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Year by Year › 1939

1939

HMS Glorious and the coming of war

With 802 Squadron, flying Gladiators from Glorious and from Hal Far in Malta, Bill is at sea when war is declared in September. He is promoted Lieutenant two weeks later, and in December he is sent home to RNAS Eastleigh to fly patrols over the North Sea.

53 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.

January

Places named

HMS Glorious HMS Ark Royal Dekheila Port Said Church Fenton Hal Far Reading Gibraltar Wittering

Wrote

2 January 1939To Dad 4 January 1939To Dad 5 January 1939To Bob 8 January 1939To Mother 13 January 1939To Dad 14 January 1939To Mother 14 January 1939To Bob 17 January 1939To Dad 22 January 1939To Mother

February

Places named

HMS Glorious Gibraltar Hal Far Dekheila Heliopolis

Wrote

2 February 1939To Mother 6 February 1939To Mother 13 February 1939To Mother 16 February 1939To Mother 22 February 1939To Mother 27 February 1939To Mother UndatedTo Mother

March

Places named

HMS Glorious HMS Ark Royal Gibraltar Hal Far

Wrote

3 March 1939To Dad 5 March 1939To Mother 10 March 1939To Mother 15 March 1939To Mother 23 March 1939To Mother 25 March 1939To Mother 28 March 1939To Mother

April

Places named

HMS Glorious HMS Ark Royal Gibraltar Dekheila Amiriya

Wrote

7 April 1939To Dad 10 April 1939To Dad 28 April 1939To Mother

May

Places named

HMS Glorious Aboukir Dekheila

Wrote

2 May 1939To Mother 21 May 1939To Dad 26 May 1939To Dad

June

Places named

HMS Glorious Dekheila Aboukir Gibraltar Heliopolis Mersa Matruh Catterick Amiriya

Wrote

7 June 1939To Dad 10 June 1939To Dad 18 June 1939To Jean 22 June 1939To Dad 30 June 1939To Mother

July

Places named

HMS Glorious Aboukir Abu Sueir

Wrote

9 July 1939To Mother 14 July 1939To Dad 21 July 1939To Mother

August

Places named

HMS Glorious Dekheila Amiriya Wittering

Wrote

5 August 1939To Mother 14 August 1939To Mother 20 August 1939No salutation 26 August 1939To Mother 30 August 1939To Jean

September

Wrote

27 September 1939To Mother and Dad

November

Places named

Wrote

2 November 1939To Mother 6 November 1939To Mother 14 November 1939To Mother 17 November 1939To Dad

December

Places named

Wrote

2 December 1939To Mother 10 December 1939To Mother and Dad 17 December 1939To Mother and Dad 19 December 1939To Mother 27 December 1939To Dad 28 December 1939To Mother

In the books

Wings over the Waves Graham Drucker, 2011

All the years The letters of 1939 All the books

← 1938: From the RAF to the Fleet Air Arm1940: Skuas over Norway, Dunkirk and Calais →