Free Diary And Letters Of A World War I Fighter Pilot, The by Christopher Burgess

watched the shelling, several lots of “Archies” fell on roofs nearby – it was a great show! I hope you weren’t bombed at Dover. The aerodrome here is small but good.
    65 Squadron Wye.
    7th October 1917
    Isn’t it topping all the Squadron are getting 4 days overseas leave & I expect to get mine this week! There is not much news, the weather has got simply beastly cold & it rains most of the time. I was up for a short time yesterday & it was terribly cold. It’s going to be pretty awful in France if it is like this! However there will be only short hours in the Winter. We are in wooden huts here, very comfy with two to a room. I have one to myself as the other fellow is away at present.
    I haven’t been able to fly over to Dover yet but have often just flown over the Harbour, I will try to get over to land the first fine day, I will phone when I can. There is a most awfully nice lot of fellows here, all jolly good fellows & we all get on v.well together. We fight in 3s in France. My partners are Bremridge O.H. [Lieutenant G. Bremridge, Old Haileyburian] & I think Capt. Morrison [Captain K.S. Morrison], we practise flying together.
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    Guy to May (his Sister)
    65 Squadron
Royal Flying Corps
Wye, Kent
    7th October 1917
    Dearest,
    Thanks so much for your last letter. In accordance with request I am writing to tell you that I shall be going overseas with this squadron on the 22nd of this month! What ho! Isn’t it annoy- ying . Pa – pa!
    This is a simply ripping squadron however & there are the nicest lot of fellows in it I have ever come across. They are all most awfully decent man & we get on splendidly. I knew several of them before & two of them are O.H.’s. As I think I told you the machines are ‘Camels’. I expect we shall go up in the North of the Line – where it is horribly energetic. I will of course try & get to Rouen if I can but I don’t know anything yet. Perchance I shall come there with a ‘cushy’ one!
    We are all now practising flying as hard as the weather permits – which isn’t much as the aforesaid weather is pretty awful – bitterly cold & raining most of the time. The thought of ‘Hun-punching’ in this sort of weather doesn’t attract me – not so as you would notice it! We had a simply topping dance here the other day – about 20 ladies came & we started at 9 pm & finished at 6 am! I met some ripping girls & rushed round the room in a way strongly suggestive of an intoxicated giraffe, but they were all too polite to say anything!
    Two beastly officers from Dover who had come as guests got beastly drunk & began behaving disgustingly & there was nearly a fire fight. They offered to fight half of us! When the ladies had gone we laid out one & hove them out! They had brought a girl who was equally tight & so it was pretty awful!
    I get 4 days leave this week as overseas leave! It is bon lour les trompers.
    Well dearest dear, Cheerie ho?
    & the v.best love from the
    Brother Boy
    Â 
    Wye, Kent.
    11th October 1917
    I got back quite all right after leaving Dover & didn’t even crash land. I choked the engine a bit taking off as perhaps you noticed but I managed to get it going fairly well after that. It didn’t go very well all the time tho’ I did one roll for your benefit, did you see it? It took about 25 minutes to get back against that wind! We aren’t going out till the 26th so that means four more days. I tried to get to Croydon today but funked as it got so thick that I couldn’t see at all & so I came back after getting pretty well lost!!
    We practise formation flying at every available opportunity now & are getting better at it. Today we did a formation to Lympne & fired into the sea, we also did some very “hot stuff” dives. I had a scrap with Capt. Morrison in the air the other day & I think I won it.
    65 Squadron R.F.C.
Wye, Kent.
    25th October 1917
    All own kit has now