419 Squadron
RCAF Overseas

Oct 27/43

Dear Dad,

This is a rather late reply to your letter of August 13 so I hope you will know what I'm talking about when I refer to news etc. which will now be probably very stale. I've been spending a rather quiet evening in my room tonight writing a letter or two.

I see from your letter that Billy has put on quite a bit of weight as well as height since being in the Army. It certainly seems to have suited him well and no doubt has done him a lot of good. Do you suppose he will be coming overseas at all?

I wrote a letter to Uncle Jim and Aunt Florrie the other night. I believe you were wondering what his shop is like, so a brief description of it is that although not very large on the outside, it has quite a nice appearance. Behind the store, where the customers are taken care of, there is a room where Uncle Jim does his work. There are also two girls in this room at another table. Then there are about four or five more people working upstairs on the various jobs that go to make up a suit. He seems to have as much work as he can handle, and if it were possible for him to get the material and the help, it would be possible for him to have a much larger business. Aunt Florrie is really swell. It seems that she just can't do too much to help you. We get along very good together. I suppose it may be some time before I get down to Bournemouth again as I'm stationed quite a bit north of there now. I'm beginning to believe that the warm weather has finally gone now, for it certainly is beginning to feel cold and damp these days.
I was just wondering if Howard got another deferment or is he serving in the Army or something now. Probably your next letter will answer this. I think my mail must be held up somewhere as I haven't received my letters from Canada now for the last three weeks.

We haven't been very busy this week, however I don't mind that so much. We had quite a trip last week which you probably read about in the newspapers. We certainly raised hell that night. The flack tossed us about quite a bit.

Well Dad, that's about all the news I can think of, so cheerio for now.

Your loving son,
Arthur