10 January 1937

Dear Mother:

Our class has about 26 in it. We were shown over the station today and it is certainly huge. Although there is an expansion on they don't produce pilots in mass production. We are the junior term and there is a senior term of about the same number here. We will fly Hawker Harts at first from the front cockpit. From now on all our flying is from the front. We also fly Hawker Audax, and also Avio Cadets for blind and night flying. The Air Ministry finds these are less expensive to crack up, etc. and serve the purpose, but most of our flying is in Hawker Harts and Audax which have Rolls Royce Kestrol engines.

The Officers Mess is very luxurious. Multiply the rotunda in the Palliser and you have it. Two huge open fireplaces at each end. Deep leather chairs. French windows around all walls looking out on hilly country and down into Grantham. We each have a room to ourselves; desk, etc., and also a bright cheery fire. In the Mess we have a huge grand piano and also a very good radio. The senior course have Furies, Fireflies and Fairies to fly - all Rolls Royce. Today one of the chaps took off and flew around in a Hart and oh boy did the earth shake with the powerful roar of twelve cylinders of good old Rolls Royce. This being Sunday, we did no work except fit parachutes in the parachute section. We also heard the good news that after our junior course we can have Rolls Royce planes with full expenses paid for weekend trips anywhere in England. Please come down and meet me at the aerodrome. We will be confined to Service aerodromes though.

We have to do in six months what they used to do in a year. so we shall get no leave at all. We have to slave at wireless-Morse armament navigation etc. and there will be no fooling about. We are about 140 miles north of London, and the Englishmen here think they are simply miles and miles and miles away from anywhere. You lose all perspective of distance over here. They speak totally different here in Lincolnshire - it's really amazing. The architecture is also absolutely different.

You should ride in these English trains with their compartments with doors going right outside on each one. The really move but are toys compare with Canadian trains.

We have wireless here at the station and will do a lot of night flying.

Get this - we are not allowed to go to town in the buses but must hire taxis into Grantham because airmen might be in the buses. We mixed quite a lot at civil school, but at Upbridge one of the LAC's waved a friendly hand at one of us and Sergeant confined him to barracks for two days - in other words "we're in the army now." Every morning here physical training is at 7:00 a.m. or 0700 hours, as we say. A sad fact is that we now have to pay for this notepaper on our mess bills, so pardon me if I don't write as much. Wearing a uniform will certainly save on civvy clothes. I am also glad that we move to Swindon in three or four months. You get to see the country. I will pass out next summer and I believe I get a month's holiday or more maybe.

Where I go from there I don't know - always "i.e. if I am not kicked out."

Our grant for uniforms did not include shirts, socks, ties, etc. and we had quite a bit of extra expense, about $50 more, which we are paying off on the instalment plan. We have to pay 10 shillings a month to the batman for pressing clothes, etc. - then is our cleaning bill plus haircuts twice a week. Mess bills and subscription for sport, and they pretty well skin us. My pay is 11s 10p a day now. Messing is only 3s a day plus £1 a month for subscriptions.

I had to buy two trunks for uniforms, etc. and after buying tails etc. I am just holding my head above the water, but I haven't done bad in the last two months.

I have two huge French windows which open out on two walls of my bedroom. One over looks the aerodrome and the other onto the wireless masts etc. which are lighted with red lights at night.

We stood rather aghast at the Harts today. Wheels to wind in and out the radiator. Oil gauges, wireless, machine gun trips, telescopic sights, blind flying instruments and also a split stick - the first one I have ever seen. Ask Bob if he knows about it. The top part of the stick is hinged to swing to either side for ailerons the lower part between the knees doesn't swing to the side. The whole column comes back and forward. Thus you can do a steep turn, rolls, etc. without the stick jamming your legs against the side of the fuselage as in ordinary machines.

(not a bad idea for aerobatics)

Rudder has straps to keep feet from sliding off when inverted and also pedals for brakes. We fly the three types of machines right from the start alternately so we get experience on all types. The Audax is a Fleet Air Arm machine. I wish you could see the size of airscrew on these machines. They really claw the air. In comparison in size these machines make Hawks look like Baby Austins.

Yours for no fog,
Bill