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Aircraft York 210
29/1/48
Dear Mum and All,
I’m writing this letter
way up in the blue - 9,500ft to be precise. At the moment there isn’t
any land in sight, just the Med stretching for miles on either side. Flying
in a plane is bang-on, whizz-oh and all that. I haven’t felt the
slightest bit air-sick, but then, if it wasn’t for the noise of
the engines you would think you were going along in a Rolls Royce. The
only bumps you get are when an air pocket is hit and then you get that
sinking feeling. Also taking off and landing is just the same as going
up and down in a lift. I am sure that if you had to travel by air you
would like it.
Now I’ll try and give you some idea of the journey. We left Lynham
at approx 09.00 hrs which was half an hour behind schedule. We circled
the drone once – just to say “Goodbye” to Wilts like
- then set our course practically dead straight for Malta. We left England
passing over Poole Harbour in Dorset, then across the Channel and over
to France. We all watched good old Blighty fade into the distance and
I guess most of us wished that we were coming back rather than going.
There was one area of France that was covered with snow – and didn’t
we feel the cold up here then. The outside temperature was 10°C. I
was glad of the travelling rug they supplied then. We are now passing
the coast line of Libya on our Port Side.
Well to continue, we travelled on and reached Malta at 17:15, Malta time
is one hour later than G.M.T. There again we were treated like lords –
sleeping in the officers quarters and dining in the same mess. The B.A.O.C.
have got their reception place in the same building as the RAF. Of course,
the first thing that caught our eye was the kiosk that sold practically
everything. All kinds of sweets, chocolate chewing gum. Cigarettes are
20 for 1/9d and tins and tins of Nescafe. Nothing on points either. Of
course, there was an immediate rush, and we came away loaded down with
good things. I expect we will be bad eating them now. By the way my stomach
gave me a bit of gyp until we practically reached Malta and then it eased
up a bit, but I seemed to be full of wind like our Di was not so long
ago. It hasn’t gone yet but I feel a lot better. We got a ration
box each and there was loads of hot tea going during the flight.
Some of the boys went into the town of Valetta to have a look round
but I had a wash and an early night. Sorry if the writing is a bit jumpy
but we are going through some cloud and the kite is blowing around a bit,
You could see where
Malta had had a terrific pounding during the war.
Most of the buildings were
knocked down and had to be rebuilt. They are all the flat-topped type.
If you want to buy anything from the Maltese, you have to barter all the
time. Some of the fellas told me when they came back from Valetta last
night that they had a rare time getting a pony and trap. The fellow wanted
6/- to bring them back. They said they would give him 4/-. After a bit
of arguing the boys started to walk away so the fellow said he would split
the difference, so they came back for 5/-. There’s tons of silk
goods here, undersets, stockings etc and some smashing rugs but I never
bought any – I’ll see what they’ve got in Fayid. The
drone in Malta by the way was Luqa. I was going to take some snaps but
my camera was down in my hut, so I didn’t bother.
We took off from Malta at
08:00 this morning and we are now about half way to Fayid. My pen had
run dry so will have to finish later.
Well now, to continue, everything went on okay and we touched down at
Fayid at approximately 13:40 hrs local time, which is now two hours later
than G.M.T. We saw a crashed Dakota down in the desert, it looked as if
it had been there some time though. From the air the desert looked horrible,
big patches of dirty white rock, the only greenery was where there was
some water of some kind. And all the fields were laid out in dead even
rows, nothing like English countryside which is all over the place.
Anyhow, we had a meal at Fayid
and then went by bus to the place I’m at now, El Hamra. It’s
a big transit camp and they post you anywhere. Lots of the lads have been
sent out to Palestine, which is a three day road journey, so I might be
unlucky yet! This place is a dead loss. There’s only one parade
a day, and if you don’t get picked for guard you just have to lounge
around all day. It doesn't seem as though I shall ever get down to a bit
of decent work. I went for a swim today in the Great Bitter Lake. The
RAF have a special Lido and a Yachting Club. It’s about a mile from
our place but it’s worth the walk. The water is a smashing colour
of blue and dead clear. We shall probably go again tomorrow.
The locals are some queer
types, filthy dirty and on the cadge all the time. And they don’t
do a mortal thing – how they live I don’t know. We’ve
been warned not to buy any foodstuffs or drinks from them because of the
cholera and typhus, so we keep well away.
Well Mum, this
is the last page in the pad so I’m afraid I’ll have to close.
I haven’t put an address as I shall probably be moved tomorrow.
So I’ll write as soon as I’m settled in the new place. Tell
Gran I’m okay and give my love to everyone else. So cheerio for
now
Lots of love
Geoff xxx
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