July 13 - 1943
Dear Mother & Dad:

Mailed a letter to you last week with a few snaps enclosed; but since I sent it ordinary mail it probably wont arrive for some time. These Blue Air Mail letters are best, they take as little as 4 days to reach me from PA!! I am (as I have said in above-mentioned letter) at an Advanced Flying Unit (today we took dinghy drill - tomorrow nite we go to the swimming pool - "bahths" - and jump in, in flying kit and practice inflating, boarding & rigging a dinghy) - ; we have been invited to volunteer to fly in the Middle East Theatre of Operations; and I did so. We have also been invited to again indicate the type of aircraft we wish to fly. I have chosen first Havors or Mosquitos, desiring to fly in the Tactical Air Command (I'd love to work with the Canadian Army! - second choice - 4 engine flying boats [?] Liberators; in the latter you captain a large crew on long flights. In the former you enjoy exciting action. But perhaps this bores you - at any rate; our wishes come second to Air Command's needs; & if one is 'Joed' for a dull patrol job - well you can only grin and bear it or not grin & bear it.

I have had little to do with English girls - in fact I've had 3 dates - with a young "upper clahss" type, she is lovely - but that was back at Bournemouth. Most English girls - in the average are not as nice as Canadian - thus moral conduct is lower, the're speech & education is not equivalent. Their use of make-up is atrocious. Girls here (& women) smoke in the streets; none of us like it.

Canadian WAAFs are arriving - do they look smart - those hats are ok - & do the English girls hate them - we frankly express our preference for them.

The upper class English women (a rather small minority) is excellently dressed in suits - but fails in sports & evening clothes. English men (by the word of their own women) are dull, officious, pompous, humorless, (they sit by their wives in a movie & never laugh) and usually posess an unimaginative competence & thoroughness that is that is upper class types but the others, the majority are good fellows or would be if they had a chance - the average type here doesn't get such a fine education. Tell me your plan for Harry & Bill. Quite mother - your eldest son is a 'pasty' - he wishes he were home for a night. All my love

Jack

P.S. I expect your letters Mother. Keep them coming - you might send one of these Air Mail more often - the others are quite slow. Last mail I had from you was about June 23. I'm writing Eileen tomorrow. Give my regards to your pal Mollie for those[?] socks I wear (I mean that she knitted for me, silly). Did the CR receive the paper I sent them from Halifax? Tell Dad to stick in a note when you write.
-G'nite