Letter 21: December 31, 1941

Letter 21: December 31, 1941

Postmarked Bury Port, Camarthenshire, Wales

 

 

 

No 6

Dec 31/41 

Dear Ellen

            Hello Nell, how’s every little thing going including the Red coated policeman that always get their man & woman likewise. Things have been going much the same for me & there isn’t a hell of a lot to say. I’ve been doing a little more flying lately than I was before, I’ve got in about 20 hrs now, not very much but the weather is the big drawback. The last couple of days we’ve had frost at night & there has been heavy fog around thus we can’t fly. I’m enjoying the flying though, although most of it is done over the ocean, but we take time off & go over to the land & have a little fun. Besides the parachute we wear a jacket called a Mae West which can be inflated if we ever have to jump in the ocean and this will keep us afloat.

            I had a fairly good Christmas on the camp with a good meal in the evening. I went to a dance on the station as I couldn’t get to the party I told you about as the trains & buses wasn’t running on Christmas Day. I got fairly well stewed also, It was good fun serving the Airmen their dinner at noon. New Years Day is just another day on this station, we have to fly that day. This is New Years Eve & I’m going to have a quiet night & go to a Picture Show with a girl (a different one then I told you about before). My roommate Sergeant Zee who is a USA pilot went on leave the other day to London. I expect to get another leave in Feb. We had a casualty in our Flight the other day, the Flight Commanders dog was running around the hut enjoying itself immensely & then all of a sudden it dropped dead, its heart quit they figured.

            I suppose I told you I bought a camera while in Edinburgh, it is a Jiffy Kodak, folding type, the first film I took wasn’t so good, but I took another film the other day & they turned out fairly good, none of the pictures would interest you much though.

            I also invested in a second hand bicycle the other day in the city, it is a second hand or maybe tenth hand I couldn’t say, it cost me 30 shillings which is about $7.00. it runs good & I find it damned handy, it reminds me a bit of Archie’s old byce, you remember Ellen the old red one he had first.  The roads are good over here for riding byces on so they are all paved.

            Another Canadian pilot showed up here the other day, he is from Nova Scotia, and Apple Knocker. I’ve wrote to Les & Mac Clarke & Cliff MacLean & got letters from them. Your letters have been coming in just fine Ellen, I’ve had 7 now & there all in order. I haven’t received any cigarettes from you as yet but they seem to take awhile. I got cigarettes from Dad & from the Tuxford Red Cross & from the girl in Saskatoon. I received your magazines okay & really enjoyed them Ellen, their new ones on me.

            Well Ellen I guess there isn’t much more to say for this time so solong for now

            Your loving brother

            Fred

 

NOTE: Fred’s nephew Fred still has this camera.