Diary of Wing Commander Edward Lloyd Fleming, January 1944- January 1945 - Part 12

JULY, 1944
Thursday 27
I had a shave & went to breakfast & in
the morning we went to Reserve Sectn. & 
sat there. I collected the Met. report & then
I read & swotted cockpit drill. We cleaned
out the flight & then had dinner. I 
went to lectures in the afternoon and
they were quite interesting as usual we
finished up at 1700 & had tea. My
correspondence course books are there
& I will be collecting them from the af
library anon. I then did a bit of P.T.
& tho' it was a bit strange & I did
quite a lot of limbering up. I went
to the YMCA then had a shower &
hit the hay.

JULY, 1944

Friday 28

I got up & had breakfast then we went

to lectures. They were awfully interesting.

I had dinner & we went to Anson flight

& did an X/C to Bridgnorth, Gt. Malvern &

home in an Aggie. It was 100% perfect

& we got back O.K. I had tea & read in the 

Dive for a while. My correspondence

course has come thro' in physics

& I did a bit of work. I had a shower

& played cards then went to bed.

JULY, 1944

Saturday 29

I went to breakfast in a very great

hurry & got my blues very wet & lost

the creases. I caught the bus with

Ken & after a long wait at Kingham

we got the train to Oxford. I left two

films at Kodak to be developed &

did a bit of other shopping. After

dinner we went out to Cumnor hill &

saw Mrs Bridge & Mrs Harrison. We

had a yarn with Anthony Gilbert

from the "Rock". He was most interesting

We stayed for tea and then went to 

town again. We missed the girls at

the YMCA & eventually caught the

train from Oxford at 2000. We got to

Kingham O.K. but had a very long

wait for a transport which did

eventually turn up. I had a shower

& then went to bed. I got letters from

David & U/shorts.

JULY, 1944

THIRTY-NINE

Sunday 30

I got up & went to breakfast & then we

had lectures. We were given a pyrotechnic
display and it was very interesting.

We had a big church parade which was

staged in the Rigging Room. There was a

big crowd of ATC lads there. We had 

dinner & then had a period on AML &

then Link and after that some P.T.

It was very good & I think we

benefitted. We had showers & then tea.

After tea I went to the quiet room & 

wrote to Ferdy, Pat Cranwell, David,

home, Margaret Heason, & the Correspondence

college. I came back & got
off to bed.

JULY, 1944

Monday 31

We went to the flight to go on Oxford.

Nav. flips but there was a very

heavy fog so it was scrubbed. We

went into the hangar and we did

our weight drill in the mock kites.

I went to the A/L, & read & then we saw a

couple of films which were rather

good. After dinner we did lectures

& then had tea. I had to meet the

lecturer, W/O Box because he was an

N.C.O. & he gave a good talk on OTD

life etc to us. I saw him off & then

went to the mess & had a drink

& got my chocolate then went to the

quiet room & did a bit of work.

I had a shower & got off to bed.

I posted letters to Audrey & Shirl &

got letters from Audrey & Margaret.

A Canadian had his sox pinched &
returned all darned in pink & stitched

together with I. LOVE. YOU.!! Obviously 

a WAAF waxing humerous!

AUGUST, 1944
Tuesday 1

I got up and after breakfast we

went to lectures. They passed off

quite uneventfully and I collected

a parcel from home. After dinner I

opened it & its contents were just

right. I went to AML, duty pilot &

servicing Sqdn. & then we went to

P.T. and Lew, Brittain & I did it

in teams. Then I did a few exercises,
had a shower & had tea. I went to
the "Dive" for a while & then met Jack
Lindsay & Chips Carpenter besides lots

of the other lads who have arrived on

this unit. I wrote to Pat Wade & got

letters from her & from We had a long

yarn in the hut all the time I was

writing,\ so her letter took 4 hrs! I had 

a wash & hit the hay.

