenings but as I can go home every weekend I don’t mind so much.
I am enclosing a photo I had taken at Skegness.
I hope you will prove to be a better shot than I am. I scored 8 of a possible 80 with the rifle but with the Sten I got 23 out of 30. I went over the assault course once. I didn’t find it very hard but the one at Skeg is really simple compared with most.
I was lucky to leave Skeg so early because I missed all the route marches & efficiency tests & they are really hard.
I had a grand time last Wednesday night. We went out & celebrated & nearly wrecked Skegness.
When we got back we had 4 drunks & had to tie one in bed because he kept wandering about to make sure everyone was in bed.
As I have to do some studying now I shall have to close. I hope you get on o.k. & I hope I shall soon be seeing you again.
Cheerio & all the best, your old pal, Don
Letter 3
20/07/43
Dear Freddy,
Thanks for your letter & I would have answered before but as I said before we are kept busy during the evenings.
I am glad you soon got used to the new life & I hope you did well on the range last Monday.
Ern is going stronger than ever with Jean. He has just started a government course on instrument making, I think he is in something that really interests him at last.
We had a Church parade last Sunday & I didn’t get a pass but I went home & came back for the parade.
I am writing this to the strains of Harry Parry playing “Running Wild” on our wireless. One of the chaps has made the set & I have brought some records from home. So we are well off for entertainment in the billet.
Have you a wireless in your hut? We had one at Cardington but the damn thing didn’t work.
Be sure you let me know when you will be home & I’ll come down & see you.
Well that about all for now so cheerio & all the best Don.
Letter 4
20/7/43
Dear Mr Richards,
After 9 weeks in the RAF I have now quite settled down & am in my Technical training course.
I went through my preliminary course at Skegness. I arrived there on May 20th & left 6 weeks later.
The first 3 weeks I hit drilling – 2 weeks of foot drill & a week of rifle drill, getting our coursework where we had lectures at the local theatre. The lectures varied from Current Affairs to care of Fire Extinguishers.
This next part of the course is your Field Service training. It was very interesting & we learnt to use the rifles & Stens. How to throw grenades & general fieldcraft which included taking cover, silent crawling, unarmed combat, firing on attacking planes etc. this part is actually supposed to last 8 weeks but the 12 RDF Mechs in the flight left a fortnight before the end of the course. For some reason this is the usual thing. We didn’t know where we were going till we boarded the train & we found we were bound for London. & we finally arrived at the Northern Polytechnic in Holloway Rd.
We were very lucky. The previous week the RDF mechs went to Leeds & the week after they landed up in Wales. The course here is very stiff & I do about 3 hrs a night homework on the average. But I think I shall pass if I stick to it.
I certainly don’t want to fail any of the exams, which we get every 6 weeks, because I get a 36 hrs pass every weekend while here & after each exam we get a leave – 2 48 hrs & 2 7 days.
The course lasts 6 months & then some go on to RDF work which is another 2 or 3 months & the rest have a further wireless course of about 4 months, although what more there is to learn when you leave here I don’t know.
I am in a marvellous billet here. It was actually a youth hostel pre-war & in fact a few civilians still live here. After the Skegness billets – bare boards & beds – it seemed marvellous to have linoleum & carpets & slats & feather pillows & a wardrobe & plenty of drawers to keep your kit in.
One of my pals has made a wireless & I brought along some records so we have plenty of entertainment in the room in the billet.
We have been told that most of us will be going to the Far East, probably India in about a years’ time, a prospect I am not looking forward too.
While at Skegness we had an invasion exercise. It was not exactly a pleasant experience but I don’t think I would have missed it if I had been given the chance.
I had a special course on gas detection for it & my section was posted in the forward line as gas spotters. The Corpl made a rota out & we took turns at the various posts. It fell to my lot having to be in the most isolated post of the town. I was in the middle of the golf course in a bunker most of the night right in the front of our front line.
While I was off guard having a nap at our H.Q. a draughty little wooden hut, they have to let off some C.A.P. about 50 yds away & we had to get into our anti gas clothes & masks & deal with it, which mainly meant standing by till the wind blew it away.
Well although there have been quite a lot of things I didn’t like, on the whole I like the RAF. The only drawback is I like Civy St. more. Still the way things are going I don’t think the war will last very much longer.
One thing for the RAF they certainly make you feel very fit, I haven’t felt so well for ages.
