H.M.S. GLORIOUS
Approaching Alexandria

April 28th, 1939

Dear Mother:

I got so jealous over your trip down East that I left for Egypt, where I arrive today to look after the Suez for awhile. Beautiful weather on the trip out and we have done lots of flying. This morning we carried out dummy dive bombing on the ship and while flying we picked up our friends at Amrya by radio-telephony. The are the home station for 80 and 33 fighter squadrons alternately on their leave from Palestine.

We (802) are disembarking this weekend to Dekheila, where we will spend some time. - I hope - all I want to do is eat, fly, and lie in the sun here. Boy I could die happy. We are going back to khaki shirts and shorts as soon as we get ashore. We will live in tents as usual. I am enclosing a couple of snaps taken in Malta - one showing Barnes and self perspiring freely and another showing self about to light pipe - "absitively" surrounded by admiring Maltese children. The "poisonality" of the chap! The nerve!

The decorations on that building behind is done in seal shells. Not crucifix. These are to be found everywhere in Malta. They are intensely religious and Malta was, of course, the home of the Knight Templars of St. John during the Crusades.

Will write you again from Dekheila. This letter will go via airmail to London and thence home in two weeks. Hope you had a very nice holiday down East.

Love

Bill