AUGUST, 1944

Wednesday 2

I had breakfast and then we went 

to the flight. We were supposed to

be on Ansons but there was a clamp

so we did a bit of cockpit drill then

had dinner. In the afternoon we went

to lectures and got on O.K. We 

had tea & in the evening I did a 

fair bit or correspondence course

work & also wrote home. I went

to the gym & loosened up a bit &

then got off to bed. I got letters

from Pat Cranwell & Beryl Ballard.

AUGUST, 1944

FORTY
Thursday 3

I got up & we had lectures all the evening.

I collected my oxygen mask & then

had lunch. I read the papers & then

we went to the flight & were scheduled

to do some Oxford flying but there

was a bad industrial haze so we
did some cockpit drill & I fixed up

my washing & then went to tea. In

the evening I wasted a lot of time

& played cards. I had a shower but

didn't go to the dance. I sewed on a 

button & cut my nails. I wrote

to Uncle Sholto this evening, read

a bit then turned in.

AUGUST, 1944

Friday 4

I got up & had breakfast & then went

to P.T. We did not do any AML

but rather went and voted for some

new post-war Act. I voted in favour.

We fired off a few .300 rounds & the

sten & then I did an hour on Link

but it was very bad. I had dinner & 

in the afternoon we had two Airmanship
lectures mainly on ASRS &

then we broke off. I sat in the sun &

wrote letters for awhile then came up

& had tea. In the evening I wrote 

some more and also later went to

an ENSA concert called "Cavalcade"

They have toured the world & were the

first company to be formed. It was

an excellent affair. I got letters from

Ferdy and two from Margaret. I

replied to Margaret's during the day.

I had a shower and shave & went 

to bed.

AUGUST, 1944

Saturday 5

10.20.21. D2

I went to breakfast & got ready in a

hurry then went with Jack Lindsay by

bus to Kingham. We had a bit of a 

wait so walked to the Rly Stn. We

got to Oxford in good time and

I did my various jobs. We had

dinner at Lyons then spent the

afternoon by the Thames. It was

beautifully warm & the place is

very green now, the trees leafy & the

grass long. We had tea at YMCA

then went for a walk past Rhodes 

building, Magdalen & out towards

the Cowley factory. We caught the

train at 2000 & got a seat all the

way back. There was a tender at

Kingham & here we went to the mess

awhile then hit the hay. I got a 

lot of sea-mail from home, Dad,

Betty Willis & Margaret.

AUGUST, 1944

FORTY-ONE

Sunday 6

I got up & after breakfast we went to

the flight but couldn't fly so I

did some cockpit drill and test. I

did O.K. We had dinner & in the

afternoon I went to S.S.Q. for

attention to my thumb & the M.O. saw

fit to do an incision & I just

about passed out. They sprayed

ether on to the sore & then cut it up &

after it was dressed I went to the next

lecture. I had tea, changed and

went for a walk of about 2 or 3

miles to Bourton-on-the-water & saw

the model village. It is a delightful

spot & the river Windrush flows

thro' the town. The streets are narrow & the

shops are scattered along winding

lanes. I walked home & had a

bit to drink & then bathed. I got off

to bed and wrote xxx xxxxx

AUGUST, 1944       

Monday 7

I got up & had breakfast & then got

treatment & sat out in the sun at the 

back & wrote a few letters. We intended

going to Evesham but missed the

bus so four of us (Ted, Kowald

Monty Roche, Ken & I) went to

Bourton. We looked at the gymkhana

then the model village. We spent a

lot of time at the meeting & Ken &

I picked up two girls, Muriel Patland

& Angela Sayers. We went to their

place (Muriel's) for tea then went

to Angela's, back to Muriels & then

to the local dance which was on

a rough floor & gramophone! We

had a beaut time & then Ken took

Muriel home & I walked back with

Angela. I met Ken at the New

Inn & we walked home together

getting in very late. Wrote to

Ferdy, Pat Ce Betty Willis &

AUGUST, 1944

Tuesday 8

I had breakfast & went for

treatment then we had normal

lectures all morning. We packed &

after lunch left Little Riss. for

Windrush where we duly arrived

& got settled in. It is ably dispersed

but I think we shall like it. We

had talks by the SG1 & the CF1 &

drew parachutes & reported

to the flights. We came back

& got blankets & then went to

tea & had our second egg for the

dayx We had a snooze then

went to an ENSA show which

was extra good, especially a

ballet dancer & a girl called

Peggy who sang beautifully &

played the piano a bit. We

came back & I had a good 

wash & got off to bed.

