Poor Margaret - Monday 11th May 1942

5731671 Tpr etc

1st Air Landing Sqdn

Recce Corps

HOME FORCES

 

Monday Evening

My Darling Chotie,

                                             Many thanks for letter received this morning - took away that Monday Morning Feeling like fun. 

            Glad to hear you've had a letter from Eric, and to read same.  Pay no attention to his latest affair - he gets like that periodically.  He'll soon get over it - mark my words.

            Poor Margaret*!  She does seem to strike it unlucky, doesn't she?  I expect you're getting worried - but have no fears, Darling, I won't run away.

            Pleased to see you've really got going with the old First Aid - may be very useful someday.  Cheerful ain't I? - but remember what I said about Eric.

            Brinner came over to see me on Saturday - and we swapped yarns as of yore.  Unhappily, he had to go back before the pubs opened and consequently we parted rather thirstily.  All the same it made quite a break.

            I haven't heard from home since the move, so I'm expecting a welcome letter from that quarter.

            Incidentally, don't worry about my aerial activities - it's really quite safe.

            I'm afraid I don't write very long letters, Darling, firstly I have very little time of my own, and secondly there is so very little to write about anyhow.  I can't give any details of this place, or of our training, which leaves precious little to write home about.

            But, remember I still love you and always will, Precious.

                                                                                    All my love, Chotie,

                                                                                                Dicker

 P.S. Give my kindest regards to all your family and console Margaret for me.

 

*Chotie’s elder sister. (See Tom's Death - August 1940 )

© Chotie Darling

 

12^th May 1942 –six officers and six O.R.s (Ordinary Ranks) of 1^stAir Landing Squadron went gliding.

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

 

12th May 1942 – the second Battle of Kharkov (south of Moscow, in the Ukraine) begins with an offensive by Soviet forces but ends on 28th May with victory for the Germans with over 200,000 Russian soldiers captured, wounded or killed. Nikita Khrushchev was one of the Soviet commanders and his hatred of Stalin is said to date from the dictators  refusal to allow their forces to withdraw.  (From ‘The Second World War’ by Antony Beevor, published by Weidenfield and Nicolson 2012)

13^th May 1942 – Operation Rutter (the original codename for the Allies' disastrous raid on Dieppe), which took place in August 1942, is approved. It was led by Combined Operations. (From WW2-net Timelines)