Letters of Ronald Henry Etherton, March - May 1944

Letters relating to the Second World War service of 423088 Flight Sergeant Ronald Henry Etherton, 41 Base, Royal Air Force.

In letters to his sweetheart, Jean Ayre, written between March and May 1944, Etherton describes his experiences of serving in the Royal Air Force as a navigator in Scotland and England. Some of these experiences include struggling with the cold weather, celebrating his skipper’s birthday, seeing films at camp, playing football, the joy of receiving mail, having his sleep patterns disrupted by regular night flying, going sightseeing at Forres, and finishing at 19 Operational Training Unit. He then writes about going on leave in Aberdeen, travelling to London by train, going to The Boomerang Club, visiting a crewmate in Cardiff, settling in to a new camp, studying a secret course, having friends missing or dead, buying a bicycle, getting food poisoning from supper at the mess, and going with his skipper as he practiced circuits and landings.

In every letter, Etherton assures Jean of his love, and often writes hopefully about their future together.

Ronald Henry Etherton died while taking part in a bombing mission on 13 August 1944.

This file contains:
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 1 March 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 2 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 2 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 4 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 6 March 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 7 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 10 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 12 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 13 March 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 18 March 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 19 March [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 23 March [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 25 March [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 27 March [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 28 March [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, London, 31 March - 2 April [1944];
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 5 April 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, Cardiff, Wales, 5-7 April [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 9-10 April 1944;
Telegraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, April [1944];
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 12 April 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 13 April 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, [England], 16 April 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 18 April 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, [England], 5 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 6 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, Aberdeen, 7 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, [Aberdeen, Scotland], 9 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, [Aberdeen, Scotland], 11 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 14 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 16 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 17 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, [England], 20 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 22 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 26 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 28 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 29 May 1944;
Letter from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 30 May 1944;
Airgraph from Ronald Henry Etherton to Jean Ayre, 31 May 1944.