WAR – Letter Home

A war letter home

16th June 1942

From A/C, Royal Air Force from a camp in Redcar, to his parents, dated 17th, June, 1942, to Dagenham, Essex.

This separate letter, was found in a Letter Card

Dear Mum & Dad,

 Just a line to let you know I am alright and hope you are the same. Well I am still getting plenty of good grub here, we don’t get up till 7-o clock because we have to be on parade at quarter to eight. I have four meals here including supper. It has been raining for 3 days here Saturday Sunday Monday but is has turned out lovely this afternoon after a cold windy morning. We have been marching up and down the promenade and doing P.T. on the sands. I have got to go fire watching tonight at half past nine but you can go to be while it is quiet. The R.A.F. have paid us ten shillings advanced pay which will be stopped out of our first pay. I had two inoculations and one vaccination on Saturday morning and we all went home at 10 o clock in the morning, my arm was a little stiff Sunday morning when we got up at 8 – o clock for parade for five minutes. A.C.2 means Aircraftman Second Class the first and lowest job in the R.A.F. have you got my clothes you should be getting them by now providing the railway company don’t hold them up. The next place we will be going to will be Whitley Bay for Lewis Gun training we got to have a mock battle in the streets of Redcar shortly with the Home Guard & Army. I had a haircut on Friday, we have no air raids yet. Another one of our jobs is spotting enemy aircraft and our own planes. I am going to have a ride down to Middlesbrough on Saturday if it keeps fine. I don’t think you could starve in Redcar as there is plenty of fish & chip shops to go to. You are suppose not to eat anything walking about in the streets, but nobody worries about it. The plants don’t grow very well down here because the ground is most sandy soil. Not long ago a little girl & boy got through the barbed wire and wandered on one of the mines, the boy got killed the girl injured both evacuees lived in London. I am sending you these views of Redcar which were taken in peace time. Hope you had a nice birthday & cheerio for now.

Jim