Diary And Letters Of A World War I Fighter Pilot, The (11 page)

Dearest Dad & Mum & Joe

Thanks awfully for your two letters, also for “Flying” & “Ashore & Afloat”. There is not much news to give you this time. We didn't fly yesterday afternoon as it was raining & as it continued all evening I stayed in Camp. We played Auction Bridge & I lost 4 francs 50 cts! By the way you remember I said yesterday that some Huns had come over – well “B” Flight met one of them. He got the wind up & dived away from them at a great pace, in fact he over dived himself & his wings folded back & he was slain. One Hun the less! The other day, I think it was Tuesday – it was very cloudy & we sent up some patrols – defensive of course, anyway 3 of our fellows – Harrison [Lieutenant W.L. Harrison], Cutbill [2nd Lieutenant E.H. Cutbill] & Gordon [Lieutenant E.G.S. Gordon] failed to return & are still missing. I guess they must have got lost & landed in Hun land. Rotten luck – wasn't it? Three new pilots have just arrived from the Base. This morning I stood by for early patrols but didn't have to go up. How topping Joe coming home, give him my bestest love. This morning from 10.45 – 12.15 we went up on Line Patrol but it was very cloudy & we couldn't see anything – we saw no Huns. I guess we will be crossing the Lines soon now! Wind up! We have got some blue curtains for my hut also a table made of a board – it looks great! We also have some mats on the floor & pictures on the walls. I wore the new fur gloves today – they are great! The weather is very unsettled & rains on & off. I had a shot at censoring Mum's letters, rather an amusing game! “The roar of the guns made one man's blood go cold.”

Well na poo now. Bestest love to all three of you from the Bunsoy.

DIARY Friday 9th November

Fine morning. Patrol at 11am. Clouds all the way up. Formation poor – Engine dud. Contour chasing with O.B. in afternoon. Put the wind up troops on parade! Went to Armentières – v.knocked about & deserted!! Watched a communication trench being shelled. Saw kite balloon being archied – too close to be pleasant! Engine went ‘wonk' and cut out at intervals all way home. Ignition wire broken. Shorting on another cylinder. Got it fired up o.k. now.

To Bailleul in evening, not quite so cold.

Just a wee note as there is not much time before the post goes out. There is no news at all to give you this time. Yesterday afternoon Bill & I went up & had a practice scrap. I beat him I think. We then put the wind up troops on the road then I went over a town S.E. of this & quite near the Lines (Armentières) it has hardly a whole roof in it & looked very deserted. I watched the Huns shelling Communications trenches about 300 yds out of the town – v.good shooting.

Then I saw a kite balloon about ½ a mile away from me & my own level getting “Archied” so I thought it was time to go! My engine started cutting out on the way home & I thought I wasn't going to get back but just managed to. An ignition wire had gone & was short circuiting other cylinders; it's all right again now tho'. I went into the town yesterday evening & got a few things. Today it's raining hard – I have just lost 4 francs 50 cts at Auction! I shall never gamble, I haven't the luck! (N.B. by Mother good thing too!)

No time for more.

The Bunsoy.

Guy to May (his Sister)

65 Squadron

Dearest

 

I hope that by this time you will have had my last (& first letter). I have had two from you so far I think.

I am afraid there is no immediate prospect of my getting down to Rouen to see you but when I get my leave – in 5 or 6 wks if all's well, we must arrange a meeting somehow or other.

Well, we have been out on patrol at 5000 ft over the lines pretty nearly every fine day for the past week & I have had one scrap. I haven't done in any Huns yet! The first day we were out was rather unfortunate as we had two missing & 1 wounded.

I was out with ‘A' flight – 5 machines – & we dived on a couple of Hun L.V.G. two-seaters. They at once hove off for their own lines & we lost them. I fired my guns at one of them & the observer fired at me but to no purpose.

They were v.well camouflaged & looked something like this [No picture available]

I was most awfully excited while it lasted.

The worst part of going over the lines is the “Archie”. That is simply awful! You are sailing along quite peacefully when suddenly you hear a “Woo-ourf!” – you simply spin your head round & see a black blob just behind you. Then you see two or three more little blobs all round you & a second after you hear more “Woo-oofs”! It is most alarming till you get used to it. The other day you could trace our path by the trail of “Archies”. Fritz is a harmless little chap but apt to be peevish when irritated. He is a jolly good shot too!

I saw an albatross scout fairly close the other day. Having been shot he went down in a kind of floppy spin.

Well, the post goes -

 

Bestest Love my dearest

From your Brother Boy

DIARY Saturday 10th November

Rain, Rain, Rain all day. No flying. Down to Bailleul in afternoon. Got a stove. Played bridge and lost 4 fr 50c! Rotten. Wrote letters in evening to Eily, Mrs Russell Taylor, Joy, Carrie, Chris. Major Cross in for Supper. O.B. orderly officer. Not so cold. Bedroom warm from the stove.

 

Guy to his sister, Winnie
.

65 Squadron R.F.C.

 

Dearest Joe,

Congraggos on your safe return to civilisation after having the [?] terms of the Alps, I do wish I was at home to see you, however when I get some leave – ah! that will be très bon. Well I am lurching along all right & am so far unpunctured & in one piece. I haven't been over the lines yet but have often been up on defensive patrols up & down one side of them. The ground in this part of the lines is a ghastly sight. Imagine a tennis lawn after heavy rain – clay soil. Then reconstruct your ideas after ten dozen ladies in high heeled shoes (the kind that “give such a good grip you know”) have been trampling all over it for about half an hour & after a puppy has been digging holes in it (mine craters) – then shove a few heaps of broken bricks about it (towns) then arrange a series of electric flash bulbs all over it & light them on & off at intervals (guns). Then flood half the lawn & imagine more rain. Then go up a step ladder & survey the whole effect & you will have an accurate impression of what the Lines look like from the air. The effect will be improved if you choose the coldest day & arrange for a band or something noisy to give the proper noise of the engine! I saw a Push from the air the other day – a wonderful sight. The gun flashes were multitudinous. We have the cutest little huts here; they look some thing like this: [No illustration]

DIARY Sunday 11th November

V. thick most of morning. Short line patrol washed out – because of clouds, v.cold. No E.A. seen. Up for a flip in afternoon. Huge scrap with Keller [Lieutenant C.F. Keller]. Beat him once and was beaten once.

