An Airman's Lost Letters

A note from the Editors: Two months into his flying training, here is the first letter we have from Oliver on Royal Flying Corps headed note paper, with the RFC wings and latin moto PER ADUA AD ASTRA underneath - 'Through adversity to the Stars'. Franked 25 NOV 16 OXFORD Mrs C. E. Pearson, Hillcrest, Lowdham, Notts. Royal Flying Corps, Christchurch, Oxford. 25.11.16 My dear Mother, I hope my note arrived safely. Life here now is one eternal bore as we have nothing to do to speak of & plenty of time to do it in & we might all just as well be on leave. I shall not write a decent letter as I have just spilled 3 or 4 blobs of ink onto my new cord breeches & it has made me very angry. I hope to remove whats left of the stain to-morrow. The first day on the higher instruction course has been typical so I will let you have it. Loaf around with nothing to do till 11 oclock when we do an hours lamp signalling to which no one plays the least attention a

A note from the Editor: The first letter we have from Oliver describes life in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps . This is the only letter we have from his year in the O.T.C. in Berkhampsted. He joined on the 23rd of September 1915, and was discharged on the 25th September 1916, 'in consequence of being appointed to a commission in the General List for the Royal Flying Corps'. Mrs Chas E Pearson Hillcrest Lowdham Notts Reply to No5 Company 1st Bat. I.o.C. O.T.C. Stationed at Birkhamsted, Herts. 10.10.15 Dear Mother As you see I have arrived here & am now in a billet & doing soldiering properly. The date may be wrong but to-day is Sunday & I have just come off church parade. We paraded & were marched to the parish ch. which we more than entirely filled. Some chaps having to be dismissed as there was no room for them. I can tell you the hymns went well. Westminster choir weren’t in it at all for volume & deep bass voices. We were o