#7   Dec 2. 1943

Dear Mother:

I am afraid I have been forgetting my correspondence lately. Too little to do and too little happening I suppose. I am very glad to say all your letters have turned up—several that were posted to Y depot and consecutively up to 4 of yours, one from Mary and the photograph.

Dick was down here last weekend. It was the first time I haven’t had to parade Sun. morning so we nearly went up to London but as we couldn’t leave before 4:00 pm Sat. it didn’t seem worth it. So there wasn’t much to do except pubs, the odd show and talk. He looks just the same. Uncle Geoff said he thought Dick would never want to go back because of the trip accross but that is entirely wrong. I still have only the vaguest ideas of what he does. It is something special that I have never heard of and presumably won’t for some time. Part of their job is to climb a 250 foot radio tower to clean the insulators. I don’t think I would like that.

The day before Dick arrived I asked the ground school adjutant for the day off. He was absolutely rotten. Said I would have to bring Dick in in person. That sounded like a lot of trouble for all three of us so I said I had a letter saying he was arriving. Adjutant thought it might be forged. I have never been so angry and turned on my heel and walked out. When I had cooled down I planned to go up with with Dick the next morning, get my day off and then demand an apology. Unfortunately our class was sent off to another building some distance away for the morning so although Dick was there, I was not.

The incident appears closed but I have no compunction about missing parades now. Yesterday thirteen of us formed up as a flight and marched away from the school passed the S.P.S. and through the gates. Of course we were missed on the next roll call and usually this means parading before the adjutant the next day but somehow this didn’t happen. What a pity! Oh well there is only 1½ more days of it.

With love from
Tony.

[Note: Transcription provided by collection donor.]