Diary of Wing Commander Edward Lloyd Fleming, January 1944- January 1945 - Part 9

MAY, 1944           
Sunday 28
I had my egg for breakfast and then wrote
awhile & then Gordon, Ray Moore & I went
to church. It was very good & we had
sacrament. After dinner I got ready & we 
went to town & looked about & then I
went with Chips to Stockton Heath where
we met Mr & Mrs Ballard & their daughter
Beryl & a friend Sue (21 & rather attractive)
I got on well with her & after talking &
having tea, we went for a long walk.
We had to leave at 2230 & caught the
bus back to town & saw Sue home &
then Chips & I walked back. We came
over the fence & got off to bed. It was
very hot today - just like home. I wrote
Margaret today. 

MAY, 1944
TWENTY THREE
Monday 29
7,8. A/G 2,3
I got up & had breakfast & then we had our
parade & went to lectures. As usual they were
very interesting. At break I had a bit to eat
& after break lunch I wrote home & posted
it & Margaret's. We did work in the afternoon
& then we knocked off. It was terribly
humid & we wore shorts & shirts after
standdown. Then I had a wash &
read some of my 9 letters & wrote to
Pat & then went to dancing. I got on
quite well & we did a bit more of the
waltz. I walked home by a very
devious route & used very bad nav!!
I had a shower & then I wrote & read
awhile & hit the hay. 

MAY, 1944
Tuesday 30
I had breakfast & went to school after parade

Things passed off much as usual & we
had our Naval exam in the morning. After
dinner we did our shiprecc & it was O.K. They
showed us a couple of films then gave our
marks.I did quite well & then we were
"broken up". I had tea & then read a fair
bit & had a shower & was going to the
dance but Ex & the others intended getting
drunk & so I stayed back & went to a
concert with Chips & it was good. The soprano
sang "AN DIE MUSIK" & the pianist
played some Chopin, Grieg & a very beautiful
Heller prelude. I came back & went to
the N.A.A.F.I. & then cleaned up & got off
to bed. I wrote to Uncle Sholto, Ferdy,
& Betty Willis.
Tonight's soloist was Isabel Baillie,
SHIP RECC 98% NAVAL 86%.

MAY,1944
Wednesday 31
D. A/G1 L.2.
I got up & then we had our parade &
started lectures - the three week course.
They were quite interesting & we also did
some P.T. & later on some clay pigeon
shooting at which I did moderately well
as it was my first time. I wrote a
couple of letters to Stumpy & Shirl but
didn't post them. Today letters from
David, Ian & Beth arrived. They made
good reading & Margaret has enquired
after me. I went to Stockton & bought a
couple of postcard sets & then had tea in
town & left some cigarettes for Sue. I
came home & did some reading & then
my washing & later wrote a bit. I had
supper at the mess & then made tracks
for bed. Bill Brady was very drunk
tonight. 

JUNE, 1944
TWENTY FOUR
Thursday 1
After breakfast I went on parade & then
we had more lectures. I had dinner after
banking my money which I banked got today
We had more lectures in the afternoon. I
wrote home & posted yesterdays letters A
letter from Shirl. arrived today. She is
also engaged!! I had tea & stayed home
all night doing nothing in particular &
taking plenty of time to do it. I had a
shower & came back & read a bit then got
off to sleep.

JUNE, 1944
Friday 2
After breakfast we went on parade & then
to lectures. We had pt. then a bit of
work & games. I had a shot at cricket
then lunch. In the afternoon we had
riding lessons & I got letters from
Ferdy, Pat & Ken. It was a super mail
I wrote to Ken & posted the letter on Sat. I
went to a concert given by WSAAF but
it was not nearly as good as some of
the ENSA productions. There was a good    
tenor-baritone but the rest was corny
I came back & had a shower & got
off to bed. 

JUNE, 1944
Saturday 3
We had lectures most of the morning &
also a talk by the new C.O. He seems an
xtra good chap & is an Aussie from
Ops. I had dinner & we had a parade
after it & then I went into town &
made a couple of purchases. I came
out here & had tea & then went to
town again for my dancing lesson. It
was xtra good. I came back full of
resolve to go to a dance but went cold
again - on the doorstep this time. We
came back & I wrote & read for a
while & then went to bed. One of our
lads was got at at Whitly Bay by a
Yank & consequences have been rather
serious.

