Letters of Ronald Henry Etherton, January - February 1944 - Part 2 of 7

Write the address in large BLOCK letter in the panel below. 
The address must NOT be typewritten. 

TO:- Miss Jean AYRE 
13007 - 122 St., 
EDMONTON 
Alberta Canada 

867841 

DATE STAMP 
10 JAN1944 
___________________________________________________ 
Write the message very plainly below this line. 

Sender's Address Aus 423088 Sgt Etherton RH RAAF Base P.O London. 

Letter 65, 
Friday 7th January 

Dear Jean,
I wanted to write you a long letter tonight 
but we're to fly and I have only half an hour. It's 
been a very fine day today. Maybe that's because it's 
pay day. I think it's going to be a comparatively 
mild winter here. What's your winter like? How How's 
the skating? Don't have any spills, will you. When you 
first mentioned having your hand hurt at the roller 
rink, I didn't realise that you'd hurt it badly. Don't 
do the same thing on the ice else you'll be spoiling 
the perfect beauty of your hands. Do you ever go skiing, 
or tobogganning ? Some of the fellows did when we 
first arrived in Edmonton. It wasn't long before the 
thaw started and I didn't get 'round to it. I've still 
the scars on my ankles from the ice skating I did 
then. Wouldn't it have been great if I'd met you then. 
It would have been twenty instead of six wonderful 
weeks. But that's the past - the future holds many 
weeks that can be just as wonderful and will be Ron 
___________________________________________________ 
This space should not be used. 
MAKE SURE THAT THE ADDRESS IS WRITTEN IN LARGE BLOCK LETTERS IN THE PANEL ABOVE

7 
242909 
252755 

The address is to 
be printed in 
CAPITAL
letters as large 
as possible, but 
wholly within 
the panel 
alongside. 
⇢ 
Miss Jean AYRE 
13007 - 122 St., 
EDMONTON 
Alberta Canada 

The address 
is to be the 
same as for 
an ordinary 
letter 
____________________________________________________ 
No snapshots, seals or stickers of any kind are to be attached and no enclosure is permitted. 

Please follow instructions on either side. 
The message should be written very clearly. 

Sender's Name 
and Address 
Aus 423088 
Sgt Etherton R.H. 
RAAF Base P.O 
London England 
Date 12 January 1944 

Letter 66

Dear Jean, 
It's five days since I last wrote so, to try to 
make up for it a little, I'm going to write two letters 
tonight. I've only had two nights free in the last seven. 
On two we flew and the rest I've been on ground duty. 
At that I've been lucky. Sammy and Ed, the W/Op have 
been flying nearly every night - some with me, some with 
the Skipper on night circuits and bumps (landings). I 
don't know why, but I don't go on them. Maybe it's 
because they think that navs. are too much trouble to 
train to risk while the pilot is doing his first solo's. 
But it wouldn't be any risk with our Skipper. Anyhow, 
it's poetic justice that we should have it a little easier 
than the Bomb Aimers here because it's exactly the 
opposite at A.O.S. It's that way when we do a long 
trip too. Ed and I work like steam for six or seven 
hours solid. Then the others have the hide to say they're 
tired when we land. I'm not - much Ron. 
____________________________________________________________ 
This space should not be used.

Letter 67 

Wednesday
12th January. 

Dear Sweetheart,
Guess what I had as a
snack just a while ago. Toast - made
on our fire. I pinched the bread and
butter from the mess. And grape
jelly! Gee, it was good. But I'd much
rather have been having toasted buns
and cheese and tea. I don't think
I'd taste them. I'd just sit and gaze
in rapture at you. Are you real? You
look like a beautiful angel. If this
is a dream, I don't want to wake,
ever.
Those evenings seem not very far
away. But when will there be more
of them. Oh Jean I want to be with
you again so much. If I wish hard
enough, it will be so but will that
make it sooner. I'll never be happy
until I hold you in may my arms
again - Ron.

BY AIR MAIL 
AIR LETTER
IF ANYTHING IS ENCLOSED 
THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT 
BY ORDINARY MAIL.