AUGUST, 1944

FORTY-TWO

Wednesday 9

It was such a big rush to get there in 

time but we managed O.K. I went 

on sick parade & then had lectures.

After dinner we went to our flight &

had a period on the Oxford & then

read & wrote for a while. We finished

up & then I got treatment & then had

tea. I went for a short walk &

saw the village of Sherbourne then

I did some physics & had a shower

& came back to the hut. A large force

of Lancs. went over tonight silhouetted

against a beautiful sunset.

AUGUST, 1944

Thursday 10

I had breakfast & went to the SSQ

& got treatment then came to the flight

& we just sat around. I did a test of

physics & later went to swing an A/C

but they had no landing compasses.

I had dinner & then came to the hut & 

wrote for a while then went to lectures

nothing much happened & we came

to tea then I went to SSQ again. I

went for a walk to Aldsworth but

it wasnot much of a place altho'

quite a long way. I had a shower

after doing a bit more physics &

then came to bed & made it & hit

the hay. I wrote to Margaret today

AUGUST, 1944

Friday 11

I got up & after breakfast went to the

M.O. & he advised hot hypertonic saline

soaks & Kaolin poultices & four times a

day I went to the WOD & signed on as 

ord. sgt. then went to lectures. After

dinner I got treatment again & then

went to the flight. I had a period

with the C.O. doing circuits & stalls & got

on fairly well. I had tea & got

treatment then pulled down the ensign

& spent the evening in the hut. I did

my physics exam & wrote part of a

letter home. I got more treatment & at

1100 fixed up the Sgts' mess & had 

some supper, then returned the key to

the guard room & came back to

bed. Ken & Blue went to Rissington

to collect mail today but are not

back yet. Letters from Ruth, Pat

Wade, G.W.R.

AUGUST,  1944
FORTY THREE

Saturday 12

I got up & after treatment went to

the flight & after a dual period

did my first solo on Oxfords! I

got on O.K. & then did a bit more

later. I had dinner & we were at the

flights again & I had more solo.

I had tea & treatment and went

for a very long walk thro' a

place called Shrimington, to

Clapton, Sherborne & home, in all

about 10 miles. I had a shower

& shave & went to bed. Ken & Blue

went to a dance at Bourton & Ken

saw Muriel again.

AUGUST, 1944

Sunday 13

I woke quite early but went to sleep 

again & stayed in bed till almost 1130

I had dinner & got treated & put my

laundry in then Ken & I got a lift to

Cheltenham where we spent the afternoon

We looked thro' the town and lay in

the gardens then had tea at the C.S.C.

& went to St Matthew's C of E & there

was a huge congregation & the preacher

was very good. We had supper & came

away intending to hitch-hike home

but a kid with on a truck was blocking

the Gloucester road so the traffic was 

detouring around Chelt. We waited in

the station hut & eventually left a

little after midnight. I got to bed

straight away on arrival.

AUGUST, 1944

FORTY FOUR.

Monday 14

I got up & after treatment went to

lectures & we had a plot which I 

couldn't understand. I had dinner

& then went to the flight. F/O

Brand didn't have any other pupils

today so I had the whole time to

myself. I did Navs 1 & 2 & after

went flying was feeling pretty

tired. I had tea & then wrote

home & to Mrs Wade then had

a shave & shower & hit the hay.

AUGUST, 1944

Tuesday 15

I had breakfast & got treatment then

went to the defence programme. F/L Dent

did his block because we were a bit

late. We had a gas lecture but that

was all. I had dinner & went to the

flight & did a X/C to Northhampton &

Stampford. Then I did a recco of

Stratford on Avon. I had tea and

collected a parcel from the P.O. from

the Phillips'. It was a cake. I wrote

a bit to Shirl & mucked about all

evening then got off to bed.