Letter 32: August 29, 1942

Letter 32: August 29, 1942

Postmarked Bury Port, Camarthenshire, Wales

 

 

 

 

Aug 29, 1942

R85176 (Can) F/Sgt Piper F J

RCAF Overseas

Attached to

RAF Pembrey 

Dear Ellen

            I received a welcome letter for you the other day when I got back from leave and thanks for the two pictures enclosed they sure are good ones. Say Ellen I’m sorry but I thought I had sent you one of those pictures of myself, I haven’t got any of that snap left but I will organize you one of it. I haven’t received the parcel of chocolate as yet but it should be along any day now, I’m sure enjoyed the last lot. I was glad to hear that you had a good holiday, you sure travelled around Sask. a bit didn’t you. I was a bit surprised when you didn’t mention Calgary in your travels as I thought you intended going there.

            You were apologizing for not writing sooner in your last letter, well your apology is accepted Ellen, in fact it was uncalled for because you sure keep me well informed, you write a lot oftener then I do.

            I just returned from 13 days leave which I spent at Ilford with cousin Bessie & Aunt Mary & Ethyl her daughter. I had a swell time to. It is only about a ¾ of a hrs run from the heart of London. Mother’s sister had 3 boys and 2 girls. Bessie, Florence, Fred, Joe, Henry. I met Joe and Florence but not Fred or Henry. They were all swell to me. Cousin Joe runs an Off-license & also works in the Ilford Town Hall. I was shown the spot where Archie was born, the place itself is torn down & there are some business places built there now. When I speak of Aunt Mary she is not really out Aunt, as she is Mother’s sister’s husbands sister, that is John Perrin’s sister. She remembers you well when you were an infant & said that you were fool of devilment, she used to bath you & look after you when Archie was born. The house that you stayed in has been bombed in this war.

            You know that snap of you that you sent, well I showed it to the boys in the Flight & they all said “ you sure got a nice looking sister”

            You will maybe wonder about the paper I’m using, well I’ll explain it. A Canadian Salvation Army man was around here the other day & he gave all the Canadians on the station some writing paper & envelopes, cigarettes & matches, damn swell of them eh.

You asked about Nettie, well she is working in a shop that sells pastries & cakes & bread etc. She hasn’t got a boy friend as far as I know, she is expecting her call for the Armed Forces & in her last letter to me she asked me what the WAAF’s were like for a girl. She has a girl friend & they always chum around together, neither of them bother with boys much. She is awful nice girl though & I like her fine.

On the first night of my leave at Cousin Bessie’s she was kind of running a dance in the Town Hall in aid of Home for the Blind & so her & I went to it and you know what a fellow (he was a Pilot Officer) took his wife home at a quarter to eleven on account of me. I just danced with her once. I guess he figured I danced a little close to her or something. I guess he figured I was another fresh Canadian. Bessie is an Ambulance Driver and I met a lot of the girls at the Depot. I took one of them rowing in the lake one afternoon.

            I went up to the Beaver Club in London one day & ran into one of my pals who I was in guard duty at Saskatoon with, him & I got a bit stewed by night fall. I kind of crawled off the wagon while I was on leave, which was the natural thing to do seeing that I was on leave..

I took Bessie in a Pub one night, the first time she had ever been in one in Ilford. Ethyl has a good job, she works in the office in an Aircraft Factory, she is the bosses private secretary.

            I met Joan, she is Bessie’s daughter & is married to a Corporal in the army, she was home for a weekend while on leave, she works in as Telephone operator, the same as you, she is swell to & her & I got along swell.

            Well Flying is going along much the same as ever, we had a stag party the other night as one of our pilots was leaving. I’m still going with the same girl & still getting along swell, she sure is lovely girl I think.

            Well I guess I’ll sign off for this time, hoping to hear from you soon

            Your loving brother

            Fred

Haven’t saw Jack or David as yet

 

Florence Perrin born 1904

 

 

 

Maria Ellen Clayton Perrin 1876-1942

 

 

Bessie Perrin with a friend
Bessie born 1899

This picture was sent to me by a neighbour of her's when I first started researching and wrote a letter to their old address in Ilford. The lady in the house passed my letter on to a neighbour that had been good friends with Bessie.

 

Fred mentions 5 children of Maria and John, and in my research I have found 5 but after contacting descendants of Fred, Bessie, Joseph and Florence they all told me NO there were only 4. Mom told me that one child was disowned but she never knew the reason. I have pictures of 4 children dated 1915 and the 5th child is not mentioned. In 1915 George, the other child and second youngest, would only have been 13 years old. I have info on him but never contacted any descendants. Fred refer to him as Henry.