To tea at No 1 with Moore, v.good tea. Not to church all day – must go next week. Read in evening.

 

65 Squadron R.F.C.

Dearest Dad & Mum

Across the Lines at last! The weather is lovely this morning & at 11 o‘clock 6 machines of “A” Flight went up on an “Offensive Patrol” – about 6 miles over the Lines. Then “Old Bill” went home with a missing engine & we five carried on. At first it was all right but then we started getting “Archied” & that really put the wind up me. You are flying along when suddenly a black blob something like this:

‘A' Flt on Offensive Patrol. Signed in lower right corner: G.M.K.

suddenly appears near you & then you hear a “woof” & probably several more “woooofs” all round you. They got the range almost exactly so we dived & lost height. Peace for a bit till they got the range again & so on – we went along doing turns all the time. The shooting was too jolly good for us! No one was hit tho'. Then suddenly our leader dived & we all saw two Hun L.V.G. two-seaters. The leader went for one but didn't get it & I went diving down at the other one but my Aldis sight was oily so I just fired blindly, then he stuck his head down & hove off home.* [Asterisk refers to note in Guy Knocker's hand]

I followed for a bit & I heard his old observer pooping off at me like 6! But as I was only 3000 ft & 5 miles behind [the Lines] I thought I had best chuck it, I don't think I hit him. Gad – I was excited! Then I joined the formation & went home! Pitt in “C” Flight was wounded in the leg this morning & got his bus badly shot about – he is in hospital. No one got a Hun. Last night I went to tea with No1 Squadron with Moore – a man I knew at Croydon. I didn't get to church but must try to get next Sunday. Am v.fit.

Bestest love,

Bunsoy.

 

*Capt Morisson [
sic
] was missing after this scrap. I learnt from him in 1927 that he had followed this Hun over as far as Lille & had shot him down. On his way home he was himself wounded & shot down, remaining a prisoner till the end of the war.

DIARY Monday 12th November

Lovely day. Up at 11 for South line patrol over the lines – ‘Archie' awful! [Dadezele?] to Quesnoy. Dived on 2 L.V.G.'s at Armentières. Indecisive. Wind up! Great fun the scrap. Pitt wounded, Scott [Lieutenant D.H. Scott] got a direct hit from Archie, Morrisson [see above] missing. Up on S.O.P. again at 2.00 pm. ‘Archie' round Comines simply awful. Saw some Scouts. 1 L.V.G. no scrap. V.misty on the ground. All returned o.k. Only 4 on this patrol.

Headache in evening. This game is not at all safe. ‘Archie' is awful!

[2nd Lieutenant W.H. Hemming?] crashed taking off. Broken legs – awful smash. A very unfortunate day on the whole! 4 buses written off completely.

Thanks for your letter dated 11th. I have written to you every day & will try to continue to do so. I am getting quite good now! Yesterday afternoon we went up on another show across the Lines. This time we got “Archied” very badly. When they got our range we dived to lose height. On one occasion the wily Hun anticipated this move & we dived into a perfect nest of them! I was simply scared blue & crouched down in my bus & looked as small as poss! No one was hit at all but after that we didn't fly in a straight line for more than 10 seconds. “Fritz” is a playful little chap but apt to be peevish when irritated. “B” Flight fired a lot of rounds into a town behind the Lines, this annoyed Fritz terribly & they got well “Archied”. We saw two or three Albatrosses [
sic
] well above us & one two-seater below us which we dived on but he hove off at once! Those two L.V.Gs which we fought in the morning were a white livered pair for as soon as they saw us they turned for home flying as hard as they could & made no show at all. I think Higgins killed the observer in the first one, anyway we frightened them badly!! Pitt was wounded in the leg yesterday morning & is now doubtless on the way home to Blighty – lucky beggar! Balfour [Lieutenant B. Balfour] had an explosive bullet in his petrol tank which fortunately did not light it. *Morrison in “A” Flight was with us when we dived on the L.V.Gs & has not been heard of since; I guess he must have landed in Hun Land as I don't think he was shot down.

Scott [Lieutenant D.H. Scott, M.C.] in “B” Flt was killed. “Archie” really doesn't worry you much but is a bit annoying at first.

[The German aircraft referred to above and frequently in these letters, is the “Albatros” – with one “s”. Guy Knocker consistently misspells it as “Albatross”. He occasionally uses the plural form “Albatrii”. He is not alone in this!]

 

The following is my first impression of the L.V.G. & about as I saw it first. He was well camouflaged & painted all colours – they nearly all have swallow tails. I am not on patrol at all today & fetched a bus from a “Park” further back this morning. Thank Joe for her letter.

 

DIARY Tuesday 13th November

Misty nearly all the day. I went down to Serny in morning with C.O., Cox & Balfour to collect 4 Camels. Got back o.k. not on patrol all day – thank Goodness. Terrific gun fire in evening at about 5pm and all night especially at 11.30pm – towards Armentières and “Plugstreet”.

Cummings in for dinner and another from No 1. Read and talked to T.E.E. after dinner. Bed at 11 – slept excellently.