13 June 1937

Dear Bill:

Thanks for the letter and boy do I ever envy you. Things here have been changing quite a bit lately as we have had our summer (at least three whole weeks of good weather,) and still no leave..

Wallace has left of course, and Webster has taken over his flight. Old West has gone to Manby (near Plymouth, Lines) where Robin Press is specializing. MacDonald leaves at the end of the month and Thielman will take his flight.

Here's some real good news for you. Now hold tight, for I wish you were here. This year I managed to get out the odd dozen fellows for a baseball practice. We got uniforms, bats and balls etc., entered in the York league (me doing coach, captain, secretary and manager - boy what a job!) and so far have won every game! We've played about six games, two being in York. Guess we'll be winning a cup for the mess after all, for the team is shaping up pretty well.

Every weekend I have to go to 602 Squadron, Abbottsinch, to give them lectures. Cowboy goes to Turnhouse and bullies 603(F) Squadron there. 602 has Spitfires and 603 Gladiators.

P.S. Cowboy just remarked "quote me as saying your Calgary is a whistle stop, it's only a one-horse town without the horse of course" unquote. Wallace wants to know if it is true (P

Also, when do you get promotion to a pukka Lieut.?

Last month we were busy ferrying 602's Spitfires (V. P. Props) from Southampton to Abbotsinch. Then we had to fly their Gauntlets back to storage depots. Lots of fun being stuck at places and collecting a pound for a good drunk.

Sayers, Shipman and Beanvious are F/Sgts now. Webster and Theilman will be A/Flt's soon too. Dee Walker (26 Squadron) is a F/Lt and so is Joey Joyce. Latter is at Odium now.) You knew, of course, Capt. Harris was the Adj. at Cranwell. Costello (Capt.) is the Adj. there now and is a damn nice chap.

Oh! Yes! Tony Lovell (do you know him?) and I help Ryders out with Operations these days. First Norman kicked because he had so much to do, so I came in the Ops block as assistant. Then I moaned that I wasn't getting enough flying and they made one of "B" flight come over to be Asst. to the Asst. Some stuff, eh kid!

Webster has broken up two Spitfires, one caught fire and he forced landed on the drome. Fire tender wouldn't go close enough to put out the fire. Result, the tanks blew up about fifteen minutes later. Hardly anything left of it but pieces. Then he broke one up by landing with his undercarriage retraced. Wallace, of course, did the same thing about two months after we had the new "kites."

The other night about a week ago during night flying, Cowboy flattened out very nicely, (flaps down of course) at three feet and was rather sickly surprised to find he had forgotten to wind out his undercarriage. He might have to pay £8 for that one and Group says now! If you do it more than once, it's a court martial offence.

Some fun, too, watching some of these new Sgt. pilots fly up the swale during night flying at zero fuel - while making an approach one Sgt. Gilles took his flap off while climbing over Castle Hill and then because he couldn't get near enough to the flood light went around again. They say the C.O. ran the 100 yards in under ten seconds flat that night! No honest, no "B.S."

No one saw the Sgt. Gilles come in to land because they were either so far away or flat on their backs trying to get their breath back. What a life! Mc D. makes Butch and I take him up formation flying and lord, I think he's worse than Bartholemew for he tries to fly really close. "Because its easier they have told me" so he says. Well what the H-- can you do with someone with confidence like he's got. MacDonald has finally sent in a report signed by his Deputy F/Lt commanders, maybe for his transfer to bombers. God help the foreign fighters!

Enough for that louse. We did over five hundred hours flying last month, including one hundred hours' night flying. We have afternoons off when on at night of course. They are still trying to make one section stand - by but "phooey"! so we say to ourselves. Gambler got married and I went; both in full dress incidentally. Well how do you like that!

Guess the King and Queen had quite a good time in the one-whistle stop of your place; let's see, it is Calgary isn't it?

Feel I'm getting an old man now, but the extra pay comes in handy. Don't you get any leave? Do you think it might be a good idea for me to come out to see how you people live instead of going home this summer? Let me know and I'll see what I can do! I often think of that night in Bangor, remember when Butch got drunk and let the beer slip in the dance hall?

Must go now as operations are starting and they want this table. Will write more later.

Regards

Pooky

NO. 11 FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL,

ROYAL AIR FORCE,

WITTERING,

PETERBOROUGH.

TELEPHONES, STAMFORD 51 & 3219.