Fleming, Bruce Warren (Flying Officer, b.1915 - d.1986)

Accession Number PR01188
Collection type Private Record
Record type Collection
Measurement Extent: 5 cm; Wallet/s: 2
Object type Photograph, Letter
Maker Fleming, Bruce Warren
Date made 1941-1943
Access Open
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 403239 Sergeant (later Flying Officer) Bruce Warren Fleming, Royal Australian Air Force, North Africa and Middle East, 1941-1943.

The collection consists of two typescript manuscripts of letters written from Felming to his parents and an album of photographs collected by Fleming during his service.

In his first volume of letters (covering November 1941 to October 1942), Fleming relates stories of his experiences as a Royal Australian Air Force officer serving in the Middle East. Some of these experiences include the sea voyage from Australia to Egypt, sightseeing, irregular mail, air raids, catching a chameleon, receiving comforts from the Australian Comforts Fund, spending time in Cairo, visiting an Australian soldier in hospital, meeting Italian and German prisoners of war, serving in the desert, visiting Lebanon and Palestine, feeling homesick, and crossing the Red Sea in a small boat. Fleming comments on the state of the war in other parts of the world and regularly reflects on his feelings surrounding the war. He also describes, in detail, the many landscapes and different types of people he encounters.

In his second volume of letters (from November 1942 to October 1942) Felming continues to describe his experiences, including seeing snow in Syria, being wounded by shrapnel, inventing equipment for processing food for the Royal Air Force, going boating on the Nile River, seeing an Egyptian festival, being very busy with his work, getting sick and going to hospital, traveling via train to Jerusalem, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, living in Cairo, marching in a United Nations parade, getting homesick, a short period of leave in Alexandria, and receiving letters and parcels.

Flemming's photo-album includes photographs of landmarks in the locations he traveled to, as well as photos of Fleming and his friends at a swimming pool at Heliopolis, visiting a services club, sightseeing at ruins, and swimming in the Dead Sea. The album also includes many official photographs, especially those taken in the El Alamein area.