24 October 1936

Dear Mother:

I have just finished flying for the day. We get the rest of weekend off this being Saturday.

The first dining in night was a great success. The Superintendent of Reserve from R.A.F. Headquarters was a guest. My dinner jacket suit fits perfectly and I feel quite natural wearing it. The dress shirts are really snappy.

One of our chaps was coming in to land today. He was 1,000 feet over aerodrome and 3/4 of the way across and quite innocently said to his instructor, "I think we are going to overshoot, sir."

Yesterday morning I was flying along at 140 m.p.h. when my instructor said, "For goodness (revised) sake Martyn, can't you keep that nose from veering."

Me - "For goodness (also revised) sake, aren't you flying this machine."

Deep silence followed by coarse laughter. We had just demonstrated a climbing turn and I thought he still had control. He gave me no signal.

Edgar Good, a Canadian from Montreal, and I room together and we have the name "Canada House" in the card outside the door.

Tell Bob he should be in R.A.F. - all we have to do to have shoes polished is to put them outside the door when we go to bed.

This afternoon we are going into Reading three miles away. I have to buy some socks - my others are shot.

You would be surprised at how comfortable our huge coal fire is here in the Lounge Room.

It is awfully nice to have a Canadian friend - we go everywhere together and have a swell time and have lots in common.

An amusing incident occurred at dining-in night. Right after we had drunk a toast to the King, (with port) Renolds, our best jokester, knocked on the table and said: "Bring in the dancing girls." At the same time he stroked his moustache. He has a long one like a villain in the movies.

The Superintendent of the Reserve was sitting beside him and got a great laugh out of it.

Incidentally, Renolds will have to snip off the ends of his moustache at Uxbridge - neatness essential.

One of the fellows at No. 7 F.T.S. at Peterborough was killed when he jumped from his machine at 500 ft. altitude. His wing touched another when carrying out formation practise. He is an Acting Pilot officer from Alberta.

We all had orders to have full dress suits before we arrive at Uxbridge so I sure have to watch money. I also have to buy a second dress shirt to go with dinner jacket as well as collar etc. At Uxbridge we dine in every night which will be rather hard on dress shirts. Dressing for dinner etc. is a wonderful training and I hope to gather a little polish anyway.

How is Ronny these days - I do hope Jean will look after him tonight and let mother go to a picture show. I haven't received a letter for a week and so I feel you have forgotten me.

All the boys here can go back home on weekend - i.e. Pupil Pilots. The airmen pilots have to stick around.

Ed and I are always asked if we are going home for the weekend - but no such luck.

The windows of our bedroom swing out like casement overlooking our large lawn. There are apple trees in the yard and all kinds of roses in bloom. Holly trees line the driveway. From the road Hawkhurst looks very beautiful - it blends right into the old English landscape.

It is wonderful to wake in the morning, have tea, then go down to breakfast. Then we stroll over to the aerodrome where our planes are ticking over on the tarmac. One by one the planes roar off and zoom over the end of the aerodrome and streak away through the sky.

Today we went up and up through slate grey cloud till at 6,000 feet we burst out into brilliant sunshine. The sky above was blue and the banks of clouds below us looked like snow on the prairies. - I wouldn't trade jobs with anyone in the world.

Well goodbye for now or I won't have anything to tell you in my next letter.

Love to all
Bill