Philip broke his leg in France

Philip broke his leg riding a motorbike.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 25 July 1944.
'I got a letter from Phillip the other day and he is with Mary for a while again, he broke his leg on a motor cycle in France so has received leave to recuperate, he says he can limp around O.K.'

This is a French motorbike.


So what does Keith do? He gets himself a motorbike so he can visit Philip. I guess he wanted to give his mother something else to worry about.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 4 August 1944.
'I had a  phone call from Phillip the other day, he is stationed not far away from here & is fine, he left Mary in ? Barrie?  And she is fine. I am going on leave tomorrow and am heading to Manchester to see Phillip, I bought a motor cycle so I will be able to make a tour of England & see all my relatives, I have ten days leave, I went into town last night & on the way back it was awful foggy so luckily I was going slow when I hit some loose ground & went ass over tea kettle,  I had another fellow on the back, the bike was ??? and I  only took a little bark on my knees and tore my uniform so I’ll just chock that down as another instructive experience (it taught me that you should walk when its foggy)'

Philip and Mary Charron

Philip Marcel Charron - Keith's older cousin, also in the RCAF. He flew spitfires in Malta and during the Normandy invasion. He was probably the reason Keith joined the airforce. Philip was a hero. 

Mary Charron - Philip's wife and Keith's newest relative. She was probably about the same age as Keith. When Keith met her she was 5 months pregnant, so another relative was on the way! 

Letter from Keith to his mom, 14 July 1944.

'Mater [Philip and Keith's grandmother] says Phillip is doing dangerous work since 1940 I guess a little more wont make him finish off he's half the pilot Mary says he is.'

Letter dated 2 July 1944.
'Phillip is in France doing a good job I imagine. He’s got German swords & a German helmet I don’t know where he gets them I think it was in Malta.'

Flying spitfires was dangerous

Christmas 1944. Keith was with his cousin Phillip's young wife, Mary, and their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Vinall.

• Mr. & Mrs. Vinall were the parents of John Douglas Vinall, a friend of Philip's. Phillip and John were both spitfire pilots. They flew together in Malta in 1942. 
• John Vinall died in Malta on 12 October 1942, and Phillip maintained a friendship with John's parents. 
• Mary is 'feeling low' because Phillip was reported missing on 19 November 1944. 

On 9 June 1944 Keith explained to his mom how he made the acquaintance of Mary and the Vinalls.

' I wrote to Mary Phillips wife a couple of days ago & I received a reply today, I hardly knew what to write about not knowing what she was like but now that I have heard from her I have found that she is really swell, she is going to have a baby in September & she sure is proud, Auntie Aline is sending the christening set, Phillip has made friends a Mr. & Mrs Vinall parents of a boy who lost his life in Malta & they want Phillip Mary & I to celebrate our meeting at their place so I sure intend to go, once I get on ops we should get plenty of leave'

Insert Boy Here - being a tailgunner

Here is what the tailgunner's compartment looked like. 

The tailgunner on a bomber plane was popularly referred to as 'Tail End Charlie'. The tailgunner's compartment was at the very back of the plane. His job was to shoot down enemy aircraft, and to alert the pilot of any planes approaching from the rear. The tailgunner's exposed position made it the most dangerous job on a bomber plane. Many aircraft would return to base intact, except that the  tailgunner's compartment would be completely shorn off.

The picture above was sourced from http://www.w4960.nl/lancaster.html

Here is Keith (a tailgunner).

Happy Birthday, Keith! (21 for the 68th time!)

Letter from Keith to his mom, 19 January 1945.

'I received your letter dated Dec 27^th today and also my birthday parcel and boy what a parcel, that knife is about the nicest one I’ve seen over here, all the guys want to know where you got it, by the look of all the government stamps it looks like Daddy done a little finagaling(?) cause I’m sure you couldn’t buy one in the store. Everything in the parcel was swell and thanks a lot.'


Keith wrote this on the day he arrived at 'Mohawk', the RCAF's Conversion Unit 666, in Wombleton, Yorkshire. 'Mokawk' was where the Canadians who flew Lancasters, Halifaxes, Oxfords, Spitfires and Hurricanes received final training before going on bombing operations.

He had just come through the Christmas holidays with more leave than he had expected. Keith and the others spent a lot of time travelling around, mainly in London, with little money, waiting to be assigned a new pilot. So Keith had only just received the parcel with his birthday presents from back home when he arrived at the Conversion Unit in Wombleton. Happy birthday, Keith.

Happy New Year! (1945)

Letter from Keith to his mom, 19 January 1945.
'I fell asleep about 10 o clock sitting in front of the fire and didn’t wake till the phone rang about 2 o clock, it was a ? on the switch board that I  know  and she just rang up to let me know it was 1945. '

Going to the flicks

In February 1945 Keith went to the movies and saw 'The Man in Half Moon Street'. The story is about a scientist who discovers how to prolong his life with disastrous consequences. It has been compared to Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'

Here is how the movie ends.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 16 February 1945.
'I have seen quite a few shows (flicks) since I have been in London (The Man in half moon street, the thin man comes home). '


'The Thin Man Goes Home' looks a bit silly by comparison.