I should be on 7 days in about another 9 weeks, according to my calculations night schools should have reopened then & I will pop in to see you one night & till then
I remain
Yours sincerely
Don Redhead
Letter 5
2/8/43
Dear Freddy
Thanks for your letter which I got Thursday. The photo is jolly good & I soon picked you out.
Jolly good going with the shooting. Does your 1st class cert. entitle you to extra pay? A chap in the army last war told me that in those days good marksmen got extra pay.
I found while shooting that provided you held the rifle lightly you didn’t feel anything. What I didn’t like was the noise. I was deaf for several hours after.
Ern isn’t far from me on his course & is able to get home every night. But he may go away when he finishes his course.
Do you know yet what they will put you in?
You get your 7 days before me. Mine come at the end of Sept. after the 2nd exam.
We are in the middle of preparing for our first exam which starts this week. Although I was home over the holiday from Friday night to Monday night I had to spend a lot of time working.
You have no idea how browned off you get when you have wireless lectures all day & then have to work on it all night, still the work is worth doing because of being in London. I have also found that after my 6 months here I spend the next 4 months doing practical work (initially sets in planes etc) & probably I will go to Sth Kensington for it.
Well I must carry on swotting so I reluctantly close now.
Cheerio YOP Don
Letter 6
12/8/43
Dear Tony,
I must apologise for the very long delay in answering your letter but we had our first exam last week & I was “genning” frantically the previous fortnight. I was absolutely sick of wireless but it played a handsome dividend. I finished up with over 90% for the wireless & my final figures for all tests was over 80%. Johnny, Chris Ed & Jack all easily passed as well.
I have had a complete rest since, until tonight when I did about 15 minutes of reading.
We are just getting on to some really juicy work on AC, involving Trig & calculus. You should thank your lucky stars you are an op & not a Mech. I can see myself bald headed (where I’m tearing my hair out) & in a padded cell before the end of the course. But joking apart I never realised until I began, this course what are the terrible consequences of switching on a wireless set.
You seem to have landed on your feet at Cranwell & by now you have almost finished your course.
While we are still poor trainees you will be qualified tradesmen, still we are learning something useful & I’ve no complaints while I can go home often.
By the way the “Met” men of 21 Flight have finished up near Piccadilly Circus & apparently they are having a damn good time – service rations – late passes every night – long weekends etc.
Our Civy rations are our chief grumble, I’m existing almost entirely on bread & butter.
I expect you are looking forward to a 7 day leave now. We have 6 more weeks to wait for ours.
The time is getting on so I must close now, wishing you all the best
From Don.
Letter 7
20/9/43
Dear Fred,
Told him about parade next Sunday.
Arranged to hear from him.
Wished him best about exams.
Hope to see him soon
Dear Freddie, 7/11/43
Told him about exams
Leave.
Volunteering for RHDHR
About the course 7 page letter.
My Jankers
Girls
Practical jokes we play.
Letter 8
7/11/43
Dear Les
Hail a proud wearer of white flash in forage cap & how do you like the RAF.
Bert gave me your address & I was going to write to you last week but our 3rd exam was held last Friday & all last week I was genning. It’s a good job I did because the exam shook me.
It’s been some time since we last met, I did call at your place one Sunday some time back but no one was in. if I remember rightly it was a couple of weeks before you joined up .
Reg went in the army last Thursday.
I am at present on a 48 hr leave & I have now only one more leave from this place that’s in 6 weeks’ time after the final exam. I have volunteered to go as RADAR/Mech if I get it I shall be at Sth Ken for about 4 months. But let’s get on with our favourite subject – Jazz. I saw in your letter to Bert that you aren’t getting much chance of playing. I hope since your wrote things have altered.
I don’t know what I should do if I couldn’t still play.
I’m at Elcaas 2 or 3 times a week & I do other jobs sometimes. Next Sat Bert Ron & I are at Russell Rd school while Fred & the rest do Pretoria.
The week after Ron & I are at Pretoria & I’ve got to scrounge a drummer somewhere as Bert is with the MBB’s.
Last night I went up Pretoria. The band consisted of Fred, Bert, Jim, Jim’s pal John on violin & Reg’s pal on Sax. Kenny Bristow sent a message saying he had an abscess on his lip & couldn’t play. I played before the interval & really enjoyed myself although I am afraid the standard of the setup had decreased.