67 

Miss Jean Ayre
13007 - 122 St.,
Edmonton
Alberta Canada 

← Second fold here → 
← To open cut here → 

Sender's name and address:- 
Aus 423088 
Sgt Etherton R.H 
RAAF Base P.O 
London England 

← To open cut here →

Letter 67 #68

Saturday
15th January '44 

Dear Jean,
You'll be thinking that I'm
letting you down if I keep this up.
I've missed writing another two days.
I see I'll have to start writing during
the day when I get a chance because
I can see no break in night flying
for some time. But I'll write
every night we do have free. Today
has been our day off. Because they
have been flying such a lot lately,
the Skipper, Sammy and Ed also have
tomorrow morning free and have gone to
Aberdeen. But I, the workhorse, was
on Duty Navigator all last night
and they expect me to be around
tomorrow morning - mebbe. I expect to
have a lot of work to do but I don't
intend to be fooled around. In future, 

2.
I work to my own programme and
whoever's concerned can damned well
arrange the 'us' to fit in.
Today I had a letter from home
but when I started to read it "Dear
Bill" I suddenly realised that it was
intended for my sister's beau. My
mother had written the envelope
so I guess it was she who has
mixed them up. What a boob!
Luckily, I have Bill's number so
I sent it on to him thru' Base P.O
He's a W.A.G and is somewhere over
here. I don't know where. I suppose
he has received my letter.
Is the Central rink the one at
42 St? It hasn't really snowed here.
I don't think it will. It's past
mid-winter. Several times there's been
sleet but it disappears as soon as it
touches the ground. Today has been
beautifully clear. I've been writing
reading and swatting. Do you know

3 
what that means? We use it to mean
studying. I think I'd rather be up
here than in England. The weather
is fine more often although it is
so far from anywhere. Maybe I'm to
blame but I just don't see one
redeeming feature about Britain.
May be it's the climate or the
stuffed-shirt people. I don't know.
Perhaps it is me. I wont be content
until I can happy until you
and I are able to go places
together - even just for a stroll -
nowhere in particular. I wish that
day would hurry
All my love
Ron 
Guess what?
← First fold here → 

BY AIR MAIL
AIR LETTER
IF ANYTHING IS ENCLOSED 
THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT 
BY ORDINARY MAIL. 

67 

Miss Jean Ayre
13007 - 122 St.,
Edmonton
Alberta Canada 

← Second fold here → 
To open cut here → 

Sender's name and address:- 
Aus 423088 
Sgt Etherton R.H 
RAAF Base P.O 
London England 

← To open cut here

7 
The address is to 
be printed in 
CAPITAL
letters as large 
as possible, but 
wholly within 
the panel 
alongside. 

Miss Jean AYRE 
13007 - 122 St., 
EDMONTON 
Alberta Canada 

576116 
The address 
is to be the 
same as for 
an ordinary 
letter 
__________________________________________________ 
No snapshots, seals or stickers of any kind are to be attached and no enclosure is permitted. 

Please follow instructions on either side. 
The message should be written very clearly. 

Sender's Name 
and Address 
Aus 423088 
Sgt Etherton R.H. 
RAAF Base P.O 
London England 
Date 16 January '44 

Letter 69 

Dearest Jean, 
I'm going to write you two letters this 
morning. I don't know what about but I'll think of 
something as I go. Do you recognise this form? It's one 
I've had since I was in Canada. Do my letters ever 
have grubby marks on them? I get terribly filthy 
sometimes. I just can't get all the dirt off. You know
of course you don't. Anyhow, a Whitley has a huge 
fuselage tank about midway. It just leaves a tunnel 
that you have to crawl thru' on hands and knees. 
It's awkward enough with just battledress on but 
with Mae West, harness, se and pushing sextant, 
chute, instrument bag in front of you and your 
intercom. lead trailing behind and catching in 
everything and oxygen tube doing the same, it's 
a test of anyone's patience. Will start my second 
letter in a minute Ron. 
_____________________________________________________
This space should not be used.

Letter 70 

Sunday 16 January
Dear Sweetheart,
Have you received the
letter I wrote earlier tonight yet? It
wasn't really a letter. It was just
a lot of jumbled sentences. Still,
I like to write - well, just anything.
It's a bit like being with you, or
talking with you. You'll receive two
number 67's. I forgot I wrote two the
other night too but I've missed
number 68 so that squares it off.
Gee, I feel lonely for you. I
never thought before I met you that
I'd ever feel so strongly about anyone
that I couldn't live without them. But,
then, I never knew that there could
be anyone like you. I'm still not
sure that you aren't a beautiful
fairy that visited me in a dream.
You do visit me in my dreams
though. They are wonderful dreams 

2.
where everything is pure and
beautiful until you appear and then
the background is dimmed out by
your beauty.
And now I'm to bed. I hope
I dream one of those sweet dreams
All my love, my
only love
Ron.