Shaw House, Newbury - c. Wednesday 22nd April 1942

Pte 5731671 Williams RK

1st Air Landing Coy

Recce Corps

C/o A.P.O. NOTTINGHAM.

My Darling,

            Arrived here safe and sound on Monday Evening.

            This is one hell of a crowd. Discipline isn't in it. They're trying to break the Guards peace time standard and believe me they're doing it.  Everything has to be blancoed* up to scratch nearly every day. I shall get little or no time off.

            The only good thing about it is the leave.  Apparently they get Seven Days every nine weeks or so - which is amazing for the Army.

            I start on a course on Monday next - it's just like being a rookie all over again.

            The Company here is billeted in a marvelous old house – Elizabethan* - with hundreds of rooms, banqueting halls etc.

            Incidentally you must write to the address as shown, and not the one you already know - for security reasons. You might advise Diller or Mother if you write, as I've had to give them the Nottingham address of course.

            For Pete's sake, how long's the war going to last?  I only hope your mother's right, when she says it will be over this year.

            I'm afraid I can't say anything of local interest, etc as these letters are sometimes censored for security reasons.

            I miss you already, Darling - how am I going to feel in a month’s time?

            I'm afraid I must close here as I have a hell of a lot to do.  Please write
soon my Darling as I feel b----- lonely.

                                                                        all my love Precious,

                                                                                    your adoring

                                                                                                Dicker

*Blanco was a cleaning compound used on the cotton of army uniforms. ‘Bull, Blanco and Brasso’ meant getting uniforms immaculate.

** Shaw House, Newbury, Berkshire - the base for 1st Air Landing Reconnaissance Squadron mentioned in their wartime diary in the National Archives, Kew. This grade 1 listed Elizabethan Building is now owned by West Berkshire Council and open to the public.

 © Chotie Darling

 

23^rd April 1942 - In a secret session of the House of Commons, Churchill delivered a speech declaring that the liberation of Europe was 'the main war plan' of Britain and the USA. (From WW2-net Timelines. )

 

Friday 24^th April 1942 - 1^st Air Landing Reconnaissance Squadron changes its designation to 1^st Air Landing Squadron, Recce Corps. On 27^th April its address was changed to 'Home Forces’. The Squadron used the mortar range at Chobham (Surrey?) on Tuesday 28^th and were training with night flying gliders on the 29^th.

(From the War Diary of 1^st Air Landing Reconnaissance Squadron, National Archives, Kew)

 

24th April 1942 - The Luftwaffe raids Exeter in the first of Hitler's raids on historical cities in retaliation for the bombing of Lübeck at the end of March. These became known as the 'Baedeker' raids after the famous guidebook series.

The Allies second raid was made against Rostock in Germany and on 25th April the Luftwaffe attacked Bath. The 'Baedeker' raids continued with the bombing of York and Norwich in late April and of Canterbury in May and June, after the Allies’ bombing of Cologne.

 

28th April 1942 – the Nazi Reichstag, Germany’s ‘puppet government’ declares Hitler ‘Supreme Judge of the German People’ and above the reach of the law. This turns out to be its last meeting. (From WW2-net Timelines.)