No longer do they play That’s a Plenty – Rocking in Rhythm etc. -no longer do they go right through Orks as we used to do. It gave me a nostalgic yearning for the old days & I wished I could have put the clock back by about 2 years – do you remember those days at Fairbairn when you couldn’t be heard at the bottom of the hall. If we could all have seen into the future I think things would have been vastly different. Now all we can do is wait for the time when once again we can start off with “Goodbye Blues” & What a day that will be & I hope from then onwards it will be as the tune says – Goodbye Blues.
In the meantime we must see what can be done in the way of leave – when do you get one. If I am still in London I think – in fact I am sure I can wangle a couple of nights.
What’s your course like – any radio theory – the mysteries of Ohms Low, Reaction Neutralisation, AVC, Thermionic Value Theory, modulation, detection etc. , or do you just have to know how to transmit & when you muck up a set leave the repairs to the W/Mechs.
You are apparently having a good time on the range, I had a go recently & got 3 balls & a magpie & an outer with 5 shots.
Do you get much bull at your place, the Poly reeks of it since we had a new C.O. We get ½ hrs drill every night & chaps go on charges every day for various things. I expect though that as you are future heroes of the air you are pampered & have a better time than we do, our grub especially, is awful.
How long does your course last.
Is George still in the Isle of Mann & how is he getting on. Does the Morse affect you at all, one of the chaps with me had to come off a Waps course because the Morse nearly drove him nuts. Everywhere he went he heard Morse. When anyone spoke to him he just heard dots & dashes all the time.
That’s about all my news so I’ll wish you & your folks all the best & hope to be seeing you as soon as poss. If not sooner.
Cheerio the old Ivory Basher
Don
P.S. have your learnt any RAF songs like Lala & Ain’t it a Pity yet.
https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-39434.html.
Isn’t it a pity she’s only one titty
Letter 9
9/11/43
Dear May,
I am sorry to have to disappoint you next Saturday, but it seems probable that I won’t be able to be at the dance at all, as on Monday morning my pal & I were caught at Moorgate Stn by 2 SP’s & if they do report us we shall be on a charge & have to do Jankers for some considerable time.
It seems a pity as I was looking forward to a repeat of last Saturday.
However I have sketched out a rough map of the district, as it will probably explain how to get to Russel Rd school better than words. Anyway I might not hear anything before the weekend, I’ll try to let you know definitely if possible.
Bert & I were in the middle of Balaam Sty where the houses have all been flattened out when he dived. We thought we would have to dive too.
It’s funny you should tell me not to get too friendly with the Waaf’s because one of the chaps at the billet went to see his Waaf friends at the Balloon site last night & came back with an invitation for all of us to go around for a dance one night. I’ll remember your admonishment when I’m there though.
Well it’s now well past 11pm & the boys are yelling for me to put out the light so I must close now,
Hoping to be able to see you Saturday.
Yours sincerely,
Don
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(& it’s not my football pool entry)
Letter 10
15/11/43
Dear May,
Thank you for your letter which I read last Sat but tonight is the first opportunity I’ve had to answer.
The SP’s report came through on Wed & I was sent to Sth. Ken. to go before the Sqn Ldr & he gave me 4 days, good job I had a good excuse or I should really have had it. If I never see another potato it will be too soon. I finished my Jankers last Sat night. Luckily I met a Waaf Corp who is engaged to a pal of mine& she got the Sgt to let me off at 6 instead of 8.
I arrived at the dance at 8. It was fine & I really enjoyed myself. Sunday I had to be back at the billet at 10.30 as I had no pass & I’m not really staying out anymore.
We are at Pretoria next Sat & I expect I shall be seeing you then.
I’ve spent this evening firewatching at the Poly & at last I’ve found someone who is even worse at snooker than I am. He beat me at billiards thought.
The only part of Firewatch I like is the supper. It’s the only decent meal we ever get at this place.
It’s only 3 weeks to our final exam & I intended to do some work tonight but so far I haven’t done any. I’ll have to get down to some soon otherwise I doubt that I shall become a Radar Mech after all.
I would have liked to have seen do your tap dance, maybe I’ll have that pleasure some future date.
I think I’ll get Ken to visit the pictures with me tomorrow night & then on Thursday I’ll have to do some work in preparation for our IC Engineers exam on Friday morning.
It is now 10.30 & I really must do my usual evening spell of bull (RAF term, unsuitable for repetition to young ladies, meaning cleaning of boots & buttons) so I am afraid I shall have to close now.
