11.

Thursday evening 29th April 1943

Dear Mother and Family,
        This is being written from slightly further north than my last, in a comfortable little room only a few steps from the Mess.  In this room are two beds (one for me and one for an English bomb-aimer) with carpets along-side, two chairs, a dressing table and two sets of blue curtains, not to mention a little stove affair nestling in the corner.

On this new move Clarrie Gardner and I left Phil and Alan Roach behind, although they may catch up later on.  Clarrie and I are in different rooms but are going to organise a room between us in the near future.  At present the programme is lectures and no flying which may go on for a couple of weeks

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When we hope it will be all flying and no lectures, which will be a good show.
By a purely lucky chance Brian Wicks is somewhere on this station or its satellite nearby and as I haven’t discovered him yet he must be at the satellite so I’ll see him later.  Another it of good fortune was running into Ewin Carthew who was in my class at school and who I’ve bagged to come into my crew as navigator.  Looks as though I missed Brian by a mere few weeks.
We’re not far from Birmingham although that’s not what the natives around here call it.  It sounds suspiciously like “Brumigam” to my unaccustomed ears, although it may be just an epidemic of

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colds in there parts that produces such strange sounds.
The other day Phil and I ravelled south slightly for our week-end leave (by ‘plane) and saw once again Colin Griffin ho went through Parafield with us and also through Geraldton with Lige.  We were very pleased to see each other and had a great time until we returned next day.  Soon afterwards I was sent up here.  Part from that life has been rather uneventful of late.
Like most of these Midland towns (or cities) Birmingham is a big straggling, somewhat smoke – caked town and what little I saw of it passing through wasn’t very impressive or

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cheerful.
We found on arrival there, that we had to change trains and somehow or other had to get our baggage from that station to another.  So we commandeered two hand trolleys on which our kit rose in an awe-inspiring pile and trundled them right down the main street to the other station.  This caused a certain amount of curiosity but it was the only way of doing the job.  With the baggage parked and ready to put on the train we had about 1 ½ hours to eat and look t the place, so we didn’t see very much of it.
Although it was raining hard when we arrived the weather is much better now

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so I hope it keeps up.
And that, Mum, just about exhausts my news for the present so I’ll close now with my love to you and all the family and my regards to friends and relations you may happen to meet.  Tell Mrs Wicks that Brian and I will soon be swapping yarns and telling each other home news we have received.

So all the best, Mum and kids(?)) and lots of love
From Sid XXXX