JUNE, 1944
TWENTY-FIVE
Sunday 4
I went to breakfast & had my egg & then
wrote home & went to Church with Gordon
It was rather good & then I came home &
had dinner & then got ready & we went
down to go to Liverpool. We looked at
the town a bit & then caught a tram to
Pierhead & the ferry to Seacombe and then a
bus to New Brighton. I was with Frank
Ryan & Harry Forster & they stuck in
the amusement park all day. We had a
bit of tea & then caught the ferry back
& then walked this town a bit & caught
the train home. Liverpool has been
extensively damaged by Jerry. It is
a huge town & the entrance to the
tunnel is very impressive. I wrote to
Beth today. 

JUNE, 1944
Monday 5
ROME RECAPTURED
I got up & had breakfast & later we
went to lectures & did a couple of NAV.
periods. I had dinner & then we bludged
& did two lectures. I had tea & then went
to the intelligence library & after that I
had supper & collected my chocolate
ration. I wrote to Pat Wade today.
I put in my boots for repair. Meal
lines are very bad here & nothing
very effective has been done about
them.

JUNE, 1944
TWENTY SIX
Tuesday 6
SECOND FRONT OPENED
ALLIED LANDINGS IN NORMANDY.
I went to lectures & we had another
two Nav. periods & all the time we listened
to news bulletins about the 2nd front. I
was impressed by the sense of relief apparent
everywhere & our first news came
thro' about 0920 hrs. After dinner we
had one period & I bludged for the
rest of the afternoon. I fixed my parcel
up & after tea I wrote home & played
patience & then went to town to the YMCA
to the dance there. It was xtra good
despite the fact that I didn't dance. We
came back over the fence. I got a letter
from Shirl And from Margaret!! 

JUNE, 1944
Wednesday 7
D.A/G 2 L3
I had breakfast & the whole morning
was a bludge. We were to have had 4
lectures but they were not operative. I
did a spot of Aldis & got on O.K. I then
had dinner & packed my parcel
which I sent this afternoon. I wrote
to Margaret & posted it. We did a
bit of NAV, & a bludge last period
Parcel cost 6/9!! I had tea & then
played cards & read a bit then had a
bath & went to bed. I got letters from
Ian & David today. All is well at
home & the family were up at Marysville.
We fooled about & busted Chips
ruler tonight & I was worried about it.
The lads arrived back from Whitley Bay
today & Chips etc. have been posted to
E.F.T.S.
Soap.

JUNE, 1944
Thursday 8
I had breakfast & the usual lectures but
managed to do a fair bit of bludging. I
had lunch & did P.T. & played a bit of
cricket & then went to the hut & had a
shower & got ready to go out. I had my
dancing lesson & tea at YMCA then waited
a while & came home. I went to the Pen nibs
concert but later went to town & met Harry
& Beryl & we all went to Sue's place. We
had a helluva good time. Margery & Eileen
were there & we talked all night. They are
a swell crowd. I came home with
Harry & we saw a lot of smooging in
the train by Yanks. It was quite a wet
night & we got off to bed very quickly.
Names are Susan Wainwright, Margery.
Long. 

JUNE, 1944
Friday 9
10
D.L1
I had breakfast & then we had our lectures
& actually worked moderately hard. After
dinner we had a lecture by a Lieut-general
who served in Abyssinia & has a strange
nervous malady by which he continually
raises his leg!! We did P.T. & then I
had tea. At dinner the "Texas Rangers" were
in the mess & gave a lot of vocal & instrumental
items. I went for a bus ride
after tea to Grapenhall & had a bit of
trouble in finding the place but the
country was beautiful. The village was
most attractive & I heard the Lost Chord
from the church & met a chap who is related
to Anderson Tyrer, a celebrity pianist. I
had a shower on my return & then got
off to bed. Three letters today, two
from home & one from Margaret!