It’s not a long letter but as you can imagine nothing evert happens to brighten the lives of poor little AC’s so there isn’t much to write about except wireless which I’m sure you’re not interested in & I’m hanged if I’d like to write about it. So cheerio till Saturday
Y S Don
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PS I have just found Ken looking over my shoulder I he says he can think of much better ending than mine when he writes to girls but I’ve told him actions speak louder than words.
Letter 11
18/11/43
My Dear May,
I received your letter this morning. On reading your rebuke about wondering whether I had received your letter I thought I best to sit down & rack my brains to put together a letter tonight, to save getting told off on Sat. (I’m only kidding, it’s nice of you to want me to write so often). As I write this the sirens have commenced their warbling. (I wonder why they are called sirens, the original sirens were beautiful mermaids who sat on rocks & lured passing mariners to their doom).
Since writing that marvellous literary effort I have sat back & enjoyed a fag & the all clear has gone. Short & sweet, that’s how I like em.
It looks as though you’ll have to get round the DW & persuade him you didn’t really mean to stay out so late last Sat.
We are supposed to patrol the Polytechnic while on firewatching, but the Civvies are always so interested in their snooker that they don’t bother, & as they are in charge it’s not for us to go wandering around the corridors in the cold.
Pray gentle maiden spare me from the potatoes, I still see their eyes staring at me.
Thanks for your final exam wishes, I know I shall pass.
All that’s worrying me is whether I go to Bolton or Sth Ken.
After what you said about your tap dance I’m sure I would have enjoyed being there.
“Ken” happens to be one of my pals, a very nice chap & he’s a real “gen man” at radio, I sometimes think he knows more than our instructors. He’s a bit of a Romeo thought. At present he’s out seeing a Waaf he met at a dance last Friday. What do you mean by the Waaf’s stale, last night was the first night I’ve ever met Waaf’s socially when we visited the Tufnell Park Balloon-Site & then all I did was play the piano for a couple of hours.
You say you like writing to the RAF, do you mean all of it or one particular person.
Well I’ve used about all the notepaper I scrounged of Ken (not the one I previously mentioned) so I’ll have to finish now.
Cheerio till Sat & all my love
Don
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Letter 12
1/12/43
My Dear May.
At long last I’ve got this opportunity to answer your letter.
I’ve spent all evening trying to repair a set & failed so I got fed up & went to bed. & took the opportunity to write.
I should tell you I saw Bert & we are not playing at Pretoria on Sat.
Les is home & playing at Barclay Hall on Sat. I may go & see him or if I don’t feel any better than I have all the week I shall stop in & revise some radio. Not that I want to but I think it’s better to stay in one or two nights & have the opportunity to come home weekends later on because I’ve heard it’s necessary to do well in the exam next week to get to Sth Ken.
I’ve looked out a photo I had taken at Skegness. It’s not very good. There are some spots on it produced by poor developing.
I shall be interested to see one of the photos you are going to have done. I don’t think it will be much of an effort for the camera to stand it.
Well I’ve just gone down & got the supper & having eaten I think I’ll get to sleep.
Cheerio & all my love
Don
Xxxx
Letter 13
29/12/43
Dear Les,
You can see by my address I have landed where I wanted to get.
I had a nice quiet leave with only 1 job on Saturday at Russell with Bert & Ron. (Fred has got us several jobs) he gets another bloke to take Bert’s place & does it himself.
I got here on 22nd & had a xmas leave from 11 hrs Friday till 23.50 Monday.
There is quite a lot of bullion here, but I have scrounged out of firewatching, squadron duties & Church parades by wangling into the military band on sax.
At least it wasn’t exactly a wangle. When I told him what I could do he shoved me in it without asking. Notes borrowed & we don’t do anything to hard.
Dance band out of question,
Bags of ball.
Battledress.
£3/10/-pinched today.
Different nationalities here.
Work details.
Gas exercises.
TYFN
Your old conspirator in Swing.
Don
(What’s this tune you know it well)
Ps I am trying to get the military band to play South Rampart Street Parade but so far it hasn’t come off.
Letter 14
5/1/44
Dear Freddy,
Xmas Cards thanks
Course & general bull
Bandsman
SOP
Eileen
All the best
YOP Don
Letter 15
5/1/44
Dear Mrs Wells,
Asking to send on Freds letter & general nothings about xmas etc.
Y sincerely
Don