Letter 7 - Oliver gets trained on Scouts

A note from the Editors:

A rather confusing letter, as Oliver describes the canoes they have been using as 'single seater scouts'. He must obviously have fighters on the brain as he has just received the news that at the Central Flying School he will be taught to fly the famous Sopwith Camel, regarded by many as one of the best fighter aircraft produced during the Great War. A reputation for being very difficult to fly, it was also incredibaly manouverble and well armed with two Vickers guns firing through the propeller. It started service in the RFC about the same time as this letter, with 70 Squadron. The Avroes Oliver refers to are the venerable Avro 504 the RFC used as trainer aircraft.

34 RS RFC Ternhill (‘Royal Flying Corps, Market Drayton‘ on headed paper)
Monday

Franked 14 JY 17
Mrs Chas E Pearson
5 Madeira park
Tonbridge Wells

Central Flying School, Uphaven, Wilts.

13.7.17

Dear Mother
I am writing to announce a change of address. I came here today starting yesterday at 1 o’clock with 2 hours notice. We spent (9 of us make the party) last night in Reading & after dinner spent the remainder of the time on the river in Rob Roy canoes which are topping little single seater scouts.

We have been sent down here for a course on single seater scouts. We are to fly Sopwith Camels a peculiar bus to look at as its name implies but it has a grand performance. The rumour about the defence of London gets more substantial. We are in great spirits as they have put us back onto Avroes as if we had never in our lives seen a bus before. We’ll show ‘em is our determination. Much love from Oliver.

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Welcome to 'An Airmans Lost Letters' 1915-1917

These long forgotten letters penned by a young R.F.C. pilot, 2nd Lt. Oliver Charles Pearson to his Mother during the Great War, were discovered and liberated from a skip filled with the remnants of a roof clearance at a property in Southampton, UK during the mid 1990s. Within the past year they were rediscovered (again) having sat in a box in a loft for the last 10-15 years and were kindly passed to this sites authors, both of whom share an interest in social and military history from this period. Any links the letters had with the Pearson family have been long forgotten. We, the creators of this website, believe these documents are important social records of great interest to many, truly deserving preservation and a wider audience. When the letters came into our possession, via the nephew of the original finder, we deliberated over what we should do with them - perhaps donate them to a war museum? Oliver Pearsons old school? or return them to any living descendants, should we di...

Lt Werner Voss claims his 44th victim

On the 10th of September 1917 two young pilots met over the Flanders battlefield. One was nineteen year old 2nd Lt Oliver Charles Pearson, the other was twenty year old Leutnant Werner Voss , flying a prototype of one of the brand new Fokker Triplanes ... Oliver had left the 70 Sqn airfield near Poperinge at 4.45pm in Sopwith Camel B3787, on an offensive patrol to nearby Houlhulst Wood. Lt Werner Voss was by then commander of 10 Jasta. One of Germanys top fighter aces, he was a natural pilot and aggressive fighter with 43 kills to his credit so far, second only to his friend and competitor Baron Manfred Von Richthofen. Werner had been chosen to test fly Anthony Fokkers prototype only a few days before at the end of August. With aero engines in short supply his was fitted with a 110 hp LeRhône engine engine from a captured RFC Nieuport 17 fighter. Voss with Anthony Fokker Voss and his Triplane with his distinctive Japanese kite face p...

Shuttleworth Uncovered at Old Warden

I made a long overdue visit to the Shuttleworth Collection recently, for their Shuttleworth Uncovered display. The Shuttleworth Collection has been on my radar for many years now, especially since we started this blog of Olivers letters. For this event there was a special Sopwith line up, and although none were flying, we were treated to several engine runs of the Brooklands Camels 130hp Cleget motor. To finally see this stubby little aeroplane close up was an amazing experience, but to smell the castor oil and hear the throaty roar of the motor was even better, and will stay with me for a very long time. And this is one of the last 10 Pup's built by the Sopwith Factory in 1919. They converted them into a two seaters and called them 'Doves'. Richard Shuttleworth acquired it in 1936 and converted it back into a single seat Pup. We had a fantastic afternoon at Old Warden, can't recommend a visit highly enough. Now planning my next visit ... Click here for t...

An Airman's Lost Letters

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