JUNE, 1944
Saturday 10
I got up & we had a couple of bludge periods
& then returned a kit bag I found to the S.P.'s
& had a haircut & some morning tea &
then I went to a couple of lectures. In an
Air Recc. test I got 92%. I had dinner &
then we had a parade for newspapers
but I didn't get any. I fixed the wireless
& then wrote some letters & actually
played a piano but it was wickedly
poor. I came & had a shower & then
changed & went to my dancing lesson
& got on very well. I came back & as it
was so nice outside I went for a walk
across country for a couple of hours. On
return I got my chocolate ration & also
a bit of drink & then wrote some more. I
got letters to Ferdy, Shirl & Ian written &
then hit the hay. I got a couple of
photos tonight & finished a film. I
got letters from Pat & Uncle Sholto
today. 

JUNE, 1944
TWENTY-SEVEN
Sunday 11
After breakfast I went to church & it was
the sisterhood service & quite good. I
had dinner then Chips & I went up to
Liverpool by bus. It was a beautiful
trip especially a place called HALE. We
walked thro' town & got a ride thro' the
Mersey tunnel & then we saw more of
the town & visited the cathedral. It is a
huge piece of work & the tower is 365 ft.
high. We saw the organ & heard it being
played & I took a couple of photos. We
strolled thro' the cemetery then went
back to town & caught the bus home.
Then we had supper/tea & I washed &
got off to bed & finished my letter
home. I wrote Uncle Sholto today. The
building is 40 yrs old & will take another
40 yrs to complete. The record of names of
those who served in the last war fills
3 volumes 40,0000 names & is hand
printed!!

JUNE, 1944
Monday 12
I had breakfast & went to lectures. We had
one nav. period & the instructor did his block
then we got the RAAF bus to town to the
swimming pool. It was super & we had a bit
of dinghy drill & played basketball in the
water. We stopped at O'seas club awhile &
then came home. I had dinner & they took
our photos in the afternoon & then we
bludged off & I had a shower, shave &
tea. then got ready & went to town for
my lesson - it was xtra & we did the
syncopated switch & cross & then I came
to the Pall Hall & the concert was pathetically
weak I walked out disgusted &
came home & went to NAAFI & had a
bit to eat & then came to bed & wrote up
the diary & hit the hay. 

JUNE, 1944
Tuesday 13
I got up & missed shaving then went to
breakfast then we had a parade &
went to lectures. I had dinner & we
did more lectures in the afternoon & it
was a bit wet. After tea I got dressed
& shaved & went into town with
Ex & we went to the YMCA. It was a
super dance & I got up once with
Margery. The girls were all there & a
girl called Gloria from Sydney. I
saw a super lass called Pat & will
be right with her next week. I hope
I hope!! We went round to see Sue &

then came home by train & got in
thro' the fence. I had a wash & hit
the hay - with Pat on my mind!

JUNE, 1944
Wednesday 14
I got up & we had lectures all the
morning & the usual after dinner.
I had a cold shower in the afternoon
- we went to town to try to swim but
it was Ladies' Day so we couldn't go in.
We (Harry, Chips & I) went to the
Ballards for the evening & had a
quiet but happy time yarning etc.
After supper we came away & caught
the train home & noticed much smoogers
on the station. I had a wash &
got off to bed. 

JUNE, 1944
Thursday 15
After breakfast we had the usual bull
parade & then went to lectures but bludged
for games. I had pay parade & went to
sigs & then to lunch. After dinner we had
more bull, & then saw a couple of films
of Australia then we had intelligence & I
put in & collected my laundry After tea
I had a shower & we went into the YMCA
& fooled about with the girls all night but
Pat wasn't there & I wasn't very happy
Harry & I came home by bus & after a
couple of games of cards I hit the
hay. I posted Margaret's letter today.

JUNE, 1944
TWENTY-EIGHT
Friday 16
I went out on the bull parade as usual
& then we had our lectures & a decent bludge
I placed my cash in the bank & had dinner
then we had an army talk & a bit of Nav.
& P.T. There was quite a fuss at P.T. about
being bulled about by corps etc & the
atmosphere was a bit strained. We had a
shower & tea & I shaved & rushed off to
dancing lesson. I did the slow fox-trot
& then came straight home. I wrote home
& went to NAAFI, then came back &
wrote awhile. Two Mustangs did over
Canada Hall to perfection tonight.
I had a wash & then got off to bed. I
got a letter from Ferdy today & replied
to her immediately.