Reynolds, Robert George (Sergeant, b.1916 - d.1942)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 402979 Sergeant Robert (Bob) George Reynolds, No. 49 Squadron (RAF), Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom, 1941-1943.

Collection consists of eight handwritten letters spanning the period 20 January 1941 to 30 March 1943. The letters are all addressed to a Miss Jessie Martin - Sergeant Reynolds' girlfriend at the time. All letters have been written by either Reynolds himself or a Mrs Grace Eggleston Currie, a Canadian lady whose family Reynolds stayed with while he was in Montreal en route to the United Kingdom. The letters from Reynolds start by discussing his journey to Canada via New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii. They continue by telling Miss Martin how much he loves and misses her, give details about his role such as how many sorties he had flown in a Lancaster, and how mail from Australia had been very slow. The letters from Mrs Currie tell Miss Martin how much she enjoyed Reynolds' visit, and how at home he felt at her house. Also discussed are the many servicemen that stay with Mrs Currie, and details of her family. The final two letters, however, are both written to Miss Martin from Mrs Currie after Sergeant Reynolds had been posted as missing, and after he had been officially confirmed dead. The former discusses how Miss Martin must keep her hopes up, as many captured aircrews were treated well. The latter however, tells Miss Martin how much Reynolds cared for her, how Reynolds was now with God, as well as details about St Trond - the town that Reynolds was initially buried in.

Also included is a typed telegram dated 22 March 1943, from the Canadian delegation of the Red Cross confirming Sergeant Reynolds' death. Sergeant Reynolds was killed during air operations over Belgium on 3 September 1942.