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Year by Year › 1936

1936

To England and the Royal Air Force

Bill leaves Calgary for England in the summer of 1936. He joins the Royal Air Force on 12 October and begins training as a pilot, writing home almost every week about the people, the flying and the strangeness of England.

59 letters · 1 book

Bill’s first log book was lost when Indomitable was bombed in August 1942, so the flights before July 1941 are not known. This year is told through his letters and the papers.

August

Wrote

8 August 1936To Mother 12 August 1936To Mother 14 August 1936To Mother 15 August 1936To Mother 15 August 1936To Jean 19 August 1936To Mother 21 August 1936To Mother 27 August 1936To Mother 31 August 1936To Mother

September

Places named

Reading Grantham

Wrote

12 September 1936To Mother 12 September 1936To Bob 12 September 1936To Dad 12 September 1936To Jean 14 September 1936To Dad 15 September 1936To Mother 16 September 1936To Dad 22 September 1936To Mother 23 September 1936To Mother 24 September 1936To Bob 28 September 1936To Mother 29 September 1936To Jean

October

Places named

Wrote

2 October 1936To Mother 5 October 1936To Mother 9 October 1936To Mother 12 October 1936To Mother 13 October 1936To Mother 16 October 1936To Mother 21 October 1936To Dad 21 October 1936To Mother 22 October 1936To Bob 24 October 1936To Mother 25 October 1936To Mother 28 October 1936To Mother 30 October 1936To Mother 31 October 1936To Mother

November

Places named

Reading Farnborough Wittering Grantham Manston

Wrote

2 November 1936To Mother 3 November 1936To Mother 5 November 1936To Mother 8 November 1936To Jean 10 November 1936To Mother 18 November 1936To Mother 21 November 1936To Bob 24 November 1936To Mother 26 November 1936To Dad

December

Places named

Grantham Reading Sywell

Wrote

2 December 1936To Jean 5 December 1936To Mother 6 December 1936To Dad 7 December 1936To Mother 9 December 1936To Bob 16 December 1936To Mother 18 December 1936To Dad 20 December 1936To Jean 22 December 1936To Mother and Dad 24 December 1936To Mother and Dad 25 December 1936To Dad 25 December 1936To Bob 29 December 1936To Mother 30 December 1936To Bob 30 December 1936To Mother and Dad

In the books

Canadians in the Royal Air Force Les Allison, 1978

All the years The letters of 1936 All the books

1937: A fighter pilot with 41 Squadron →